Do not claim honor in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of great men; For it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. Proverbs 25:6-7

There is a real danger of claiming honor in the presence of leaders and people of importance.  The danger lies in whether they agree with your evaluation of yourself or not.  That is why it is wise to embrace humility when in the presence of leaders and people of importance.

We are told not to claim honor in the presence of the king.  This is because a king or a great man already has a standing of honor and respect.  When we claim one - we may claim something they don't think we should have.  We are also told to be careful about standing in the place of great men.  Your mother may think you are awesome and great - but that's because she is your mom.  Not everyone in the world carries a picture of you in their wallet.  The wise man embraces humility and a low view of himself.  He is not boastful and full of himself.  Instead he chooses to let his works, his attitudes, and his value be evaluated by others who see what he does.  He focuses on being a servant and being a person of excellence.  Whatever happens as a result of his actions he lets others decide.  This way, if he is lifted up and praised, it is due to the words of others and not due to the arrogant braggadocio of his own words. 

This is what verse 7 presents to us.  We are told that is it better for others to say to us that we should, "Come up here."  What is being said is that we should leave the praise to others.  When we receive it - others are elevating us.  We simply receive their praise graciously and gratefully.  There is one of the dangers of having too high a view of ourselves.  We begin to believe our own press.  We think we are awesome and that others really should be praising us and lifting us up.  This places us in a very precarious place. 

We read the final admonition to us in this verse and it is one we should think about very seriously.  It's better for someone to say, "Come up here," than or us to be demoted in the presence of the prince.  To be humbled is . . . well . . . a humbling experience.  It is bad enough to be humbled in a one on one situation - but here we are talking about being humbled before a prince - and probably before his court as well.  Arrogance has a very high cost - and that is seen nowhere more clearly than in this one who decided to assume a high place in the court of a king or a prince. 

The Biblical example of this is found in the book of Esther.  Haman was elevated to a high place in Ahasuerus' kingdom.  He was given authority which quickly went to his head.  Soon Haman decided that everyone should exalt him - like he was king.  When Mordecai would not do this - he decided to abuse his authority not just to hurt Mordecai, but to destroy his people as well.  This plot seemed like it would succeed, were it not for the prayers of God's people and God's intervention.  This process wasn't hindered at all by Haman's exceedingly great pride and arrogance.  His fall came when he was asked by the king what should be done for the man who the king desired to honor.  Haman's pride was at its highest and worst point when the only thought that came to him was that he was the one whom the king spoke of when asking this.  Little did he know that the one the king decided to honor was his rival.  Suddenly all the arrogance and pride in destroying an entire people for a slight he felt to his pride was caving in upon him.  He faced devastation as a series of events took place where he was no longer asked to, "Come up here," by the king.  His was a careening fall from grace to his death by execution. 

Arrogance does not pay in the end.  It will bring about a devastating end for the one who embraces it.  But the humble man who does not seek to advance himself will prosper.  He will do so in one way or another.  Either he will be advanced by the king - a turn of events he will receive with the same grace and attitude with which he served in the first place - or - he will continue to serve graciously because his goal was not honor and glory anyway.  His goal was simply to serve those around him in the name of Jesus Christ.  If he accomplishes that - he is happy.

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words. Proverbs 23:9

There are people in life that you cannot speak to or teach.  That is one of the irrefutable facts of life that you need to realize and embrace . . . or go crazy.  Proverbs addresses this fact today. 

The fool is a dull, thickheaded, stubborn person who will not welcome or allow God's wisdom into his life.  Proverbs 1:7 reminds us that fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Three different words are translated fool in the Old Testament, and none of them are particularly flattering to the one who is a fool.  The first is the Hebrew word "kesl" which speaks of someone who is spiritually dull and characterized by a mind closed to God and His Word.  He is thickheaded and very stubborn in holding to his own ways, his own thoughts, and his own ideas.  This person will usually reject information from others - and is especially beligerent toward information from God.  This is the word used most often for fool throughout the book of Proverbs - and is the word used here.  The second word for fool is "nabal" which refers to one who lacks any kind of spiritual perception or discernment.  The third word for fool is "ewl" and speaks of the one who is arrogant, flippant, and mentally dull.  he is also hardened in his ways and unwilling to change in response to information from others - and once again even more so when it comes to information from the Word or the Spirit of God.  This is the person to whom you are speaking - who is either hearing you speak directly to him - or indirectly hears what you are saying.  We need to see here that we are not even to speak in the "hearing" of a fool. 

