Proverbs 13:15-16

15 A person with good sense is respected;

a treacherous person is headed for destruction.

16 Wise people think before they act;

fools don’t—and even brag about their foolishness.

When you think of someone who you respect, who you admire, who you aspire to be like or learn from, what qualities do they posses?

I’ll guess that person walks in wisdom and is full of integrity.  Sure, we might look at celebrities or people who we think are “cool” and want to model ourselves after them, but “cool” now isn’t “cool” tomorrow.  It doesn’t last. If we really search our heart and what we know will actually be fulfilling, it’s living the life like the people we most admire: walking in wisdom and being full of integrity.

It might seem fun for a little while to live in sin, act foolishly and even brag about that foolishness. It’s fun to do what everyone else is doing, to experience what the world says you need to experience. “YOLO” right? But it will catch up to you. Bad decisions now have long term consequences. And it’s a slippery slope.

It might be easier to act impulsively and make decisions based off emotion or feeling, but like Solomon says, that ultimately leads to destruction. God has more for us. Wisdom is more satisfying than the greatest riches because it means we’re walking close to God. There is nothing more fulfilling than that. All true wisdom has its foundation in God.

There’s a reason why the one thing Solomon asked God for, above riches, power or fame, was wisdom. And because of that, God blessed Solomon. God has favor on the wise.

It’s easy to tell the difference between someone who walks in wisdom and someone who doesn’t.  Wisdom may not be normal, but as Christ followers, we aren’t called to be normal. We’re called to be the exception.

How do we become wise?

1. We walk closely with the Lord.
2. We think before we act.
3. We are slow to speak and slow to become angry.
4. We have a consistent prayer life and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Proverbs 13:24-25

At first glance these two verses may seem to have nothing in common, but you might be surprised at how truth can be woven intricately together. Let’s start by looking at verse 24.

24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

Before I became a father, I thought I understood verse 24. I thought to myself, “Of course, what a no-brainer. I’m definitely going to discipline my children. I for sure don’t want my kids to be those who throw fits at the stores and talk back to their parents.” Looking back on those thoughts I’m amazed how naïve I was. When you experience the miracle of fatherhood and motherhood, you understand that your children are, arguably, your everything. You never want to see any harm come to them. You don’t want to see them sad or hurting and will virtually do everything in your power to make sure that they are sheltered from things that might harm them. So, when you are commanded to discipline your children with the rod, as a parent, things become a lot more real. If that’s not bad enough, if we don’t discipline our children then we are said to hate them. How could that be? I believe that as much as we love our children we are called to raise them in the ways of Christ. You do not have to teach a child to be selfish, but you do have to teach them to share. The tendencies to live for one’s self are natural to our human nature. If unaddressed, the child is in danger of all sorts of things developing that could be harmful to them later in life. As the saying goes to the child being disciplined, “This hurts me more than it hurts you”. We as parents must be strong and obedient to the Lord in the stewardship of our children. Proverbs 22:6 (NLT) explains this. “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” We know all this as truth because our loving Father in Heaven also disciplines us as His children. Hebrews 12:6-11 (NLT) reveals God’s Fatherly love for us saying, ^”For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” Discipline should be known as a trait of absolute value. Yes, chastening is painful to both the one receiving and the one doing the disciplining, but what comes from godly chastening are the values that save souls and build the Kingdom of God. Let love abide, trust the Lord and lead your children into his wonderful grace just as God also, through kindness, led us to repentance and grace.

25 The godly eat to their hearts’ content, but the belly of the wicked goes hungry.

In verse 25 we discover a beautiful truth about seeking a godly lifestyle above self. A content person may be defined as someone who is satisfied with what they have. We know through reading the Word that one of the fruits of the spirit is joy. (Galatians 5:22-23) That same joy, the joy of the Lord, is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) When we fully put our faith in Him and entrust all that we have to Him, He will give us rest. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28 (NIV). You see, in Christ there’s a peace that surpasses all of our understanding. (Philippians 4:7) When we delight ourselves in the Lord He in turn gives us the desires of our hearts. (Psalm 37:4) The beauty here is that the more we grow in Christ the more our desires mirror His. We then begin to become the person we were always meant to be from the beginning. It’s not hard to see then why, in contrast, that the belly of the wicked will go hungry. If we’re just speaking spiritually, living apart from God is like living in a desolate wasteland. Your spirit cannot be nourished by our creator. It then begins to feed on itself revolving all the more over in its own wicked self loathing, victim mentality that blames God and the world for its misfortune. Do as David did and come out of the desert and seek nourishment in His presence. Psalm 63 “¹ O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. ² I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.³ Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! ⁴ I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.⁵ You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.”

