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The book
of Proverbs is about wisdom. Wisdom and understanding
involve the proper application of knowledge. It
isn't enough to have knowledge. We also need wisdom,
which is the ability to use that knowledge in
the right way. Wisdom comes from applying knowledge
in such a way that you live according to God's
wise principles that the Creator has designed
into this magnificent universe. Wisdom is very
beneficial. It results in favor and blessing and
success in this life and ultimately eternal success
in the Life-To-Come! We want more and more wisdom.
Foolishness
is the opposite of wisdom. Foolishness is ignoring
God's wise principles and results in harm and
loss, and perhaps even eternal loss. We don’t
want to be foolish!
Just because
you believe in Messiah and you have faith and
read the Bible, means that you have some wisdom,
but it doesn't mean you have wisdom in every area
of life. Proverbs help us acquire wisdom for all
of the many decisions we need to make in the various
areas of life.
The Importance Of Being
Diligent With Work
18:9 He
also who is slack in his work is brother to him
who destroys. In a fallen world that is satanically
controlled and is in rebellion against God and
is under a curse, it is important that people
work, and work hard. Life has changed from the
idyllic conditions we enjoyed in the Garden of
Eden. Because of the Fall, the ground was cursed.
The Lord said: Cursed is the ground because
of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life. By the sweat of your
brow you will eat your food. It takes hard
work to live in a world that is under a curse.
The problem is that it is part of fallen human
nature not to want to work hard. But, hard work
is God’s will for us. And, hard work is redemptive.
And, it is good for us and produces good things
and keeps us out of trouble. Idle hands are the
Devil’s tools. Therefore working hard and being
diligent in the areas and responsibilities that
have been entrusted to us, is very important.
Laziness, not being willing to work hard, inattentiveness
to detail, is not a minor thing. It is a very
big deal. It is very serious.
The one
who destroys, who actively goes about ruining
good things, like a terrorist or a hardened criminal,
is a very serious threat. The one who is slack
in his work is not completely unrelated to him
who destroys. He is not a distant cousin to the
one who destroys. He is brother to him who destroys!
He is very closely related to him! He is just
like him! His laziness will cause related results
- ruin and destruction. Women who are married
to lazy men know this all too well. Parents who
have a lazy son or daughter also know this well.
So, if you are wise, you will have the attitude
that you are here on Earth to work, and work hard.
You will have plenty of time to take it easy in
the Earth-To-Come.
The Benefits That Come
From Knowing The Lord
18:10
The name of the Lord (in other words, the
Lord Himself) is a strong tower; the righteous
runs into it and is safe. We live in an unstable,
chaotic, dangerous world. Maximum safety isn’t
found in a nation or a political party or an ideology;
the ultimate refuge can’t be found in money or
human relationships or pleasures or distractions
or entertainments or drugs or alcohol. Security
in a insecure world is found in a Person - El
Shaddai - Almighty God, who is greater than the
world and its problems! So, the better we get
to know the Three-In-one God and the closer we
are to Him, the more pleased He will be with us
and the more willing He will be to extend His
protection to us; and the more confidence we will
have in Him, and the more peace we will experience.
What Money Can And
Can’t Buy
18:11
A rich man's wealth is his strong city, and
like a high wall in his own imagination. Wealth
can buy comfort. It can buy pleasures. It can
buy a certain level of security, but it can’t
buy perfect security. The very real and destructive
forces of Satan and sin, and the curse on the
Earth, and pain and suffering and trials and disappointments
and sadness that come from living in a fallen
world will penetrate the walls of that strong
city that the rich man thinks his wealth is. The
deceitfulness of riches will overcome the walls
of that city. Finally, one of the greatest enemies
- Death, will break into that strong city. Since
the wise person understands that money can’t buy
ultimate safety, but getting into a right relationship
with the Living God and following His will provides
eternal security, his priority is serving God,
and not money. He wisely chooses to live for God,
and not money.
18:16
A man's gift makes room for him and brings
him before great men. Money can’t buy perfect
security, but it can buy good things, like opportunities
and access to important people. This happens in
politics all the time. I recently read that for
a gift of $16,700, a person can have quail eggs
and caviar with President Obama. Don’t worry!
I don’t plan on making Shema or myself $16,700
poorer! This wise saying is also talking about
the good that results from being a generous man.
Keil and Delitzsch noted: By being generous, by
giving gifts, a person doesn’t lose. He gains.
He is not lowered. He rises! Generosity helps
a person get beyond difficult circumstances. It
brings him affection. So, if we are smart, we
will want more and more to be givers, not takers.
18:23
The poor man utters supplications, but the
rich man answers roughly. Money can’t buy
eternal security or salvation, but it does buy
social status and tolerance. The things that society
would not tolerate from a poor man it will tolerate
from the rich. The rich man can get away with
a lot more than the poor man. For doing the same
thing, the poor man is considered weird and troublesome,
even dangerous. The rich man is considered to
be eccentric and is tolerated. That’s why the
poor man needs to ask for things he doesn’t have
in a humble way, and the rich man can afford to
respond to others with gruffness.
We know
that all human beings, rich and poor, are made
in the image of God, and are inherently worthy
of respect. We don’t want to be like the world
and discriminate against people based on their
financial status. James warns us about that. He
writes: Suppose a man comes into your meeting
wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor
man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show
special attention to the man wearing fine clothes
and say, "Here's a good seat for you",
but say to the poor man, "You stand there"
or "Sit on the floor by my feet", have
you not discriminated among yourselves and become
judges with evil thoughts? We are to value
people, not by their level of wealth, but by different
standards - by their inherent worth; by their
closeness to the Three-in-One God; by their faith
and faithfulness; by their righteousness; by their
character; by their service to God; by their willingness
to suffer for Him.