This guy will not listen - his mind is closed to the things of God - and thus his ears are too.  He is settled in his ungodly and worldly thinking.  He will not just reject your words - he will despise them.  The word despise is the Hebrew "buz" and means to hold in contempt and utter disrespect.  What we have said here in Proverbs 23:9 is the same as we read in chatper 1 verse 7.  They hate the wisdom of God.  This probably sounds harsh to some who read this and react with the template of being tolerant of everyone's views.  The problem though is not with the person who knows and loves God's wisdom - it is with the fool who is anything but tolerant of God's views.  It is so important that we remember that God's wisdom is simply seeing things from God's perspective.  We learn to look at things the way that God looks at them.  We want to have His mindset and His heart.  But when the fool hears these things - he reacts with disgust - even hatred!  He wants NOTHING to do with God's Word or His ways. 

We see this in our society more and more.  Those who are unsaved are becoming more and more hardened in their ways.  They accuse us of intolerance - and yet as we love them and share the truth with them - it is they who are the intolerant.  It is not that they just disagree with us - they want our views labelled as "hate speech" and forbidden from public discourse.  They radically and hatefully respond to our views of morality - and see them as an afront to their very existance.  Therefore when we speak - they will react strongly to us.  Some will even become so angry that they will attempt to shout us down or shut us down.  Others will go as far as taking our views to court to see them labelled as illegal.  Thus they not only reject them - they reject having them spoken out loud even when they are not present. 

So how do we deal with this?  First, we do what Proverbs says.  We realize a fool when we run into one - and we don't speak in their hearing.  It is not that we hide from them or take our message underground.  We just simply speak to others instead of them.  This is a tricky thing to manage, because we don't want to refuse the gospel to people.  Paul was very harsh toward Christians before he was saved - yet the Lord wanted him to hear the gospel.  Some who persectued the church - came to Christ simply because those persectured shared their faith with them.  So, we approach this with wisdom and the leadership of the Spirit - not just our own tendency to react to the more strident in their views among the wicked.  This being said, we do exercise wisdom and share with those who receive the message.  To do otherwise would be to waste the message with those who will reject it outright.  Even Jesus told us not to throw the pearls of the gospel before swine.  He said that they would trample them under foot and turn to attack us.  Kinda sounds like what Solomon is seeking to tell us here.  So be wise - share the gospel and the wisdom of God freely - but be wise with those who reject it violently.  Share with those who have a heart to hear - a heart where God is granting them ears to hear and a heart to respond to the Spirit's moving.  They won't despise the Word or the wisdom of God.  They will embrace it and prove it by the change that they experience in their lives.

A fool's lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows.  A fool's mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul. Proverbs 18:6-7

Our mouth can be a source of blessing or our downfall.  For the fool the latter is more the case.  His mouth is a means of trouble, strife, and eventually ruin.  Let's try to learn from him today and avoid the things that happens when a fool is speaking.

First we learn that a fool's lips bring strife.  The idea here is that when a fool opens his lips to speak - along with his speaking comes strife.  Evidently the fool is itching for a fight because that is what takes place after he speaks.  His mouth calls for blows.  The fool is the one who always has to have the last word - and that word is usually highly offensive to those who hear it.  You watch the fool escalate his statements from offensive to provocative.  He provokes those around him to the point where their anger is boiling over.  He enrages people with the way he speaks - and the end of it all is blows - a fist fight.  Rather than walk away from a growing tension, the fool throws gasoline on the fire and stokes it in every way he can.  He does not have the ability to let an insult go - and just walk away.  He has to one up the person who insulted him by offering an even greater insult.  Actually, the fool usually is the one who starts all this - almost as if he or she is wanting the fight. 

At the core of all this is pride.  The fool is filled with it.  As I said earlier he can never let something go.  Anything said requires his provocative response.  He loves contention and controversy.  He loves quarrelling and disputes.  He thrives on hostilities and his words invite them constantly.  A wise man knows how to calm people with his responses.  The fool only inflames them.  No wonder that in the end we watch him punching and being punched as the fight erupts.

The next verse continues this thought.  The fool's mouth is his ruin - and his lips are continually snaring his soul.  The word ruin is the Hebrew word "mehittah" which means destruction, ruin, and terror.  The root word for "mehittah" is "hatat" which means to be broken or afraid.  The fool thinks he is bringing himself honor or at least respect when he won't take anything from anyone else.  He thinks he is standing up for himself and that all others will know he is not someone with whom you want to tangle.  But the opposite is true.  His mouth is not bringing him respect, it is bringing him ruin.  His mouth is a continuous source of terror for his life.  He is constantly in danger because of his big mouth.  He keeps opening it and getting himself in trouble.  He says that he wants to stay out of trouble - at least that is what he tells the officer each new time he is arrested - at least that is what he says when he stands before the judge again and again - but his mouth is a snare for him.  He speaks out for himself and in doing so sets another trap directly in front of himself to step into.  We would consider a man the ultimate fool if he set a bear trap and then stepped into it - but that is what the fool does with his mouth all the time. 