Proverbs 13: 21-23

“Trouble chases sinners, while blessings reward the righteous. Good people leave an inheritance to their grandchildren but the sinner’s wealth passes to the godly.” Proverbs 13:21-22

Sin is tempting, plain and simple. Living frivolously is sometimes extremely alluring. After all, if sin were not appealing, everyone would be daily pursuers of holiness, rather than chasers of their own comfort. It is especially hard to resist sin when it is accompanied by instant gratification. However, the book of wisdom reminds us yet again that trouble chases sinners, and blessings come to reward righteousness. What we must remember is that these blessing which Proverbs speak of will likely come in a different form than we would imagine, but when they do come, they taste so much sweeter than we could ever hope.

These blessings that come from righteousness become a legacy. A life lived for more than just selfish indulgences is a life lived thinking of others first. This kind of life leaves an example of provision and upstanding character for generations to come. Righteous living has a ripple effect that reaches countless others.

A poor person’s farm may produce much food, but injustice sweeps it all away. Proverbs 13:23

Oppression is not a new concept. There have been ostracized peoples and peoples in a cycle of poverty for centuries, and there are many still stuck in the cycle today. We can be quick to come up with reasons for the lack of “success” or inability to fulfill the American dream, but there are plenty who wake up each day in poverty, work until the point of exhaustion, and go to sleep with little to show for their efforts. It is the job of the Christian to fight for these people. We must recognize faulty, unjust systems and use our voices and our resources to make a change.

Proverbs 13: 19-20

19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

Our society is on a constant quest for fulfillment. We all house strong desires for happiness and seek to find that which will quench those desires. As we navigate trying to find the next source of satisfaction, proverbs warns us on what that can lead to. True happiness is found when we pursue God and walk in his ways; only when we do this will our soul be completely satisfied.  Many other things draw us towards pleasure and tease at fulfillment, but these temporary fixes for carnal desires. In these fixes we are bound to the enticing sin that eventually leads to our ruin. Those in the midst of this sin’s grasp hate anything that pull them towards correction and in foolishness deny God’s alternative.

20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

When you were younger you were probably at some point advised about who to make friends with. Some of us incessantly heard phrases like “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future” or “You are who you hang around”?

Like those wise voices, Proverbs also advises us to take a look at who we are walking with. Those that we surround ourselves with heavily impact our lives. Good influences direct our ways, encourage our walks, and keep our paths straight. Just as a good companion can lead us, so can a bad companion. Those who walk with the foolish come to do foolish things and so comes their demise.

As you look back, how have the people around you influenced you? Is there someone that helped you steer away from foolishness? Today, who are you choosing to surround yourself with and what direction are they pulling you in? Is there a friendship or relationship that you need to add boundaries to? Can you identify someone near your circle that is straying away from the right path? What can you do today to help influence them to move in the correct direction?

Take time to thank someone today that helped influence who you are or maybe someone that helped you change your direction in the past. Pray for God to identify who you need to surround yourself with and give you the strength to let go of relationships that may be toxic.

Proverbs 13:17-18

Growing up, did you ever play the game telephone? It’s a game you play with a group of people, and one person tries to whisper a sentence or phrase to the person next to them, and that person has to try and remember what they said and whisper it to the person next to them. It’s a fun game to play and interesting to see how mixed up the phrases get. The goal of the game is to keep the same exact message from the first person to the last person. If you have ever played the game, you know how challenging being the messenger is. It’s important to choose your words well and avoid reacting until you clearly understand what the other person means. In Solomon’s day, a king had to rely on messengers for information about his country. The messenger had to be fully reliable and trustworthy because inaccurate information could have lead to death. Reliable communication is vital.

I am not one to take criticism well. I get embarrassed, I feel humiliated, and sometimes I even breakdown and cry. Lately though, I have learned a lot through Psalms and Proverbs, and I have obtained a lot of wisdom from them. One thing Solomon talks about quite often is that accepting criticism makes you an honorable person, but “if you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace…” We are not suppose to get angry or offended when people try to correct us, because they are only trying to help you become a better person. Being open to correction means you have a willingness to grow beyond what you think you are capable of being.