There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Proverbs 14:12 Why is it that we cannot just trust our natural instincts concerning God and issues of morality and truth? If this proverb is true (and it is), then we face a very real danger when we trust what we think is right in our lives. When we live a self-directed life and a life that is self-oriented - we are going to have very serious problems. Why is this the case? First of all, we need to see that for a time in this life - this proverb may seem like it is wrong. There are those who do what they think is right - and it seems to go well for them. I would agree with this assessment for the here and now - for life on this earth. But that is not what this proverb is saying to us. It is saying that the end of a self-directed life is death. The word end here is our old friend, "acharith," the Hebrew word meaning the latter end of things. Things seemed to be going marvelous for the rich farmer who did not use his riches for the glory of God. Things seemed to be going well for the rich man who lavished abundance on himself, but did not even notice the starving Lazarus at his gate. Things seemed to be going well for Belshazzar the king as he feasted with his nobles and friends and drank wine out of the temple goblets and toasted the gods of silver and gold. Things seemed to be going well for many people who lived a life of luxury and self-indulgence here on earth. The problem is going to come at the latter end of their lives. The rich farmer, after building bigger barns and saying he was set for life - experienced the end of his life - and had done nothing to prepare for eternity. The rich man realized as James said, the humiliation of his exalted position on earth, as he envied the destitute Lazarus' one in the afterlife. He begged for Lazarus to only dip the tip of his finger in water and touch the end of his tongue - for he was in agony in the fires of hell. Belshazzar soon grasped the infinite foolishness of serving the false gods of silver and gold - when the true and living God sent a hand to write on his wall. He learned that his self-directed life had been weighed in the balances - and he was found wanting. One can only hope he enjoyed that banquet that evening - for by the next evening he was dead and in hell - forever wanting in the sight of God. These three are examples for us of the stupidity of the self-directed life. There are many others in Scripture and in life who follow their footsteps into hell. There is Dathan and Abiram who opposed God and received a non-stop trip to hell via the ground opening up and swallowing them and their families whole. There were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah who undoubtedly held the same concept of God keeping His morality off of their bodies. They wound up fried along with their cities as God's judgment revealed their latter end. And, lest we think that this ignoble end is only for those guilty of heinous sin - there are those who die every day as good ole boys - as "good" "moral" people. Their ultimate end was sealed when they decided that they were decent enough and did not need Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross to pay for their sins. When you listen to the news, the entertainment industry, the religious elite, and the gurus of public opinion - you would think that the cross of Christ is foolishness (Gee that sounds like Paul in 1 Corinthians doesn't it). You would think that mankind does not need a religious crutch to lean on - mankind can solve their own problems without religion or some savior. But reality is this - mankind does not need a crutch. We would only need a crutch if we were injured. The fact is that we are dead! We need a whole new life. We might need a religious system if we only needed modification. The fact is that we are ruined. We need to be completely regenerated and made new. But the world for the most part rejects these truths revealed to us in Scripture. They have a way that seems right to them - that makes more sense. That is because "the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." It is because, "the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks (read thinkers here) search for wisdom; but we preach Christ curcified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." There is that way that seems to right to men - but in the end "THAT WAY" is actually the foolish and the stupid one. If they continue following it and reject the gospel . . . it will end in death - eternal death in hell. I know that is not popular in today's culture - either religious or secular - but nevertheless - it is the truth. If we are wise we will reject what the world calls wisdom - and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ - for that is truly wisdom that will last through all the ages and until the end of time.