Pride Versus Humility
18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
but humility goes before honor. Human beings
are deeply flawed creatures. The universe is large
and complex, and there is so much that we don’t
know. And, we don’t always know when we don’t
know. If knowledge is power, than lack of knowledge,
or false knowledge - knowledge that you think
is knowledge but is actually error, is weakness
and defeat. Therefore if we are wise and want
to be successful and worthy of honor, we need
to be humble, and realize that we are small and
weak and stupid and that the Creator is great
and powerful and very smart. And, we need to get
closer to Him and learn from Him because His ways
are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are
higher than our thoughts. We don’t want to be
self-confident, when we need to be God-confident.
We don’t want to be haughty, and think more highly
about ourselves and our thoughts than we deserve;
we don’t want to be presumptuous because we will
make costly mistakes.
Listen Before You Speak
18:13
He who gives an answer before he hears, it
is folly and shame to him. It is fallen human
nature to want to talk more than hear, to show
off our knowledge rather than receive knowledge
from others. Showing off our knowledge makes us
look smart; and since fallen creatures tend to
not feel good about themselves, we desperately
want others to think that we are smart and therefore
important and worthy. Therefore people will try
to show off how smart they are by finishing your
sentence or thought for you. Even if they finish
it correctly, or correctly anticipate what you
will say, and answer correctly, that is inconsiderate,
rude, selfish and foolish. It is important to
be a good listener. It is important to be a patient
listener. Allow the person you are listening to,
to finish their thought before you respond.
The Seriousness Of
Mental/Emotional Problems And Depression
18:14
The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,
but as for a broken spirit who can bear it?
Worse than physical illness or paralysis is a
broken spirit - severe depression and giving up
on life’s challenges. Physical illness, even something
like being paralyzed from the neck down, can be
painful and debilitating and hard to endure, but
with a good attitude, physical trials be endured.
Our own Bob Hanner and the triumphant life of
Joni Eareckson Tada are great examples of this.
Life in a fallen world that is satanically controlled
and is in rebellion against God and is under a
curse can be painful, discouraging, depressing.
This fallen world has a way of beating people
down, chewing them up and spitting them out. Those
who are strong and able to endure have a tendency
to look down on the world’s wounded. Don’t look
down on those who have been crushed by living
in this fallen world. Have pity on them! Try to
encourage them! They are precious, made in the
image of God, still with the potential to become
glorious, magnificent eternal beings! Be like
Messiah, who cared for life’s severely wounded,
of whom it is written: A bruised reed He will
not break and a dimly burning wick He will not
extinguish. Let them know that this world
is full of defeats and discouragements , but they
can comforted by being knowing that there is another
world, a better world, a world without suffering;
a world of pure happiness and victory that faith
in the Three-In-One can bring them to.
The Importance Of Maintaining
Good Relationships
18:19
A brother offended is harder to be won than
a strong city, and contentions are like the bars
of a citadel. In a fallen world that is satanically
controlled and is in rebellion against God and
is under a curse, it is easy to be alienated from
other human beings. Our damaged relationship with
God makes it much harder to maintain good relationships
with fellow fallen human beings. We have been
damaged by sin, and so have they. It is so easy
to hurt others. Once a relationship has been damaged,
and trust has been broken, it is very hard to
restore that relationship. It is very hard to
bring it back to the place where it was before.
So, if you have an important relationship with
someone - father or mother, brother or sister,
son or daughter, wife or husband, friend or peer,
cultivate that relationship. Don’t do anything
to harm or betray that relationship. Otherwise
you may never be able to restore it to the way
it was.
The Importance Of A
Good Marriage
18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and
obtains favor from the Lord. A good wife is
a very good thing. She can be a great blessing.
A good woman is so much better than money, wealth,
power. She can be the most beneficial creature.
She is made in the image of God. She is smart
and loving and attractive. She is loyal. She is
kind. She can produce your children and then have
the patience and maternal love to raise the little
darlings! She will support and encourage and help
you. She will let you know when you are making
a mistake - and that is a good thing. She will
even let you know you are making a mistake when
you aren’t. Isn’t that something?
The Lord
knows the great value and worth of these beautiful,
mysterious, alluring, amazing creatures, who are
smaller and softer and weaker than us, and He
wants to help you, husband, to take very good
care of her. Therefore He who finds a wife
finds a good thing and obtains favor from the
Lord. The Lord will favor a married man; He
will help you so you can help her.
So, young
man, if you are smart, you will find a good wife,
and treat her like she is the best thing in your
life! She is! Take very good care of her, provide
for her, love her and nurture her. Take an interest
in her and talk to her and spend time with her
and be patient with her. God will give you the
grace you need to do this, and He will favor you!
The Value Of A Good
Friend
18:24 A man of too many friends
comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks
closer than a brother. Too much of a good
thing can become a bad thing. It’s good to have
friends, but too many friends can damage a person.
Even the Messiah only chose 12 core disciples
- not 70 or 120. The man with too many friends
spreads himself too thin. He will spend too much
time and effort and money cultivating those too
many friendships, and not enough time on his core
friendships and relationships with his family.
He will neglect his responsibilities. So, if you
are wise, choose fewer friends, and make sure
that they are good and true and loyal friends,
and cultivate those friendships.
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