Criminal Communion

We all travel in groups (even isolation is fellowship with the isolated). The issue is the path and the companions. Each is based on the other. When educating his sons on the matter, Solomon scorns evil mobs, “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence” (Proverbs 4:17). Immorality brings them together around a common table, in service to a common god.

The Cost of Ignorance

Calamity awaits the casually unaware. They suffer disproportionately because they have been exposed to risk without realizing it. This is usually the case in business, but tragically it applies to the spiritual realm as well. It’s one thing to lose your pension, it’s another to lose your spiritual footing when your church fails. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3). Careful observers are trained to identify patterns and know when to step aside at take cover. Wise believers apply the principle to all situations.

Fighting Fools

Wise men fight when necessary, but foolish men find reasons to fight. This is why, “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarrelling”(Proverbs 20:3). To say aloof from strife is to have the inner peace that prevents you from being drawn into it. Fools on the other hand are revealed by their how easily they can be provoked.

Watch Your Mouth

Your tongue is unique as your fingerprint. It leaves evidence of where you’ve been. Show me a person who people avoid, and I’ll show you a person with an out of control tongue. The evidence is irrefutable because “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). The tongue is a common denominator in most troubled relationships.

Produce

An ox is a tractor. Nothing compares to its productivity and reliability. Thus, “Where there is no oxen, the manger is clean (meaning empty), but abundance of crops come by the strength of the ox” (Proverbs 14:4). This has nothing to do with a tidy stable. It’s about a full feeding trough. It means the most important metric for determining value is production, and that piece of wisdom is universal. Be productive and you will always be worth something.

Accept the Word

Even if you feel convicted, choose to embrace biblical truth. The simple way to honor God is to listen, believe, and follow. The opposite is disaster. Therefore, “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded” (Proverbs 13:13). When our joy and peace are destroyed, it can be tied to rejecting the word. When our joy and peace are beyond the reach of circumstances, we delight in the reward and security of our heavenly Father.

The Cosmic Architect

Ancient Hebrews learned creation science from childhood through the study of Proverbs. What some modern pastors of influence find confusing, children took in like nursing infants, fully embracing what the Word simply taught. The universe was designed by divine wisdom before it came into being (Proverbs 8:22-26). It materialized exactly as the Bible describes and was a delight to its Creator (Proverbs 8:27-31). To be persuaded by anything less, is to endorse a evil scheme to rob Yahweh of credit for his work.

Warnings About Wicked Women

There are five warning signs in a chapter devoted to protecting men from wicked women. Avoid her place (Proverbs 7:1-9) and make sure you are far away from her territory, or the place where you ever meet her. Refuse the allure of her pleasure (Proverbs 7:10-15), which is very real, but very disordered and deceptive. Don’t fall for the flattery of her preparation (Proverbs 7:16-20), even if it’s novel and appealing. Reject her persuasion (Proverbs 7:21-23), though it seems like food for the starving. Consider her prison (Proverbs 7:24-27), and the reality that only death awaits you.

Whose Husband Is This?

The woman makes the man, for better or worse. The Bible often fuses the reputation of husband to wife. Eve, Delilah, and Jezebel brought shame. Curiously, women seem to resist the bad influence of their husbands more effectively. So, almost in passing we read “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land” (Proverbs 31:23). Of course, just like every husband whom the Lord blesses with a good and faithful wife. This is why he leads his family in praising her.

Keep Your Distance

Servants born in the home are not sons born into the family. Employees are not successors. Wisdom keeps appropriate emotional distance, because “Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will in the end find him his heir” (Proverbs 29:21). A wise man knows where to draw the line