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The house of the wicked will be destroyed, But the tent of the upright will flourish. Proverbs 14:11
The Bible calls us to be aliens and strangers in this world - while we live for a world that is to come. As you read this verse, you might wonder how it relates to this particular proverb. It has everything to do with it - because how you are directed - and where you look to receive directions will radically affect your decisions, and will in the end, decide whether you are among the wicked - or the upright. That decision in turn will have very serious consequences on whether what you do will flourish - or eventually be destroyed. The wicked settle down in this world. This is seen in the fact that they are spoken of as being in a house. They are very comfortable in this world and comfortable with how this world operates. Thus this world has a great deal to say about what their values are and how they will live. When we "settle down" and become comfortable with the world and its ways - we are headed for trouble. James tells us that anyone who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. The world and its ways should make us uncomfortable. We are looking for the city whose architect and builder is God. We live for the Jersusalem that is above. Do you walk through this life comfortable with the ways of the world? One of the dangers I see in my life regularly is that through television and the various forms of media - there seems to be a constant push for me to adopt the values of this present world. If I am not careful I will become so comfortable in this world I will forget spiritual reality (which by the way IS reality itself). As I become comfortable with the world and its thinking, I will in turn become comfortable with this world and its actions and lifestyles. Before long, I will begin at first accepting the ways of the wicked - and if I am not careful - acting like them as well. We are told the opposite in this passage too though. The tent of the upright will flourish. Note here that the upright man is spoken of as living in a tent rather than a house. The tent was the choice of those who did not choose to "settle down" in one place. They saw themselves not in the light of settling down - but as strangers and aliens who were just passing through this present world. As a result they do NOT settle down in this world - nor do they adopt its ways. There is no great need to accumulate the wealth or the things that this world values - because they are transient. They will pass away - actually we ourselves will pass away - at least in these human bodies of ours. Therefore we should not seek to get too comfortable in this world - nor become too comfortable with its ways. Our hearts need to be firmly set on heavenly things. We need to be living with heaven in view - and realize that our ultimate inheritance is there. Therefore we also look to heaven and to the Lord who is enthroned there for our values and for what we should seek. Please do not see these comments on this proverb as an endictment on buying a house - or as a commentary on how it is better to be a Bedouin than an American. We are speaking of spiritual realities. These things represent an attitude - a choice of a lifestyle. So the question we must answer is not whether we live in a physical house or a tent - but rather whether we are settling down in our minds so that this world is our home - rather than seeing our home in the world to come. Why is this important? I guess in a crude sort of way I can refer to a cross stitch I once saw to explain this. It said, "Home is where the Heart is." There is the crux of the problem. If your home is in this world - that is what will most influence your heart. If your home is in the world to come - where God will reign in righteousness - your heart . . . your values . . . and your lifestyle will reflect it. Oh, and one last thing . . . if you live for this world - you are living for a world that will be destroyed in the end. If you live for the world to come - even now God is preparing a place for you - so that where He is - there you will be also. The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.
Proverbs 14:10 There are times when a person knows both a bitterness and a joy of soul that cannot be shared among humans. It is not that people do not try to empathize and sympathize with us, they do. It is just that certain experiences and certain things go so deep within us that the only One who can comfort and the only One who can understand is God Himself. The heart knows its own bitterness. There is a pain that we can feel both in our physical realm - but much more - in the spiritual realm that is very deep. It is so deep that we need more than human comfort to deal with it. There are times when we face serious issues (often life threatening issues) that although we are possibly surrounded by human comforters, we need a superhuman comforter. It is in those moments when only God can offer us the comfort that we desperately need. The main reason we know this is because of how God used David to write songs about these moments. Too often we forget that the recording studio that God used to record those songs were times of great suffering, sorrow, and trial. In those moments David expresses a depth of bitterness and sorrow that few have ever touched. He says things to God that make us step back and gasp when we read