Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Proverbs 15:16

More is better.  That is the attitude of the world toward money.  But the Scriptures tell us a different story.  We learn from Proverbs that it is a far better investment to have the fear of the Lord than it is to have treasure without it.  What is interesting to me as I read this particular Proverb today is that the guy who wrote it was arguably the richest man to ever walk the earth.

We read that a little with the fear of the Lord is a good thing.  The fear of God is a proper reverence for God.  It is not a cowering fear that trembles at the thought that God might strike at any moment.  It is a respect and reverence that puts one in their proper place - and in so doing this encourages in them a proper response to God.  This respect for God will bless in far more ways than money.  Since there is a respect for God Himself, there will also be a respect for His Word.  This respect for the Bible leads us to read it and apply it.  That in turn will bring blessings untold over time.  The fear of God also leads one to have a great distaste of displeasing the Lord or disobeying Him.  Therefore the principles that one reads in the Word will be followed with great caution. 

The other option is to get wealth no matter what is at risk.  We read there is "turmoil" that comes with this great treasure.  Turmoil here means to have confusion, panic, tumult, and distrubance.  There are those who have a tremendous amount of money - yet with their riches they also have incredible trouble as well.  Their family is destroyed - relationships are strained - and since what they truly value is money - they have few real friends.  Instead they have sycophants who hang around them because they think they will be receiving something from them at some point in the future. 

Solomon had a heart for God at the beginning of his reign in Jerusalem.  He had wisdom and turned to seek the Lord.  His heart was geared toward pleasing God - and thus it could be said that he feared the Lord.  But Solomon loved many women - way too many women.  They turned his heart as they had him worship their false gods.  Solomon may have been wealthy and may have had anything his heart desired financially, but he was a man filled with turmoil as he grew older.  His desires ran rampant in his heart - and he became a fool who sought only after his own pleasure.  In the end, his kingdom became more and more difficult to maintain - and his son - who followed his ways wound up losing almost all of it.  If you interviewed Solomon at the end of his days, he would have been a man filled with regret - and also filled with a jaded view of things.  That is exactly what we see in the book of Ecclesiastes.  We watch Solomon looking over everything he had and saying that it all was vanity and like striving after wind.  What we learn from his life is exactly what he wrote in this proverb.  It is better to have just a little while fearing God - than having it all and living in a constant turmoil over it.

All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Proverbs 15:15

Your attitude often will make  all the difference in how you experience the events of your life.  For some, their mindset is that if anything bad can happen, it will.  For others, they take everything that comes to them - and somehow make even the worst of things beneficial.  Their mindset is to take the proverbial lemons and life and turn them into lemonade. 

We first read of the pessimist.  "All the days of the afflicted are bad."  This is the person who not only sees the glass as half empty - but who also figures that there are people who are working to make sure that it eventually empties further.  They consider themselves afflicted - CONSTANTLY!  They see themselves as "the afflicted" - which here is the word "aniy."  This word means to be poor, oppressed, miserable, in constant want and need.  It is a sad thing to watch someone like this because like the proverb states - they see every day as a bad day.  These are the constant complainers.  In church we would be tempted to ask them to lead in a word of complaint or criticism - rather than to ask for them to lead in prayer.  They always seem to have a sad story to share - a problem that seems overwhelming - a way that they have been treated horribly - or something they see wrong.  Don't misunderstand, there is a place for these things - and we do not need to squelch people's ability to share in difficult times.  But the "afflicted" here never ceases to have something like this.  To find them content and grateful for their lives - is next to impossible.  They are always ready to be the grand marshall in the bummer parade!

The second half of this proverb contrasts another person.  This is the one who has a "cheerful heart."  Hebrews called this a "good" heart.  It was someone who was happy, who was glad.  They often chose to be happy, glad, delightful, and pleased.  Their choice to be this way was a matter of their own heart.  This is the person who simply chooses to be happy in their lives.  They will look at difficulties and problems as opportunities to grow - or even better ways that God is working to conform them to His image.  They see every situation as a potential wonderful thing God is working in their lives.  They grasp that not eveything in life is going to be pleasant - but they take the same hard knocks that make the afflicted see every day as bad - and turn them into a reason to be thankful, grateful, and filled with joyeous expectation of what God is going to do to glorify Himself in every situation.  They truly do understand that, "all things work together for good to those who love the Lord, and who live according to His purposes." 

The Bible says that these folks - the cheerful ones - have a continual feast.  They tend to be happy no matter what happens to them.  They see God's providential hand in everything that happens to them.  They are thrilled to watch Him do what only He can do - and are willing to wait for Him to act - even if it means a prolonged period of difficulty and trial.  They take whatever God's sovereign hand gives them - and make it into a gourmet feast. 

