A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a man's hands will return to him. Proverbs 12:14
How does a man have a "full" life? This is an interesting question because first you would have to get a definition of what a "full" life is - and then you might be able to answer this question. My own personal definition of a full life is one that remains full after death when we stand before God. I know many people who describe a full life - but often their definition rests on a fullness that is very temporary. Their fullness will go away - and often it will go away quickly. They will find that either their fullness will end after their pleasure runs its course and begins to cost on the back end - or it will become a glaring emptiness once they leave this life and stand in the presence of God giving account for why they considered what God calls empty - fullness. God tells us how to have a "full" life. It is by being a man who understands the power of words - and uses them to build up - to encourage - to bless - rather than to kill, steal, and destroy. This man uses his words to bless because we read here that he is satisfied with good "by the fruit of his words." Every word he speaks is like a good seed - one that God approves and desires for us to speak. People are blessed and built up. They are glad that they have been in his presence to hear these encouraging and wonderful words. That is why he is blessed by them - because rather than his words coming back to haunt him - they are coming back to bless and reward him. Please do not misunderstand, this is not a "yes" man who only says what you want to hear. He is a man who speaks the truth - even when the initial reaction is negative. But he is not wanting a reward of the instant reaction of his words - he is wanting the "fruit" of them. It takes a while for fruit to develop. Thus he lives for the long-term affects of his words. But there is more we learn here. This man also has the "deeds of his hands" return to him as well. These deeds are those that honor and glorify the Lord. They are deeds of kindness - and deeds which Jesus said would cause men to glorify God your Father when they experience them. Thus they are biblically blessed words - and biblically condoned deeds. How God wants us to have these kind of words and deeds be those that characterize our lives. How do we live a life that speaks these kind of words and does these kind of deeds? It is a life that turns to the Word of God for direction, for counsel, and for the words and deeds that is says and does. What does God call a good deed? Do that kind of deed. What does God say are good words to speak? Speak those kind of words. There really is no magic formula for a life that is blessed in the end. It is simply a life that turns to God's Word to define how life is lived - and how one's mouth is used.
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He who returns evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house. Proverbs 17:13
What kind of person would receive good from someone - and decide to repay them with evil in return? That is the question that comes to mind when reading today's proverb. That question is not answered in this statement. What is told to us is what such a wicked man should expect to receive from the hand of God. The Lord does not look kindly on one who receives good and returns evil for it. We are told that for such a one, evil will not depart from his house. A good example of this principle at work is the house of David. David received good from the hand of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah had ignoble beginnings, being a Hittite. These people were not looked upon favorably by the Lord. In spite of this Uriah decided to draw near to God. At the time Uriah came to David, he was in distress because of the persecution and suspicion of King Saul. Nevertheless, Uriah joined up with David and became one of David's mighty men. He fought courageously with David and stuck with him through thick and thin. For Uriah, there was far more thin than thick. He stayed true though - even to the point of returning home from active duty due to the command of the king. When Uriah came home David invited him to a wonderful feast - during which time they drank and enjoyed enough wine for Uriah to become drunk. David then sent him down to his house and to his wife. But Uriah was a very faithful man and chose not to have sex with his wife - knowing that his men were enjoying no such respite from war while he was away. Mysteriously to Uriah, he was asked to come the next night for the same kind of sumptuous meal - and as he drank to please the king - he once again was seeminly led to get drunk. Once again he was sent to his home by his king - but chose a second night to live as his men lived, sleeping outside his home - and apart from his wife. Little did Uriah know that this choice would cost him and several of his men their lives. David was guilty of committing adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife. He was also guilty of getting her pregnant. His invitation to Uriah was not one given honestly - but was a cover for getting Uriah to sleep with his wife as a cover for David's immorality. When this ploy did not work - David then had Uriah placed at the front lines of the battle - to be withdrawn from and killed. Uriah fell in battle - along with several of his men faithfully fighting by his side. Having been