them. Truly he is in a "bitterness" of soul in the midst of such suffering and trial. And Job reminds us that when a man is suffering his words are like the wind. David is bitter of soul at times in the Psalms, but it is also in those times that he cries out to God with a passion that we may not know either. Remember this, it is those who go the deepest in suffering, sorrow, and struggle - who also know the deepest levels of passion for God. David cries out to God with a bitterness of heart that can only be healed by God Himself. Actually, it is a blessing when God takes us to such depths because often it takes that kind of situation to make us wholly dependent upon Him. We see that, indeed as Jesus has told us in John 15, "without Me you can do nothing." In that moment of complete helplessness we cry out to Him as we've never done before, and we find that He is also, indeed, able to deliver to the uttermost! Thus we come to the second half of this proverb. A stranger does not share its joy. David not only speaks of the bitterness of heart that comes with excruciating trials, he also speaks of the joy of God's deliverance from those trials. After coming through some fairly deep trials and sorrows I've begun to touch the hem of the garment of such joy. Just as I cannot grasp the cries of David in his deepest pain, there is also a tinge of realization as I read the Psalms that I'm not sure I am getting the fullness of His joy either. A stranger to God's deliverance will never share the joy of knowing that God is the One who not only walked in the midst of our firey furnace, but He is the One who kept our clothes from being burned - or even smelling like smoke. Oh, the joy of those who know His working. Oh the joy of those who know when He Who took them into the depths is also the One Who will bring them out again. Oh the joys of the ones who know that He will wound us, but He will also heal us. Oh the delight of soul that comes to the one who knows a depth of pain and bitterness of heart that goes beyond human comfort - but who also knows the only One Who can reach beyond human comprehension - beyond human ability - beyond mere human comfort - and can touch our deepest and most bitter wounds and heal them. May God bring wisdom to you this day, dear saint of God, and may He be your Deliverer and Comforter in your every distress! Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is good will. Proverbs 14:9
How a person views and deals with sin determines whether they are wise or they are foolish. Here we have Solomon teaching us the important lesson that how a man views the whole concept and reality of sin is vitally important. If we miss this - and decide how a person sees sin is not really important to us - we will find ourselves in the company of those who are fools. We will find ourselves allowing those who think sin does not even exist - be those who counsel us as to how we should have a sound mind. The fact that we are bypassing this issue - especially when it comes to our worldview - is wreaking havoc on the church. Let me explain for a moment, because this issue is absolutely vital to us today. How a man views sin will ultimately either bless or corrupt everything he does. Most philosophies actually reject the idea of sin. They see our problem as a lack of education - or a lack of opportunity for people. Some even see the problem as believing that there is truth upon which we define and state whether actions and choices are sinful or not. They reject the very idea of sin - and consider guilt as a root problem for all people. The way they deal with this is to make truth an issue of individuality. Your truth is your truth - and you are free to live however you want based on what you consider to be true. Thus, if your truth states that there is no sin - that guilt is a bad thing - then that is true for you. This denial of sin goes further because it asserts that no one has the right to call your truth falsehood. You can imagine the problems this makes for a society in which everyone is a free agent, determining what is right or wrong for themselves. Actually it is not much different from the book of Judges where there was no God and every man did what was right in his own eyes. In this kind of society rules are constantly shifting like blowing sand. The end of this is a state in which a growing ungodliness and lawlessness begins to take root. By the way - this eventually leads to a culture of corruption and violence that is out of control. The people begin calling for someone to rise up and restore order - which in turn gives rise to a dictator who then re-establishes "order" according to "his rules." If you would like to know when this has happened in history, take a look at the Weimar Republic - which gave rise to Hitler's Germany. It has also happened in numerous examples of dictatorships of every stripe. Mankind is best ruled by God's law established in their hearts by the work of His grace. But until men come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ - it is so necessary for a Law to be established because of the wickedness of man's fallen heart. Here we see why it is so important to define sin - and define it according to God's Word. If God has revealed Himself in the Bible, then we know how to define righteousness - truth - and what is and what is not sin. This becomes the bedrock of laws that are established in a nation. But the best thing - which our founders