Straightforward

Greetings everyone. Let’s pick up the Bible Study through Proverbs with Proverbs 14:17 now. We left off with verse 16 last time. Let’s begin in Proverbs 14:17.

17 He that is soon angry deals foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.

A good translation here is: “He that is quick–tempered.” Someone who has a short fuse, someone who is just so easily upset—their ego is so fragile that they are just quick on the trigger. Almost anything sets them off, a word or a look or a misunderstanding, and all of a sudden they’re mad, they’re angry, they’ve lost their temper. And that is something that creates a problem for them because their judgment is impaired by being so quick–tempered, and they will say things that they wish they hadn’t later on. They’ll do things that they’ll be sorry for. They may hurt somebody else, they may hurt themselves, they may hurt themselves and somebody else. And so we must not be a victim to our emotions to the point to where we suffer for it and others suffer for it. Maturity is something that we want. We want God’s help in order to grow in wisdom and Christian love and maturity so that our temper is not something that turns against us and turns against other people. But rather, it will help us hate evil and love good.

But if we have a quick temper, if we are ready to just blow up or lose our temper or get mad or do foolish things at the drop of a hat, so to speak, we’re going to suffer for that, and others will too.

17 —a man of wicked devices is hated.

Wicked intentions. There are people like that. There are people who like to hurt other people or like to do evil things—like to damage property, like to steal, like to be violent. It’s obvious that anyone who is like that is not going to be loved by others. They’re going to be dreaded by others. They’re going to be hated by others. They’re going to be avoided by others. We don’t want to be that.

We want to be individuals that try to do the right thing and try to respect others and try to care for others, and individuals who have our emotions under control so that we can be even–tempered and we can discuss things and we can let things pass and we can be cool–headed when things get heated up so that we can end up with the right conclusion, rather than hot–headed and doing something crazy or foolish or dumb that cannot be undone. You can’t unring the bell. You can’t rewind the tape. You can’t step back over the line once a horrible thing or a wrong thing and sometimes a devastating, disastrous action or word or direction has been taken because of being quick–tempered. So let’s weigh that out and let’s consider that.

And some people say, “Well, I can’t control my temper.” Well, God will help you do that. And you can get your emotions and you can get your temper under control. And therefore then abuse that flows from that, quite often—that you wish you hadn’t made, words that you say that you wish you hadn’t said—that will be eliminated from your life because your temper is brought under control and the foolishness that goes with a quick–temper no longer will be a part of your life. And what a blessing that’ll be.

18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

God does not want us to be simple–minded. He does not want us to be naïve. He wants us to be wise, and He wants us to inherit good things, not folly. He wants us to be prudent so we can be crowned with knowledge. And knowledge will lead to right actions, and right actions lead to right results. It’s all a cycle, and we want to be going in the right direction following the right cycle.

19 The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

Once a person begins to live in an evil way, it catches up with them and that leads to them serving those that are good. That leads to them going nowhere in their lives, while those who are doing the right thing—the righteous—begin to really succeed. And the evil fail and they are not going anywhere, but usually end up actually being forced to do things or being subservient to or being someone who does things for the righteous.

While the righteous move on and succeed and have wonderful, happy lives, the wicked mark time and go around in circles and from time to time have to do things for the righteous that sometimes they wouldn’t want to do—menial tasks and menial things.

20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbor: but the rich has many friends.

Now, no one should ever hate the poor. People should respect the poor and care for the poor. Now, if the poor are poor because they’re lazy and because they’re moochers and because they’re leeches; no, that’s different. That’s someone that’s not just poor, but someone who is doing the wrong thing and who is living in the wrong way. We still shouldn’t hate them, however. But the general thought among all too many people in society today is that they don’t care for the poor or love the poor. They have disdain and they have contempt for them. Even if they’re neighbors, they wouldn’t lend a helping hand when a helping hand would be the right thing to do.

20 —but the rich has many friends.