Let me offer an example from real life.  We read of sports figures who are constantly getting in trouble.  It seems that they go from one altercation to another - in and out of a courtroom as if they were walking through a revolving door.  Why does this happen?  A lot of it happens because they have the mouth of a fool - and they use it in the company of other fools.  Where do they go regularly?  They go to bars and clubs.  What happens to them - they run into other fools whose minds are dulled by alcohol.  When they do some fool (either one at the bar or they themselves) opens their mouth in typical drunken arrogant fashion.  Feeling "dissed" they then "bow-up" in pride and let their foolish mouth run free.  Of course when you get two drunken fools like this together the escalation is not only going to happen - it is going to happen quickly.  More foolish words are exchanged as they trash talk one another and, you got it, a fight breaks out betwen them.  In recent years we've added to the fist fights - fools who carry guns with them into bars and other places - and someone becomes angry enough to shoot someone else.  Then we get the court case where any normal person would be send away for their crime - but in the case of the rich, spoiled athlete - some deal is cut to let him continue to entertain us with his physical prowess.  We never think about the damage done to our children who unfortunately are taught to idolize these fools - and who follow in their footsteps. 

Our mouths are incredibly powerful things.  James says that our tongue's can set the course of our lives on fire - and that they can be set on fire by hell itself.  That is why we need to learn things like humility, patience, and restraint.  It is also why we need to be wise and to avoid the company of fools whose mouths continually snare their souls.  Let your mouth be filled with the Word of God - with gracious and kind words - and with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let your mouth become the instrument that brings you blessing - not the tool which the devil, working unhindered through your flesh, uses to bring you to ruin.

The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.Proverbs 11:5

There is a way of living that will "smooth" our lives and the way which we walk - but there is another way of living that will guarantee that we will trip and fall.

We learn from today's proverb that the righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way.  Righteousness here is "sedaqah" which means integrity or blameless conduct.  It refers to someone who acts with justice - in having right attitudes and living out right actions.  This right way and right thinking come from knowing and walking with God.  So we have a man who desires to live right before God.  He is also described as "blameless" - which means someone whose life is filled with truth, virtue, and uprightness.  This is wisdom - to walk in what God says is right - so others can look at our lives and see that we are walking blamelessly when it comes to God and His view of who we are and what we are doing.  This "smooth" what that is promised is actually the word "yashar" which means to be smooth, straight, or right.  When we want to live in what is right in God's sight - He will grant that ethically we will walk in a way that is prepared for us - a smooth and straight way.  This is the lifestyle of the godly - and whether men realize it or not - this lifestyle is one where men bless you - and want you around. 

The wicked however is said to fall by his own wickedness.  He does not walk right - or true - or with integrity.  Thus in time his sins catch up with him and he finds himself drowning in his own lifestyle.  This is the way that men are brought down.  They simply truth in themselves rather than trusting in the Lord. 

There are two paths in front of us every day - there is the path that leads us to righteousness and God's way - and then there is another path.  It is a path that will lead a person to the point where they want to question God and His work in their lives.  In the end - the wickedness of the human heart overwhelms us - as we walk in our flesh and seek to please ourselves.  May God give us great wisdom to choose the path that embraces godliness, righteousness, and blameless living.  That is truly the path that will lead upward for us until Christ comes again to take us home. 

Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. Proverbs 16:5

If you even wondered how God feels about pride, this should be enough to cure you of ever wanting to be "proud in heart."  Let's take a look at this thing called "pride" and see if we can avoid its pitfalls.

Pride here is the Hebrew word "gaboah" and it means a high, exalted, and proud demeanor.  This particular proverb speaks of how dangerous it is to be "proud in heart."  How dangerous is this particular heart condition?  God says He finds it an abomination to be in this condition.  It is not just dangerous - it is eternally deadly! 