realized - is that men's hearts be ruled according to God's law. Our founders knew this - and thus were pinning their hopes on a heart initially ruled by God's 10 commandments. This set of God's laws would restrain so much sin and ungodly behavior - that then a society could be ruled by fewer laws. But where there is no law - there is no sin. Since our nation has rejected the 10 commandments as an illegal document by which to rule our nation, then we are left to the shifting sands of public opinion and man's evil heart to govern us. Is it any wonder that our laws continue to degrade - allowing just about any conduct to be considered legal - but not just legal - acceptable. In the end the Bible tells us where this will go - as men call good evil and evil good. Watch closely, dear saints, as more and more Biblical positions will be considered illegal by those who mock at sin. But there is even a greater evil that is foisted upon us by mocking at sin. When sin is mocked - when the whole idea of guilt is abandoned - then there is no real reason for a Savior. The second half of this proverb states that among the upright there is "good will." The word used here for "good will" means "the favor of God." When the concept of sin is rejected by the philosophies of this present world - then there is no need for any kind of redemption from it. If we are not guilty of anything before God, then it seems pretty arrogant of God to call for the death of His only Son to pay for . . . "nothing." Follow where your philosophy ultimately leads you. If you mock at and deny guilt and sin - and this is where it leads. That is why we have modern day preachers in the church calling the death of Christ, "divine child abuse." Without sin and guilt - there is actually no wrong behavior. But a corollary to this doctrine is that without wrong behavior - neither is there any real "upright" behavior either. All things become neutral - and the matter of individual hearts. You have no business in that society stating your view on anything. To do so is to risk the danger of being called "judgmental." The problem is that there IS WRONG BEHAVIOR! We all know it in our conscience. The only way to rid ourselves of this is to sear our conscience as with a hot iron. The fact is that there is sin - whether men mock it or not. There is a guilt that comes with breaking God's Law. That guilt and that offense is real - and it poses a serious problem. According to God's Word, sin and guilt require accountability and punishment. There is an earthly punishment meted out by men in the governmental sphere (Romans 13) - but the real problem is the divine retribution for rebellion and sin. The good will - i.e. grace - that the upright know is one given not by works, but by grace through faith. God has provided the way through Jesus Christ - His death, burial, and resurrection. That is given as a gift to those who respond when God grants knowledge and conviction of sin, repentance, and faith to the sinner through the gospel. When we look at the amazing thing God has done for us - and His infinite mercy in granting it to us - we have to come to the same conclusion that our proverb states to us today. Only a fool would disdain this grace . . . only a fool would disregard the wonderful work of God's conviction by the Spirit . . . and mock sin. By doing so, he also mocks the grace that is freely given to those made upright by it. He mocks the gospel. The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way, But the foolishness of fools is deceit. Proverbs 14:8
Are you more concerned about your own actions or the actions of others? Today's proverb offers us some pretty heady stuff about the way a wise man thinks about things in life. There is great wisdom for us today if we will open ourselves to what God has to say to us. Here we read that the sensible man has wisdom. To be sensible is to be shrewd and prudent. So a prudent man has wisdom to offer to us today. That wisdom is this, to understand one's own way. It is wise to be able to understand ourselves. This word, "understand" means to discern and perceive. The one who understands himself pays attention to what he himself does. He watches himself far more than he does others. This is not a selfish thing - but rather a desire to grasp why one does the things they do. This man takes a close look at where his actions and attitudes lead him. He looks at his own way - but only so that he can understand where he has gotten himself. He then uses this information for the purpose of change and growth. He studies himself to gain wisdom on how an attitude change - a change in actions - a change in how he speaks - can help him to be a better person. In the context of the Bible - he also does this so he can walk with God more closely and honor Him better in all that he does. He examines himself, considers himself, and after doing this he considers what is right - what is his duty and his responsibility - and then he goes about doing it regardless of what others say or do. This wise man wants to know his own way because he fully grasps that he is the only one he can change. He is not quick to blame others and fault others for his problems. He takes responsibility for himself. This is one of the best ways to improve your mental health. If you are forever blaming everyone else for your problems, you will rarely change - and - you will be filled with bitterness and unforgiveness. You will view