The problem with the rich having many friends—or a better translation, “the lovers of the rich are many”—is this: They don’t love the rich. They love their money. What they love, these leeches that follow along, these crowds and groups that follow rich people around, they’re not following them around because they love them and respect them. They’re following them around because they want their money, they love their riches, they love what they can get from them.

You let a rich person get poor and you’ll find their group of little munchkins and their group of little coolies begin to drop off by the wayside and pretty soon, they’re all alone. Because the friends of the rich—there may be one or two that are sincere—but the friends of the rich are hypocrites. They want what the rich have and what the rich can give them. They don’t care anything about the rich person. But they care about the riches of the individuals. They are unreliable friends in all too many cases, and that’s the lesson here in verse 20, one of the lessons.

21 He that despises his neighbor sins: but he that has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

See, that ties back in with the scripture in verse 20, the first part. We’re never to despise our neighbor or any other human being, because any other human being is our neighbor. It doesn’t mean that we approve of things our neighbor might do that are wrong. But we don’t despise them and we don’t hate them. We have mercy on the poor and we do what we can to help the poor and especially if they’re helping themselves. And as we have that attitude and as we do that, look what it says here:

21 —happy is he.

Not only do we help someone who is in need of help and therefore they are happy, but we’re happy for helping them. It’s a matter of giving. It’s more blessed to give than receive.

22 Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

You know, there are people who just constantly try to figure out what they can do to get around doing the right thing. It might be getting around paying legitimate taxes that they’re supposed to pay. It might be getting around working a full eight hours on the job. They get paid for a full day’s work, but they don’t give a full day’s work. Therefore if they did not give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, they stole from the employer and they’re going to suffer for that. And there are people who just devise ways to get out of work yet still get paid, devise ways to get out of responsibility yet they still want to be viewed as being a responsible person. That’s a big mistake on their part. They will not get by with that.

22 —but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

Isn’t that something? You know, when we begin to change and obey and yield and submit to God, we don’t sit around hatching plots on how to do bad things, but we start meditating on making plans to do good things, and mercy and truth come our way as a result of that.

23 In all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips tends only to penury.

You know, a person who works is going to accomplish things. A person who works is going to be rewarded. A person who works is going to achieve wonderful things. It doesn’t matter, in all labor—there are all kinds of different types of labor—but in all labor, where the person is doing good and working hard and the intentions are right, there’s going to be profit.

But idle chatter, people who sit around and talk, talk, talk, talk, talk—that only leads to poverty. You’ve seen people on construction jobs and there’ll be those who are digging the ditch, there’ll be those who are hauling the dirt, and then there’ll be those who are standing around just watching and talking, watching and talking, pretending to work. They’re big shots, they’re experts, but they don’t ever seem to get around to working. And yet there are others who just stay quiet and who work. They’re too busy working to talk.

Now, there’s a time to talk and a time not to talk. But when it comes time to work, we’re supposed to work, and yet there are those who don’t work. Idle chatter, and that doesn’t achieve much. That’s going to lead to poverty. When it comes time for the boss to lay people off, they’re not going to lay the good workers off, they’re going to lay the talkers off because anybody wants workers that labor and achieve things. There’s profit in that. They don’t want talkers who talk all the time.

So verse 23, once again, even though it was written hundreds of years ago, even thousands of years ago, it’s right up to date in terms of our responsibilities as far as work and labor and employer to employee relationships.

24 The crown of the wise is their riches: but the foolishness of fools is folly.

If a person just sets a pattern in their life and with God’s help follows that pattern that’s based on wisdom, they’re going to really be happy with the results of that. They’re going to really enjoy what that leads to, what that produces. And it’s going to be things that will lead to them being well off. They’re going to have their needs met and then some, both spiritually and physically.

24 —but the foolishness of fools is folly.

Those who are foolish and who waste their time drinking too much, eating too much, talking too much, shirking work and being irresponsible and thinking they’re getting by with it, it’s going to come back, and that folly will be what they have to look at and talk about and think about. And that’s not a pleasant thing.