To be a cheerful, grateful person is far better than to be one of the continually afflicted.  People want to be around the first person - and honestly - struggle with the second.  It is not hard to be around someone who genuinely needs encouragement because they are having a tough time, but when someone is always seeming to have a tough time it becomes hard to know what to say.  What often needs to be said is that the "afflicted" needs to see God as sovereign in all their affairs.  They need to hear that God does work these things out for good - if they will allow Him to conform them to the image of His Son.  They need to hear from the book of James that they are to consider it pure joy when they encounter various trials.  God wants us to be joyful people - not miserable ones.  Paul admonished the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord - and that to say that same thing to them was not a burden to him - but was indeed a protection to them.  Joy is part of the inheritance given to every believer.  This does not mean that we can never have hard times - but it does mean that if we see ourselves as the continually afflicted whose every day is bad - something is wrong with our perspective.  The Lord does not want us living on the scraps of misery - but wants us to enjoy His presence, His perspective, and the continual feast that comes by being in His presence.

How blessed is the man who fears always, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Proverbs 28:14

This particular proverb is based on the previous verse.  That verse deals with those who conceal versus those who confess and forsake their sin.  This verse is a reminder to us about another comparison.  This one is those who fear God versus those who harden their heart.  That is what happens when we become aware of sin in our lives.  We have a choice at that point as to whether we are going to fear God and deal with our sin - or - whether we are going to harden our hearts and think that sin is not that big of an issue.  Some even deny that sin exists and in so doing, put another crusty layer of hardness from ungodly philosophies over their heart. 

When we become aware of sin we should fear God.  We should fear God because He is holy and sin will break our fellowship with Him.  As a holy God, we should also fear because His great love for us will respond with discipline in our lives to get us to turn from sin.  Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the passages in the Old and New Testament where God responds to sin, should know that good things are NOT going to happen when we choose sin.  Even worse things are in store if we not only choose sin - but them add to our sin by rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit when He seeks to alert us to our rebellion against God's Word.  Just naming names and places should remind us of this.  Sodom and Gommorah, Pharaoh, the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, Dathan and Abiram, Achan, Nadab and Abihu, David and Bathsheba, and Annanias and Saphira are names and places that should immediately make us aware that God takes sin seriously.  Then there is that whole "judgement seat of Christ" thing, as well as the "lake of fire" in the book of Revelation that should remind us that God is anything but "pro-sin" in His dealings with mankind.  Therefore we grasp and see that there would be a blessing on the man who "fears always," when it comes to sin.  This does not mean that this man is cowering 24 hours a day thinking God will strike him dead at any moment.  But it does mean that this man has a healthy fear of God that assists him in making godly choices - and steering clear of ungodly ones.

When sin comes to us, we do have a second choice.  That choice is to "harden our heart" toward God.  The wise man receives the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  He embraces what God has to say to him, knowing that God loves him - and sin will be harmful.  But the fool stiffens when God offers rebuke and correction.  The fool doesn't want to listen - and he doesn't want any other authority than himself in his life.  He completely rejects any warning that is given.  He wonders what an ancient document has to do with him.  Why should he restrict his desires and wants due to what the Bible has to say.  Thus he hardens his heart against God and against God's Word (think here whatever God has to say about an issue. 

The problem with a hardened heart toward God is that its rejection of God's Word puts him in the path of calamity.  That is what we read here.  God made this world - and it works best when we submit to Him.  When we do not - problems are on our horizon.  What I am about to say you can take to the bank.  You cannot reject God's Word without causing yourself harm. There are going to be consequences for disobedience and rebellion.  There are going to be consequences for following your own lusts.  There are going to be consequences for choosing your own way or the ways of the world system rather than choosing God's ways.  The best way to describe these consequences is with the word "calamity."  This word is the Hebrew word "raah" and it means something evil or bad.  Zhodiates says that this word has ten or more shades of meaning about evil according to the context where it is used.  It describes absolute evil as well as various aspects of bad things that happen in our lives.  One thing though about this word is that it never means something good.  Thus we may not physically die immediately after rejecting God's Word and hardening our hearts toward Him - but - you can know that nothing good is going to come of it. 

We have a choice day by day as to how we are going to live.  Will we respect our own thinking and ways or the ways of God?  Will be fear God and choose to honor and obey Him and His Word - or will will consider our own finite minds more than adequate to guide us through life?  In the end, the choice that we make will yield very clear consequences.  Thus we need to know as we make these daily choices that every one of them will come with either a reward or a recompense.  May we be wise and choose the right way - the way of fearing the Lord - and the way of turning from sin rather than turning to it.

The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it? Proverbs 18:14

There are two kinds of sickness that can come upon us.  One is a sickness that we can endure and bear - but there is a second type mentioned in the Scripture that is impossible to bear without the work and grace of God being upon us.

We are told that the spirit of a man can endure his sickness.  This sickness mentioned here is the word used for various illnesses that come upon us due to the face that we live in a fallen world.  The entrance of sin into our world ruined it.  It also introduced sickness and death into our world as well.  But a man's spirit can help him endure his sickness.  I am about to share something that will cause some to react badly.  If we live in this world, we are going to face illness and sickness.  Because of the fall of man and the entrance of sin into our world - sickness also came into it as well.  What I mean by this is NOT that anyone who is sick must have sinned.  That is false doctrine.  But what I do mean is that when sin entered the human race - death did as well.  Now all things are running down - aging - and generally falling apart.  The second law of thermodynamics tells us that things are moving from order to disorder.  That is true in our very makeup itself.  Our cells are breaking down - our DNA is liable to mutation (which is never good) - and we will slowly fall apart until we physically die.  This is fact.  Those who think we can go through all of life simply confessing divine health - and therefore never having to be sick or adversely affected by the degeneration of our world or ourselves are sadly mistaken.  They to will die due to the sin of man.