faithful to David and God - they did so to their deaths. The only thing unknown to them was that their deaths were not the result of the enemy - but rather a death sentence handed down from an ungrateful and immoral king. Some might cry foul here - and wonder how God could continue to bless David. Know this - He did not - until David came in broken-hearted repentance to God. David paid dearly for repaying good with evil. I find it interesting that his son wrote these words. Solomon knew that the upheaval in his home and among his brothers was due to the sin of his father. I do not believe Solomon wrote this out of anger - just out of fact. David's household paid dearly for David's treachery. His two oldest sons died violent deaths as a result. One of his grandchildren was raped - and 10 of his concubines were raped in broad daylight in front of the entire nation. His kingdom was taken from him by his own son - who later died for his own treachery. David knew very well that when you repay evil for good that you never have evil depart from your house. Most likely he was the one who taught Solomon this truth from the Lord - and he most likely also warned his son of the horrific price that he had to pay for committing that very sin against God. When someone does us good - we need to be sure that we return them good for what they've done. One of the best ways to be certain to follow this path is to be very grateful for whatever good comes your way. Thank God for what He has given you and thank others for what they do for you as well. Be certain to think highly of those who bless you - and do all that you can to repay everyone who does good to you in kind. This is a proverb that has been fulfilled for us right before our eyes in Scripture. Therefore we need to heed that warning - and always be sure to return good for good. The cost for ignoring this - and doing the opposite is hefty. You do not want to pay it! He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. Proverbs 19:8
How does the Bible teach us to love ourselves? Here is an interesting question because there are some who think that before we can ever love someone else, we have to love ourselves. Personally, I find that kind of teaching to be contrary to sound wisdom. The reason I feel this way is because those who are taught such things spend all their time going deeper inward to determine if they love themselves enough. The problem with this kind of psycho-babble is that happiness comes when we are no longer consumed with ourselves and learn to give our lives for others and for the glory of God. A person who constantly goes inward to determine if they love themselves properly will have precious little time to love others. It is usually a downward spiral that can lead to a person being consumed by a desire for their own happiness. Jesus said that if we love our lives we will lose them - but if we lose our lives for Him and for His kingdom's sake, we will gain them for all eternity. But this passage in Proverbs genuinely speaks of loving our own soul. So what exactly is God teaching us here? The translation here reads, "He who gets wisdom . . . " yet the actual word translated wisdom is the Hebrew word, "leb" which refers to the heart. What Solomon was seeking to say is that the one who gets a heart - the right kind of heart - loves his own soul. Here is where we need to grasp what the Bible says about our hearts. We learn from the whole counsel of Scripture some very interesting things about the human heart. First, we learn that our hearts are messed up due to the fall of man into sin. Jeremiah tells us that the heart is wicked and desperately evil, and is impossible to understand with our own wisdom. (Jeremiah 17:9) To plumb the depths of our hearts - without grasping the wickedness of sinful man - will get you no where. That is why secular psychology will yield very little in dealing with the true human condition. None of the major psychological constructs admits that man is a sinner - and that the real problem with humanity is a sin problem - a rebellion against God. The next thing we learn is that God Almighty can understand the heart - and has done what is necessary to change it and transform it. The change for the heart is available by faith in Jesus Christ. God takes out of us our heart of stone, that does not respond to God's Word or commandments. In its place God miraculously puts a heart of flesh that has the very commandments of God written upon it. Thus we are regenerated in Christ with a new heart and a desire to do what He commands. The other lesson that God teaches us in His Word is that once we are saved, our hearts and minds need to be renewed by the Word and the work of His Spirit. While we are here on earth, we will face temptation and a constant battle with the three enemies of our soul, the world-system, the flesh, and the devil. Because of the way that these three things want to influence our minds toward sin, it is imperative that we renew our minds with the truth - which is God's Word. Actually, this is the way we "get heart." We "get heart" when we begin to understand God's wisdom and God's ways. We no longer try in our own strength to deal with the myriad of temptations and trials that come to our hearts. We know that such an endeavor is doomed to be fruitless. Instead, we embrace what God has done in Jesus Christ. We embrace godly wisdom and understanding. As we do this we are actively loving