yourself as a perennial victim of others. The sum total of who you are will only be what others have done to you. You will think that your own actions don't matter - or have real consequences because you see all your problems as someone else's fault. Oh, and by the way, you will also be a fool who lacks any real wisdom. The foolishness of fools is deceit. This is the second half of this proverb. The fool is focused on deceit. Simply put, the fool lies. He lies to others. He does not want to understand his own way - because he is too busy making up what he would like his own way to be. He seeks to manipulate others - not himself. He uses lies and deceit to dupe others into believing he really is not responsible for his own actions. When caught in a lie - he will use another lie to get out of his difficult circumstances. Most of all, he lies to himself. Every bad thing that happens is someone else's fault. Every problem is due to someone else. His shortcomings are the fault of others who did not do enough to equip and train him properly. He will never change because he honestly does not see the need for it in his own conduct. If others had only done their part, his actions or words or laziness or inactivity would not have mattered. In the end, though, people grow tired of his blame game. Figuring he is either not worth dealing with - or - incapable of being honest with himself - they turn away from him. Two men are pictured here. One sees no fault in himself and turns to deceit to deal with his problems. The other man is prudent - he turns to look closely at himself. As he looks he seeks to understand how his own actions, attitudes, and words affect what happens to him. One man will fail while the other succeeds. One man will forever be blaming others while the other will receive encouragement to change. One will walk the way of fools while the other will live a life of godly wisdom. A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none, But knowledge is easy to one who has understanding. Proverbs 14:6
It is interesting in our day to see how many mock the things of God. The large number of best sellers that mock the existance of God and the morality and truth of His Word is a little shocking to the general public - but for those who know the Word - just another proof that we live in a fallen world that rejects God and therefore rejects truth. The scoffers present themselves as seekers of knowledge. They paint themselves as the wise among us - and as those who are trying desperately to turn the ignorant masses away from God and away from seeing God's Word as anything more than an old, archaic, rotting document that no longer deserves our attention. But, no matter how much these mockers present themselves as wise - they are anything but wise in the end. They may seek wisdom - but they will find none. The one prerequisite of wisdom is what they lack. We read in a myriad of places that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom - and that is what these individuals lack - any fear of the Lord. Their mocking shows that they consider themselves to be the ultimate resource of wisdom and understanding - which honestly - makes them fools. They will not humble themselves and admit that they are not the repository of all things wise. They are so filled with pride that they will not admit their own ignorance and lack of perfect knowledge. They not only don't know what is going on in perfect detail on the remotest planet in the universe - they are not even aware of its existance! Yet they have the arrogance to say that unequivically there is no God in the universe. Their scoffing will always keep them from knowledge and wisdom. Only their foolishness will be verified in the end. We are told something wonderful here though. Knowledge is "easy" to him who understands. The concept behind the word "understands" is that this person is teachable. It is not that he already understands all things - but rather than he has a desire to understand all things. His admission of a lack of knowledge is what makes his so marvelously teachable. He longs to better understand things and to know what is true. Therefore he has a very teachable spirit and heart. This makes him a perfect candidate for wisdom. James counsels us that the man who will receive wisdom from God is the very one who says that he does not already have it. Since he doesn't have it - he asks God for it. God loves this man - because he is open to all that God has for Him. The Holy Spirit loves this man because He knows that this man will not resist Him when He comes to teach him truth. Knowledge then becomes easy to this one - because he is wide open to God when He teaches him. He loves receiving things from the Lord - and is longing to be taught - to be instructed - even to be rebuked and corrected. Therefore knowledge becomes something very pleasant to his soul. He is a wise man indeed - because he admits lacking wisdom. But the arrogant scoffer - who exalts his own mind - his own learning - his own egotistic sense that he is always right? That man won't receive anything from God - except an invitation to repent of his arrogance and come to the table to learn from the only One who truly has all wisdom. My guess is that without God's mercy and grace touching his life - he would reject it anyway. A trustworthy witness will not lie, But a false witness utters lies. Proverbs 14:5