25 A true witness delivers souls: but a deceitful witness speaks lies.

A better translation of verse 25 is: “A true witness saves lives, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.” In other words, a true witness can clarify a matter that will end up saving a person’s life or saving a person’s fortune or saving a person grief that otherwise would have suffered it, if they had told a lie.

25 —but a deceitful witness speaks lies.

And therefore causes great harm. So we want to make sure that we are true witnesses and that we rely on true witnesses, not deceitful witnesses.

26 In the fear—

Standing in awe of, respect and great reverence toward God is what it means.

26 In the fear of the Eternal is strong confidence:—

Not self–confidence. But strong confidence that comes from standing in awe of God and doing what He says.

26 —and his children shall have a place of refuge.

The blessings that come upon an individual, man, or woman that properly fears God is strong confidence, and those blessings spill over onto their children. Verse 27:

27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

That’s right. As we fear God, that leads to a pattern in our lives that takes us away from the snares of death and from the pain that goes along the way toward the snares of death. So standing in awe of God leads to obeying God, and obeying God leads to the right direction in our lives and strong confidence, our children being blessed, and everybody who stands in awe of God departing from the snares of death. What a blessing and what a choice to make.

28 In the multitude of people is the king’s honor: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.

In other words, a wise king, a wise leader—and it doesn’t have to be a king—the principle here is leadership. A wise leader will produce good—and will lay out good plans and projects for those he’s leading and therefore those he’s leading will be loyal to him, and the number of people he’s leading will grow.

But when a king is not trying to do the right thing, does not have the welfare of those he’s leading in mind, the people will begin to back off and will begin to withdraw and they will not support him. And it’ll eventually come to where he has no power and ends up being run out of office or ends up losing his position because he did not lead properly, he did not lead wisely, he did not make good—he did not do what was best for the people, for those he was leading.

Leadership requires doing the right thing for those that you are responsible for, whether it’s a king or a prince or a husband or a mother or an employer or a supervisor in whatever position of leadership you are in. You have to think of those that you’re leading if you want their support and if you want honor because if you do not, you will not have their support and you will not last.

29 He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit—

Impulsive, is a better translation.

29 —exalts folly.

God wants us to consider our actions. He wants us to weigh out our future. He wants us to be a wise, mature individual that is not quick on the trigger, impulsive. He does not want us to practice knee–jerk reactions. We get hurt, others get hurt—and especially when it comes to wrath.

Sometimes anger has its place, especially when we hate evil. But we need to be slow to get angry toward others and their actions, and make sure that we have our emotions under control. That’s someone who has great understanding. But if we’re impulsive and we’re easily set off, that’s going to exalt folly and everyone is going to get hurt—and sometimes even fatally hurt.

30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

Someone who has a good mind, a sound mind, a mature mind, a steady approach, someone who thinks about others, someone who thinks about the welfare of others. But when someone is envious and someone has the attitude of vengeance or vindictiveness, it’s corrosive. Carrying a grudge has a corrosive effect on an individual. And it will lead to the breakdown of their health and lead to the breakdown of their attitude, and eventually lead to the breakdown of their life. You can’t go anywhere with envy. Envy destroys people.

But a sound heart that loves others and forgives others and overlooks their foibles and mistakes, that individual is going to have a happy life and is going to have a successful life. So let’s make sure that we’re not envying other people because it will just lead to the rottenness of the bones. It will lead to decay. It will lead to corrosiveness. It will lead to trouble. It will lead to unhappiness. Our immune system will be affected by it. Our attitude, everything about our lives will be adversely and wrongly impacted and affected by envy. It’s like the rottenness of the bones.