our own soul! Remember that Jesus said that if we want to save our "fleshly" lives in this world - we will lose them. But the one who chooses to lose his soul - who dies to self - and who embraces a regenerated heart - that man loves himself in the end. He embraces an understanding of life that has conversion and regeneration at its core. As he does this - he finds good! He learns to die to himself - and die to the desires of the flesh. He learns that when his heart is drawn by temptation to a worldly point of view that he needs to reject it. He chooses instead to "not love the world or the things of the world." He goes to the Word of God to renew his mind so that he proves that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. He faces the lies and deceit of the devil and learns to expose them for what they are. He chooses instead a life instructed by the Scriptures. He spends time in the Word so that he is walking with "understanding" at all times. The two words "keeps understanding" are very beneficial to know here. He "keeps" understanding points to the fact that he watches over it - guards it - and is constantly on the lookout for anything that would detract from God's ways and will in his life. He keeps "understanding" points to the fact that he desires a discernment from God on all things. The word "understanding" is the Hebrew "tebunah" which means to discern or understand how things differ. He looks at every choice wanting to discern the difference between his flesh and the Spirit of God. He wants to discern the difference between the kingdoms of this world vs. the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. He longs to discern the difference between his own desires and those given by the Lord. He yearns to grasp the difference between sin and righteousness - between glorifying self and glorifying God. This is the way to love yourself. You love your own soul by protecting and guarding it from the tyranny of self. You choose instead to embrace God's wisdom in the heart. You decide that you will guard and protect yourself from anything that turns you even slightly from a life lived for the glory of God - from a life lived for the kingdom of God - and a life lived by the Spirit of God as He teaches and leads you by the Word of God. Want to love yourself? That is the way to do it! Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity and every good course. Proverbs 2:9
How do you know when you are doing the right thing or going in the right direction in life? Here is a question that everyone would love to be able to answer. The fact is that God says that we can know this. The way that we know it though is definitely outside of the mainstream of ideas that exist today. Let's take a look today at how we can know whether we are on course or not. Solomon tells us here that there is a time when we will be able to discern some very important things. The first in his fourfold list is righteousness. Before we jump into those four things, we should see that discernment is involved. The word discern means that we are able to look at things and distinguish between them. We see differences between two or more things - and use that knowledge to understand them from God's vantage point. Here is our first very important lesson - things differ - and you can tell the difference. Most would agree with you on this truth - until you begin stating what you can distinguish between. The last thing we should address before we go into our list is that Solomon is stating what he does in verse 9 as a conclusion to all he has said before. What is it that allows us to have this discernment? It is the Word of God. All through this chapter he is calling for us to receive the Word, store up the Word in our hearts, cry out for God's work in teaching it to us, and to seek for the Word as one would buried treasure. The discernment of which we speak here is a discernment that comes only because of the way the Word works in our hearts. As I said earlier, the first in his fourold list if righteousness. We will be able to discern when something is right or not. Now is the moment when the postmodern among us throw up their red flags. They assert someone might know right and wrong for themselves - but consider it the height of arrogance to think or state that anyone might be able to discern right and wrong for everyone. But that is exactly what Proverbs asserts here - and more by the time we finish with the four things Solomon says can be discerned. The second in our list of four is justice. Our society cries out for justice - but unfortunately the justice they want ignores the Word of God. It ignores what God calls just in many cases - and completely ignores the problem of how we can be just before Him. Whereas the world cries for social justice - God offers absolute justice. These are not always opposed to one another - but - God ultimately wants us to be able to stand before Him just and righteous - and that requires the person and the work of Jesus Christ to happen. The third thing we will be able to discern is equity. Here, my friends is a loaded word. "Meysar" is the word the Hebrews used to describe equity. It means rightness, correctness, and fairness. The word meant something smooth and level. Communism is man's way of trying to make everything equitable. Pure communism takes from everyone and then redistributes it so everyone gets an equal share. It does not take into account work ethic