Proverbs 13

Sorry it's been ages since I have written. No explanations or excuses, but there have been two passages that have just rocked my world lately. They are Proverbs 13 and Psalm 6. Here is my take with nothing held back on Proverbs 13 with the text bolded, and my comments in italics...

Proverbs 13

Children with good sense accept correction from their parents, but stubborn children ignore it completely.

This is pretty straight forward. What's interesting to me though is that stubborn kids are often times modeling what they have seen from their parents. Therefore, the parents who correct each other in love, and accept correction from their spouses, seem to have kids who are more apt to accept correction.

You will be well rewarded for saying something kind, but all people think about is how to be cruel and mean.

Look at the word "MEan". It's all about me. If you are thinking about yourself first, then the chances of what comes out of your mouth sounding mean to others is much greater than if you are thinking about others before yourself. When your first thought is to love others, you just don't say mean things. It just doesn't happen.

Keep what you know to yourself, and you will be safe; talk too much, and you are done for.

This is something that I'm passionate about. I learned this from my father, who is not a Christian. He is a man that talks a lot and likes to have fun with everyone, but he doesn't claim to know anything that he doesn't really know. When he speaks on an issue of importance, he knows exactly what he is talking about. He never speaks confidently when he is unsure. I have come to absolutely love that about my father and I try to act the same way.

I want people to listen when I have something to say. If I am constantly speaking when I'm not sure about things, my opinion becomes less valuable than a grain of salt. When I only speak truth to those around me, then when important issues of life, death, and eternity arise, people listen. They might not choose to agree, but they will listen and consider. I believe that my father may be closer to a relationship with God than he leads on, but he won't say so until he knows. I pray that that day comes soon! What a celebration that day will be!

No matter how much you want, laziness won't help a bit, but hard work will reward you with more than enough.

Lazy people can gain rewards on earth, but it's not possible to gain rewards in heaven by being lazy. Hard work, and a commitment to God is the only way to gain the reward that lasts forever.

A good person hates deceit, but those who are evil cause shame and disgrace.

I hate to keep playing word games, but "shaME" and "dIsgrace" are both focused on me and I. The important concept isn't the play on words, but rather the fact of the matter that whether or not you are a Christian, if you think about yourself first, you are going to hurt others and thanks to the inner voice that all people possess, you will feel less than happy with yourself. You will feel ashamed and disgraced.

Live right, and you are safe! But sin will destroy you.

I hope that anyone reading this really believes that my words aren't just for Christians. The parallels are so great.

For Christians, living right means eternal life with our father, our God. Failure to live right will keep us separate from Him forever.

Isn't this concept true for the world too? If you sin, aren't you typically putting yourself or others in dangerous situations? Even the sin that doesn't directly hurt you, may destroy aspects of your life. For instance, pornography won't hurt you, but it could ruin a marriage, and it could ruin your ability to love and respect members of the other sex. If you live according to Christian and moral guidelines, you typically hurt less people, and put yourself at less risk of danger. With that said, all of us fail...but the effort is what counts!

Some who have nothing may pretend to be rich, and some who have everything may pretend to be poor.

This was the verse that caused me to read this proverb today. I just had such a beautiful picture in my mind.

I see this as a very spiritual thing. The "have" referred to is a relationship with God. So, those who have no relationship with Him, pretend to have everything they need and want here on earth. On the flip side, those who have Him (everything) should be able to live here on earth with no earthly possessions because we need nothing. This is easier said than done, but it's beautiful to tell God that He is enough and we need nothing more!

The rich may have to pay a ransom, but the poor don't have that problem.

The more you have the more you pay! I look at this in two ways. If you have a lot of stuff, then you have a lot more to give up to really make God number 1. Also, having Jesus in your life isn't a piece of cake. Those who have Jesus have more responsibilities than those who don't. Don't let anyone tell you that becoming a Christian will be easy, or all fun. It's not. Your life will be more difficult, but the rewards are so much greater than any investment we are capable of making.

The lamp of a good person keeps shining; the lamp of an evil person soon goes out.

Too much pride causes trouble. Be sensible and take advice.

This goes back to the earlier comments about talking when we don't know things, and about children taking advice and guidance. If you were to decide that you wanted to change your life, either for God or for yourself, then I have some advice.

If you can get rid of pride, and start putting others in front of yourself, you will accomplish most of your goals that you hope to achieve by changing your life. You will see a whole new you, and I'm willing to lay it on the line to say that you will be very pleased with the new you.

Money wrongly gotten will disappear bit by bit; money earned little by little will grow and grow.

Not getting what you want can make you feel sick, but a wish that comes true is a life-giving tree.

If you reject God's teaching, you will pay the price; if you obey his commands, you will be rewarded.

Sensible instruction is a life giving fountain that helps you escape all deadly traps.

Cling to all that is good. This is another that idea that applies to Christians, but also to non-believers. I would have to say that seeking advice and instruction from God above is the best thing you can do. He is the only one with all the answers, and He knows what you need to hear when you need to hear it, and what you aren't prepared to hear.

Here on earth, seeking instruction from others has great value. Have you ever had a friend who was in an unhealthy relationship. His/Her partner didn't treat them well at all, but they put up with it. You probably asked them why they put up with it, but they didn't even recognize what was going on. This is common. We are not perfect people. We need others to help us, and as Christians, we need others to help us refocus our eyes on our God, who provides the ultimate instruction.

Sound judgement is praised, but people without good sense are on the way to disaster.

If you have good sense, you will act sensibly, but fools act like fools.

Whoever delivers your message can make things better or worse for you.

All who refuse correction will be poor and disgraced; all who accept correction will be praised.

Correction is Godly. Correction is good. Why would someone correct you? Why would God correct you. To make you feel bad? NO! To hurt your feelings? Of course not!

People correct you to make you better. To focus you on what is good and what is holy. Now, your correctors are not always right, but their intentions are good. Otherwise what do they have to benefit from unjustly correcting you? Nothing!

Also, be sure to analyze yourself when you correct others. Be sure that you have the other persons best interest in mind, and that you are not correcting someone to make yourself feel better, because you will gain nothing but shame and disgrace.

There is one exception to the rule that you should accept correction, and I will write about that tomorrow. In Psalm 6, David says "Don't punish me, Lord, or even correct me when you are angry! Have pity on me..." David humbled himself and said, "I am at fault! I ADMIT my shortcoming!"

It's a good feeling to get what you want, but only a stupid fool hates to turn from evil.

Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools.

You are in for trouble if you sin, but you will be rewarded if you live right.

If you obey God, you will have something to leave your grandchildren. If you don't obey God, those who live right will get what you leave.

Isn't that awesome? What do you want your grandchildren to know about you? Sometimes I think we care more what our family and friends think about us than what God does. We need to offer God even more of ourselves than our family. We need to offer God our everything! Ask yourself what you want God to know about you.

Even when the land of the poor produces good crops, they get cheated out of what they grow.

If you love your children, you will correct them; if you don't love them, you won't correct them.

If you live right, you will have plenty to eat; if you don't live right, you will go away empty.

Have a great day!!!

Joe