The trustworthy man is the witness who does not lie or bend the truth. He is dependable and reliable. What he says he will do. There is also the reliability of what he says - when he says it - it is the truth. In Jesus' day some religious hypocrites would say that it was fine to bend or misrepresent the truth - unless you were swearing to tell the truth - or basing your statement on some oath you made to speak the truth. To Jesus this was totally unacceptable. He said, "Let your yes be yes and your no, no." Your word is your bond. This is the attitude of the trusthworthy witness. Jesus said that anything beyond your word being your bond is of the evil one. This may sound a little harsh - but to couch anything in lies - and to make your word something other than the truth is satanic. The trusthworthy man WILL NOT LIE! It seems simple - but the false witness utters lies. We are not used to such blunt talk in our day of bending and stretching the truth. We are used to things like spin and qualified statements. Such is the world we live in where truth lies fallen in the streets - especially in the streets of Washington D. C. There is much that the Bible says about a culture that has tossed truth to the side. It will be a difficult world to live in - one fraught with troubles. That is why speaking the truth is important. That is why God put this one in the 10 Commandments - "Thou shall not bear false witness." This becomes even more important when sharing the way of salvation. When we become witnesses to the gospel - we need to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Too often in our day we have genius' who have decided that we can package the gospel in a way that is less offensive and that will garner greater receptivity. There is a word for those who practice this kind of foolishness - false witnesses. We need to share the gospel just as it is - as good news! But we cannot hide the sinfulness of man - or the work of the law in condemning sinners before a holy God and still be a truthful witness. We cannot take the Lordship of Jesus Christ and repentance and lay them aside because they lower our success rates - and still call ourselves God's witnesses. These things are nothing more than lies. One thing we should remember when sharing the gospel - and honestly - when sharing anything. Truth may hurt - it may offend - but it is the only thing that will set men free. To share anything else is simply putting ourselves in the camp of those who are false witnesses. Some may say that if we do this - we won't see as many people saved. My answer to them is that it is the ONLY way to see people saved. Salvation is God's work - not ours. If we do not speak His truth - and trust Him to open a man's heart, granting repentance and faith in Jesus Christ - no one will be saved. Be a truthful witness. Refuse to lie - no matter the issue. In time men will come to know you as one who speaks the truth . . . and they will trust you. The other option here is out of the question. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod for his back, But the lips of the wise will protect them. Proverbs 14:3
Oh, how the mouth of the foolish boasts. This is seen again and again in our society. In fact, we now have a whole type of speech devoted to prideful talk. Trash-talking is popular today among those in sports. The dangerous thing is that this type of talk is slowly morphing its way into regular life as well. This will not bode well for our society - as pride is never a good thing among the conversations of men. Biblically there is a great picture of this very verse. When David fought the Philistine champion, Goliath, there was some serious "trash-talking" going on from Goliath. He laughed at David and disdained him publically in front of all the troops that day. HE bellowed that he would give little David to the birds of the air when he killed him. You can hear this boast echoing through the valley just as 40 previous boasts had done for the 40 days he had been bragging about his pwoer and abilities. In his mouth was a rod for his back. The literal translation of this phrase is "rod of pride." Interesting that the Hebrew language would have such a phrase. But it only shows the way that pride does give God a rod which He will use upon our backs to discipline us for our arrogance. Goliath's boasts ceased - because he lost his head - literally. He thought he could destroy David with little effort. In the end - his arrogant words were a rod of pride that struck him as a rock sunk into his forehead. As the sword severed his neck - Goliah - once a hero and champion - would forever be known for his defeat at the hands of a ruddy little shepherd with a sling, stone, and a trust in the living God. The wise have lips that protect them. They are careful about what they say - and how they say it. The old WWII phrase "loose lips, sink ships," is in order for the wise man. Far too many have not watched what they say and have paid for it dearly. David is a good example in this story as well. He did not go out and make empty boasts. He did not try to one-up Goliath at his "trash-talking" game. He simply referred to his God and reminded Goliath that though he came with superior "human" firepower - David relied upon an omnipotent God to win the day. David's words were far from proud and arrogant. They were humble words that relied upon Jehovah God for strength. In the end, David's words protected him from not only arrogance and presumption - but also from Goliath's attack. We need to be wise - and watch what we say. It is protection for us to stay as close to what the Scriptures tell us as possible. Our protection is given to us by a God who loves to act strongly on behalf of those who look to Him. Rather than have our words be the very whip that disciplines us - they become a shield that keeps us from harm. Where no oxen are, the manger is clean, But much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 14:4