Pride is having an exalted attitude of self - and a very pitiful mindset toward God.  This is the condition of fallen man.  Man is fallen - and he has falllen into this sin of pride.  At the core of this sin is the idea that we are able to handle things ourselves and that we do not need God.  It is an attitude of independence from God and dependence upon self.  When man chose to disobey God in the garden - he chose to live by the knowledge of good and evil rather than by the spiritual life that God would have provided by his grace and free gift.  Man decided he wanted to be like God by his own efforts.  He wanted to decide what was good and evil on his own.  He wanted to trust in himself - rely upon himself - live for himself - and make his own destiny.  Oh, one last thing - all these things he would be doing for himself - he would also be doing them for his own glory, honor, and praise.  Here is the crux of the human condition of arrogance and pride that is at the very core of sin. 

This pride began with Lucifer himself - who in Isaiah made the comment that He would raise his own throne above that of God and He would have the honor that he was created to give to God.  Oh, how this arrogance reeks before a holy God. 

What is interesting to most folks is that often they don't get this whole "pride" thing.  In fact - many - when they hear that God wants man to give Him the glory - accuse God of pride.  Here is where the greatest disconnect from the fall is manifest in the hearts of wicked men.  They are so blinded by their own arrogance that they don't see God for Who He is.  This is why God has to reveal Himself to us through the Scriptures - because we are utterly blind to Him in creation and in our own beings.  Scripture says that the heavens are declaring the glory of God.  Man . . . he invents a theory that says that we are a cosmic accident - a happenstance that just eventually had ridiculous levels of order and design.  So man denies the existance of God.  Scripture tells us that when we consider the human body we should come away with the thought that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Man . . . again decides that we are what the primordial slim just accidentally belched forth over billions and billions of years.  Man will negate God every way that he can - because man will not tolerate a God greater than Himself.  In the rare instances when he does - he wants that god to have all of his problems and idiosycracies.  At least that way he can continue to exalt himself in his fallenness. 

In the rare instances where we see a human being accosted by the glory and majesty of God - the human suddenly hits the deck - falling on his face.  He trembles and fears for his life.  Even godly men, when experiencing the power and glory of God - are so struck with awe and wonder - that they struggle to breathe.  Man faces the truth - there is One greater than himself - there is One to Whom he is accountable - there is One Who is responsible for his very existance - and - there is One who is grieved and angered by his unbending arrogance. 

That is why this proverb tells us in no certain terms that this arrogant, prideful heart is an abomination to God.  That the one who has such a heart will be punished for it.  We are told bluntly in proverbs 16:5, "Assuredly, he will not be unpunished!"  There it is for mankind - put as bluntly and as clearly as anyone can put it.  A prideful heart is a horrific condition - one that is dangerous and deadly - and one that reminds us that God has every reason to bring punishment upon man to the fullest measure.  Yet - the astounding reality shown to us in the Scriptures is that God, Who has every right to condemn us and punish us - chose instead to reveal His glory the brightest by having His own Son face the ultimate cost for our wickedness and pride.  His glory shines with full force in the grace He has made available through the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of His Son.  Truly - He is a God of inestimable mercies!

Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. Proverbs 21:2

Men will rationalize everything and think that their views and choices are right.  The Lord tells us that these men consider their way right - in their own eyes.  The problem is that our greatest scrutiny is not that of our own eyes - but rather the Lord God who weighs our hearts. 

God told Samuel, when he was looking at Jesse's sons, not to look at the outside appearance.  Jesse was impressed with the size and the look of several of Jesse's sons - yet God was not looking for a well wrapped package - he was interested in the contents - the heart.  God's instruction to Samuel that day was that man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart.  The saying goes, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."  There needs to be another phrase added to this saying.  "You can't ever fool God."  The Lord weighs what is going on in our hearts.  The pharisee may look awfully good standing on the street corner praying out loud - but God sees the pride and selfishness of his heart.  The giver may make an offering at the temple which sounds and looks impressive to men - but the widow with her two pennies is the one with the most heart in the matter.  Oh, how we need to fundamentally distrust what we think is right in our own eyes.  It is too easy to be deceived in this matter.  Wait for the Lord - search His Word - know His heart and you will find the true measure of any man and any situation. 

The Word warns us to wait for God's judgment.  We are to wait until God weighs in on all things.  He is not affected by greed or injustice - He cannot be bought off with bribes or wrongly influenced by flattery - He cannot be misled or deceived.  His statements are true statements - and they arise from One who has absolute omniscience - thus we know He does truly know everything.  Wait for God's evauation in the end - when every man will receive His praise from God.  Until then - trust what the Scriptures say on all matters for a true picture of His mind and what brings joy to His heart.  Search them daily and live according to what you find there.  That way you will not be deceived into the false evaluation of your own heart - but you will be looking to the One who is right in His estimation of all things.

Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Proverbs 7:2

To what extent should we watch over God's Word in our lives?  How much of a love and a desire are we to have for it?  That is the subject of this proverb - and the imagry used here will help us to grasp it and know the depth of love and care with which we should hold God's Word.

Watchfulness and care is how we should keep God's commandments.  They will give us life.  Thus we want to protect ourselves from disobeying them - from forgetting them - from being distracted from obeying them.  But to what extent should we do this?  That is where this proverb uses a great picture to teach us.

How well do you protect your eye?  If you are like the average person you will protect your eye almost instinctively.  When something is coming toward your eye - you will close it - and most often will cover your eye to keep it from being injured.  One of the ways that a raven determines whether something is dead or alive - is that it pecks at the eye of the animal.  If the animal does not react to protect its eye - it is dead.  So, we see that the manner in which we should protect God's Word in our hearts and minds is with an almost instinctive defensiveness.  In the same way we would protect our eyes from injury - we would protect the Word from being taken from us - from being the instruction for how we should live each day.  This is what is meant by keeping the teaching of God's Word as the "apple of our eye."  This phrase is a Hebraism for keeping the very pupil of our eye. 

Watch over God's Word - watch in order to obey and honor God in how we deal with it.  Watch so that disobedience and disregard for it are absolutely out of the question.  Watch over it so that you would prefer having your eye poked out than to walk in a way that would be contrary to it.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Ours is an offended society today.  It seems to be a never-ending cycle in our news of someone who has said something that someone else considers offensive.  The result is that the other person responds harshly to what has been said, which in turn stirs up more anger.  I was listening to a radio show today and heard the host do his dead-level best to stir up as much anger as possible.  Over and over again he spoke harshly against the things he was seeing commenting that our response should be anger and outrage.  As I considered this proverb I began to realize that where we are going as a society is not good.  It is getting to the point where we are unable to laugh at ourselves.  Instead everyone just seems to be getting more and more outraged.  That is why, at least for me, it was good to read this particular proverb today.

This proverb begins with an assumption.  Something has been said that can in some way offend - or at least cause a strong reaction in someone's mind.  It speaks of a "gentle answer" which of course precludes that someone has either asked something - or said something that deserves a response.  The question then hangs in the air, "How are we going to respond."  What is interesting about this is that we're not being asked about content - we're being queried about the spirit of our response. 

A gentle answer turns away wrath.  This is true when we are offended and want to offer a harsh answer to some way we've been hurt or offended.  This requires wisdom.  It also requires the work of God's Holy Spirit - or at least our dependence upon Him in these moments.  We are at least reminded of the reward that we get when we choose to answer gently.  This kind of answer turns away wrath.  This word "wrath" indicates heat and rage.  This is a person who is in the midst of hot displeasure or what the Bible calls, burning anger.  This person is either on the edge of losing it - or - has already lost it.  But a gentle, gracious answer will turn away this kind of response.  How much we need this not just when we are angry and offended - but especially when someone else is this way.  There are those times when someone is offended with us - and the situation can either turn more constructive - or it can get completely out of hand.  If we respond to someone with harsh words - the situation is gone - but gentleness will often help the situation calm down and become far more profitable.

But some don't want to answer gently.  They let their anger go - and harsh words begin to flow from their mouths.  Some think to answer gently is a sign of weakness.  Give 'em what they've given you, or they'll walk all over you.  By the way, these are also the people who frequently wind up in shouting matches - and have a long list of people who know better than to try to deal with them unless they have to.  Harsh words stir up anger.  The word stir is an interesting word.  It means to cause something to take off, to ascend, or to go to another level.  The word for anger here is "aph" and it actually describes the flaring of the nostrils.  It describes someone who is angry.  The Hebrews spoke of those who had a long nose which meant they were slow to wrath and anger.  Someone with a short nose was someone with a quick temper.  When we answer with harsh words, the person hearing us will have their anger elevated - it will go to another level - it will cause them to have a short nose, i.e. a quicker temper. 

I'm sure you've seen this.  Someone begins an argument or voices their frustration.  Rather than trying to understand, the second person just reacts - and away we go.  I've watched things elevate quickly and have seen two people have their noses get shorter and shorter.  Their anger grows - wrath is loosed - and soon a shouting match is the result. 

Here is the end of the matter.  Showing restraint is a good thing!  Showing a long fuse on your temper is wise.  We are very wise when we choose NOT to escalate an argument with the way we speak our words.  When we choose to answer gently and with wisdom, we will find God often diffusing a situation that easily could have wound up as a major blow up between us and our friend or neighbor.  So choose gentleness . . . I doubt you will ever regret it!