Righteousness as a Precursor to National Greatness in Proverbs 14:34 and its Relevance for Nigerian Socio-Economic Development

Abstract

A major theme in the Bible which also is the focal point of Proverbs 14:34, is righteousness. It is like a recurring decimal in the preaching of ministers in most church denominations in Nigeria. They especially do this when they emphasise its significance and the detriment of sin in determining the status or position of a nation which are reflected in its being exalted or reproached. Features that enhance the worth of a nation, righteousness or sin are portrayed in the biblical text for this paper and in other cognate texts. The socio-economic situation in Nigeria calls for urgent attention as people live in poverty and painfully below life expectation. Existing studies on Prov. 14:34 have focussed more on the spiritual interpretation of the text, mainly for devotional and liturgical purposes. They did not focus on critical exegetical consideration of how such features could be viable catalysts for socioeconomic development in the Nigerian context. This is the rationale for this work, and the contribution it will make to existing knowledge. The descriptive method of interpretation is adopted for this work. The study is premised on Giovanni E. Reyes’ Modernisation Theory which he defines as a systematic process to move underdeveloped societies to an advanced and productive level of development. The Modernisation Theory stresses the importance of political development vis-a-vis the improvement of a nation’s socio-economic condition; it also emphasises cultural reforms. Righteousness in this text, when read from and applied to the current national and socio-economic reality of Nigeria, hopefully, will stem the current lamentable socio-economic situation in the nation.