31 He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker: but he that honors him has mercy on the poor.

This ties right in with the other verses we’ve read regarding our interaction with the poor. Now, not the poor who are lazy and indolent and bring it on themselves, but those who are poor and trying to do something about it. We better not oppress any of the poor, by the way. If we do, we are oppressing God because He loves the poor as well as He loves others. And we don’t want to mistreat the poor. But if we have mercy on the poor, we’re actually honoring God. The “Him” here is referring to our maker.

“He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he that honors his Maker has mercy on the poor” is a good translation. Or the needy, it doesn’t have to be just poverty–stricken people. It could be people that are needy and they need some help. They need the pump primed, they need a little help to get over the hump then they’ll go on their way. And we have the ability to help them.

Well, when we need help, we want help from God. So if someone else needs help and we can help them and they’re going to use it in the right way, we honor God when we do that and show mercy in that manner.

32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous has hope in his death.

Once again, wickedness brings penalties. Wickedness brings trouble. Wickedness loads down the wicked with more and more problems that they can’t shake off until eventually they just end up being driven away and they fall and fail.

But righteousness leads to wonderful things. And of course, we all must die, and when that day comes, if we’ve been trying to do the right thing, we still have tremendous hope. We still know that God is going to resurrect us. We still know that God will be with us. We still know that the deaths of His saints are precious in His sight, as He says in His word.

So as we try to live life the right way, even when we begin to get old and even when our health begins to fail. And even when we face death, we still are filled with confidence and with optimism and with faith and with hope knowing that when we die, that’s not final. That’s a pause, that’s an interruption, that’s a form of sleep. And we await the resurrection to eternal life because we tried to live life the right way. And so a person dies filled with that hope, not filled with despair and emptiness. Why? Because that individual has tried to live life the right way all the way to the end.

33 Wisdom rests in the heart of him that has understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

And what is in the midst of fools? Foolishness. What is in the midst of the heart of those who have understanding? Wisdom. What is the core center of the foolish? What makes them tick? What are they about? Foolishness. And pretty soon everybody knows that. Because as a man thinks, so is he, and out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so a fool speaks foolishness. But a wise man speaks wisdom and is known for his wisdom.

34 Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Righteousness exalts an individual because God blesses that person. Righteousness exalts a family because God blesses that family. Righteousness exalts a nation because God blesses that nation. And what is righteousness? It’s doing the right thing, or as it says in Psalms 119:172, “All your commandments are righteousness.” It’s obeying the Ten Commandments.

34 —but sin is a reproach to any people.

A shame or disgrace. Sin will reproach an individual. Sin will be a reproach to a family, and sin, breaking God’s law—because that’s what sin is: I John 3:4, “Sin is the transgression of your law.”—it will bring shame on a nation.

And so from the individual to the family, to the highest level of a nation, to the whole nation, if we obey God, blessings will come. If we disobey God, curses and shame will come. And as you look around the world today and as you look around the nations today, you can see the human race is not subject to nor obedient to Almighty God, and that’s why we have all the troubles that we hear about everyday.

But we as individuals can be an exception to that. We can obey God. We can follow righteousness, and we can be blessed and exalted in the right way as we do those things that are pleasing in God’s sight. Let’s make that choice. That’s what He’s telling us to do in verse 34.

35 The king’s favor is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causes shame.

The principle here is not just a king but anyone. But a king’s favor—someone who has power and authority—it can be a boss, it can be a governor, it can be a policeman, it can be the head of a family. It can be anyone that has power. The favor from that individual is toward those who serve wisely, who has diligence and is dependable, and has a good head on his or her shoulders.

But from those who are in a position of leadership and power, if someone is supposed to be serving wisely but serves in a way that’s shameful, they’re going to suffer the anger of the leader, rather than the favor of the leader. And so let’s make the right choice before God, our King, or before those that we are responsible toward, and let’s serve wisely rather than serving in a shameful way and suffering as a result of that.

Those are the choices that we find in verse 35. Let’s weigh them out and make the right choice.

We’ll stop there and pick it up next time with Chapter 15.

This is Charles Bryce with the Enduring Church of God.