Now, before I completely depress you, let me return to our proverb today.  Our spirit can help us endure sickness.  There is an inner strength that is granted to us in our spirit that helps us deal with the fact that we are human.  We will make it through sickness.  I've seen the extreme of this in believers who glorify God in the midst of terminal illnesses.  There is something so alive and strong in them - even in the midst of their last days.  They conquer death - even as they face it.  That is the power of God working in our spirits. 

But the Proverb does warn of a second sickness that is unbearable to the human condition.  "But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?"  The word for broken here is so telling.  It does not refer to what we experience at the end of a romance - the famous broken heart of romantic movies and novels.  This broken spirit is one that is stricken and scouraged.  It refers to more than just suffering.  It refers to when we come to see that everything we can live for in this life means nothing.  It is the brokenness that God actually seeks to bring us to in life.  It is a brokenness that cannot be cured with more stuff or more power.  It won't be solved by a new romance - or another boyfriend or girlfriend.  This brokenness goes to the very depths of our spirit.  It is God telling us that we cannot be self-repaired.  We need Him.  That is why the wise man poses the question, "Who can bear it?"  No one can - except he turn to God.  Only He can reach to the very core of our deadness and cause our spirit to come alive.  This work He does by the Spirit of God as He applies the gospel of Jesus Christ to our broken condition.  Then we find ourselves fixed - and actually far more than fixed.  We are reborn - and our spirit comes alive as the Holy Spirit grants us the very life of God. 

The wise man knows as he sees and endures the sicknesses of this present world that something is terribly wrong with this world.  The death that reigns over this present world points us to a much deeper death that reigns over our souls.  This brokenness of spirit can only be repaired by God.  He has given the cure in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And . . . a wise man knows to turn to God for His ultimate remedy for a broken spirit.

Argue your case with your neighbor, And do not reveal the secret of another, Or he who hears it will reproach you, And the evil report about you will not pass away. Proverbs 25:9-10

Here is another of those Proverbs that seems to directly contradict what has been said in the previous verse.  Here it has to do with arguing your case with your neighbor.  But the thing that truly helps us to understand this proverb is that it deals with arguing your case with your neighbor "alone."  The ESV and the KJV bring this out.

When a person has a conflict with another person, the best way for it to be resolved is for the two of them to get together and to work it out between them.  This is what the writer of Proverbs is saying here.  This proverb has to do with gossip more than anything else.  When there is a conflict, take the conflict to the person with whom you have the conflict - and no one else.  That is what the writer is saying when he says not to reveal the secret of another.  When there is a conflict, we don't need to reveal that we have had one with everyone else.  That is usually what happens when there is a fight.  We decide to talk with everyone else - telling them about everything that has happened and every way that this other person has hurt us - or has wronged us.  That is revealing the secret of another. 

Here is a concept that I know is foreign to the church today.  When we have a fight or disagreement with someone - that situation is to be treated as if it is a secret between us and the person with whom we've had the disagreement.  It is to remain that way - until we've worked it out with that person.  The reason we should do this is because God will give us grace - and give the person with whom we have the disagreement grace.  But anyone we bring into the situation - will not have grace to deal with it.  They will tend to take one side or the other - and soon factions will begin to develop. 

When the person with whom we have the disagreement begins to hear that we've told others - new problems will develop.  The passage here says that when the person with whom we've had the argument hears that we're talking to others about it - they will reproach us for doing it.  There is an additional offense when this happens.  There are already problems with this person - but now they feel that they are being slandered with gossip. 

Now the next step in all this is that the argument begins to develop into a full-sized war.  They begin to send out an evil report about you.  They are so offended that you've begun to gossip, that they begin to gossip as well.  Just as you decided to share the worst of your disagreement with others - they do the same.  You feel greater offense but what they are doing is only what you've already done to them.  The sad reality with this entire situation is that it will continue toward greater and greater bitterness until one or the other involved with be Christlike enough to humble themselves and begin working toward true healing.  This involves actually talking about the problem to the person with whom you have the problem.  What is so sad is that the vast majority of the time all that happens is that the two people eventually move to an uncomfortable silence between them.  Their relationship becomes superficial - awaiting the next blow up that will come in the future. 

Argue your case with your neighbor alone.  That is wisdom.  It will bless you - and honestly - it will bless your church as well.  This would be such a cause for maturity in the church.  We would have to confront lovingly when we have a problem with a brother - but from what I've experienced - we would also have stronger relationships in the church or wherever we are having problems.  May God bless us so that we begin to take this very wise advice and have stronger relationships in every aspect of life.