This is an interesting proverb for those of us who have little or no knowledge of farming or animal husbandry. There is the first and most obvious meaning - which is that when you don't have an oxen you don't have the mess. There is no need to have a manger filled with hay for them to eat. No oxen means no work to take care of them. But - no oxen also means no real revenue. You can work by yourself in the fields - but with an ox or two, you can plow several times the amount of land you do alone. The result is that you have more crops - and more crops means more revenue! This proverb carries over to applications outside of the agricultural world. If you don't have any employees - don't have any labor-saving machines - you don't have the problems of taking care of them. You don't have to deal with people issues - with the cost of insurance - with benefits - with repairs. But . . . if you don't have them - you also don't have the revenue and the profits that they can help generate. The proverb has great application to the business world as you can see. There is a second level of meaning in this proverb though - one that goes past the agricultural or business application. The New Testament uses the ox to speak of how the man of God, who teaches in the church, should be treated. Paul does this in 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:18. Both passages have to do with those who minister the Word - especially in teaching and preaching. Paul is saying in both passages that the man of God who labors hard at teaching and preaching can be financially provided for in the church. Now let's look at what Proverbs says to us about the ox and apply it this way. Where there are no oxen the manger is clean. When you decide not to take care of the man of God who teaches the Word - there is less expense to the church. This is very true - it usually is one of the highest costs in any church. But when God gives a fellowship a man of God who truly labors to teach and present God's Word - there is also great benefit. Much revenue comes by the strength of the ox. There is much benefit to having a pastor or a teacher who labors hard in the Word. There is the growth that happens in individual believers - there are those who come to Christ because the gospel is taught and presented. There is the blessing of God that comes through the ministry of having a Word-based church. There a tremendous benefits to feeding the ox and having him around. So, next time you are tempted to think that it's not financially worth having your ox around (apology to all pastors and teachers for this parallel) just think of the benefit that comes from the labor he puts into bringing you the Word of God. He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is devious in his ways despises Him. Proverbs 14:2
Do you fear God? There is a test that will determine whether you do or you do not fear God. This test is whether you walk in uprightness or not. To be "upright" means to be one who walks striaght in an ethical sense. It refers to the path that we choose to live in - or how we interact with others. When we walk in an upright manner we are not walking in crookedness. Of course when you speak of uprightness - you are defining this standard and this way of walking by what God says in His Word. We are warned by God in Proverbs chatper 2:13 to stay on the straight path of God's ways, and not to stray into the crooked path which would ignore God's Word and life as we want - or as the world dictates we should. When we do not choose to walk in this way - it indicates that we do not respect God. We don't think that there will be any kind of retribution for our ungodly actions and words. We simple think God does not act according to what His Word says. The second half of this proverb states things rather bluntly. The one who is devious in his ways despises God. This deviousness simply means that we do not walk in truth. We will try to do things and be deceitful and turn aside from the ways of the Lord. We are crooked and perverse - and according to this word's Hebrew definition we trust in our deviousness to get us through life. Thus we have adopted a lifestyle of doing what we think is necessary to get us what we want. When a man lives like this Scripture says that this man despises the Lord. He holds God in contempt - disdains him - and has no respect for the Lord or for His ways. It is important for us to get this. To choose deviousness indicates we hate God - and that we have no real respect for what His Word says and how it warns us against God's judgment and discipline. When we choose however to live as God desires - and choose that which is upright and true - that which is by God's design and desire - we are choosing to give God the respect and honor He deserves. A truly wise man does not despise God - He chooses to give God the glory that He deserves. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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