In The Word
Read: Proverbs 13:1-14:21
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
13 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of a person’s mouth he enjoys good,
But the desire of the treacherous is violence.
3 One who guards his mouth protects his life;
One who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
4 The soul of the lazy one craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is made prosperous.
5 A righteous person hates a false statement,
But a wicked person acts disgustingly and shamefully.
6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless,
But wickedness brings the sinner to ruin.
7 There is one who pretends to be rich but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
8 The ransom of a person’s life is his wealth,
But the poor hears no rebuke.
9 The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
10 Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
11 Wealth obtained from nothing dwindles,
But one who gathers by labor increases it.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 One who despises the word will do badly,
But one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.
15 Good understanding produces favor,
But the way of the treacherous is their own disaster.
16 Every prudent person acts with knowledge,
But a fool displays foolishness.
17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,
But a faithful messenger brings healing.
18 Poverty and shame will come to one who neglects discipline,
But one who complies with rebuke will be honored.
19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
20 One who walks with wise people will be wise,
But a companion of fools will suffer harm.
21 Adversity pursues sinners,
But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
22 A good person leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren,
And the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor,
But it is swept away by injustice.
24 He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.
Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked
14 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
2 One who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But one who is devious in his ways despises Him.
3 In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back,
But the lips of the wise will protect them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean;
But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox.
5 A trustworthy witness will not lie,
But a false witness declares lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none,
But knowledge is easy for one who has understanding.
7 Leave the presence of a fool,
Or you will not discern words of knowledge.
8 The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,
But the foolishness of fools is deceit.
9 Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is goodwill.
10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
12 There is a way which seems right to a person,
But its end is the way of death.
13 Even in laughter the heart may be in pain,
And the end of joy may be grief.
14 One with a wayward heart will have his fill of his own ways,
But a good person will be satisfied with his.
15 The naive believes everything,
But the sensible person considers his steps.
16 A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil,
But a fool is arrogant and careless.
17 A quick-tempered person acts foolishly,
And a person of evil devices is hated.
18 The naive inherit foolishness,
But the sensible are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil will bow down before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor is hated even by his neighbor,
But those who love the rich are many.
21 One who despises his neighbor sins,
But one who is gracious to the poor is blessed.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
In Proverbs 13:4, we get a contrast between the sluggard and the diligent. The sluggard is a lazy individual. In Proverbs 6:9-10, he is described as having no initiative. In Proverbs 19:24 and 26:15, he can’t complete a task even when it means finishing his meal! He is full of excuses (my favorite is Proverbs 22:13, there’s a lion in the street!) and totally helpless. It’s quite annoying when we find Christians with this sort of behavior. It’s annoying when they come crying to you for counsel and you give it, then they ignore it (Proverbs 26:16). As an employee, they are useless (Proverbs 18:9) and frustrating (Proverbs 10:26). I have had the opportunity to meet many with this attitude and have found that the proverbs of thousands of years ago holds true today; they will not listen to reason and will see no issue with their way of life. Every attitude, every action is justified by things that happened in their past, and they claim that you just wouldn’t understand.
If I have just described you, it’s important as a child of God that you cease this behavior immediately and repent. Don’t you know you are a representative of your heavenly Father on this earth? In 2 Thessalonians 3:7-13, it says, “For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, … but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example.” Your example is to be a hard working individual to the Lord, not a sluggard!