or whether someone has truly earned their share with hard work. And since pure communism would require pure hearts to work - we see that in practical communism - the ruling class takes and redistributes so everyone is equally as poor - while they live in the lap of luxury and take care of those who most honor and support their rule. When God speaks of equity He is speaking of how a state should judge fairly and honorably. He is speaking of how His promises are available to all. To "discern" equity we need to see things as God does - for fairness and correctness begins with what is fair and right in God's eyes. When we bring God into this equation - we have serious trouble for mankind. Man is sinful and rebellious - and what is fair for him is God's wrath and judgment. What we should find amazing about God's equity is that He chose to pay the price of equity for us - and instead of giving us what is fair, He gave us grace instead. Finally, through the Word, we can discern every good course. We will know the right ways to walk - and God will indicate to us wrongs ones as well. This right and wrong will correspond to what He says in His Word. Thus we have the ultimate aggravation to the modernist. We assert that through God's Word we have an "absolute standard" upon which all things in life is to be measured. If actions and choices and lifestyles do not measure up to what God calls good, right, just, and equitable - they are wrong. And thus begins the clash of worldviews. True Judaism and Christianity will always find themselves at odds with the rest of the worldviews that come from men. They end up at odds because they have the audacity of claiming that God's Word is a revelation of THE truth. For those who reject this claim - the world is a mish-mash of conflicting morals and ideas. We all get along by ultimately stating that both everything is right, as well as everything is wrong. It might be right for us while at the same time being wrong for others. The resulting public moral quicksand creates a world in which all things are to be tolerated except the arrogance of Judaism and Christianity who assert that their worldview is absolute. That view - that view that states that there is absolute truth and it is found in God's Word - is the one that absolutely cannot be tolerated. Too bad though - because it is the only worldview that creates the stability of actually knowing whether the path you are taking will ultimately lead to blessing or destruction. From the fruit of a man's mouth he enjoys good, But the desire of the treacherous is violence. Proverbs 13:2
How we speak will often determine the level of blessing we enjoy in our lives. Now I do not speak of the way some mention words as if by our speaking we can create blessing and curse. This is the name it claim it crowd - who think merely mentioning we might be sick will insure we are because of our unbelief and our disobedience. This doctrine is just theological wind. What the proverb is teaching us is that when it comes to how we speak - what we give is often what we get. On the good side of things, the man who speaks what is good and uses his mouth to build up and love others - will in turn enjoy that same good as it comes back to him. It is interesting that the proverb states the from the fruit of a man's mouth he enjoys good things. What is the fruit of the man's mouth - that is mentioned here? It is not just the words he speaks - but what they lead to that is the focus of this passage. We speak something or say it. Where does that lead? If we speak godless, critical, unholy words, we will most definitely receive a harvest from these words. That is what the writer of Proverbs is trying to tell us. Be careful what you speak - because there is a harvest of your words that is coming. You can enjoy good from what you speak - and you can experience bad as well. There is a contrary aspect to how we speak. We read here of the desire of the treacherous man next. There are those whose mouths are filled with treachery and violence. They speak things that should not be said. Their mouths are used to injure rather than build up and encourage. Their mouths are unkind and unloving - and the end of their words is violence. How we need to see this and realize that our words and our mouths will pave a way for us. When we use them rightly our words pave the way for good things coming back to us. But when we become treacherous, deceitful, and ungodly in our speaking - it too will come back upon us - but only in the way of violence and problems. Watch how you speak. It will determine what is coming to you in the end. Speak and act as those who know that they will be judged by God for every idle word we speak. That way you know that there is a harvest of your words that is coming - and you will receive your just dues based on the words that you chose to use - whether good or evil. A good man will obtain favor from the LORD, But He will condemn a man who devises evil. Proverbs 12:2
Good and evil men . . . here we find ourselves with the biblical worldview running headlong into the worldview that sees morality as something that is relative. It is interesting to see that today we don't hear things often referred to as being good or evil. Yet that is exactly what the Scriptures speak of in today's proverb of the day. The good man is the man who is well-pleasing. There is a loaded statement if ever one was made. The question is asked - and rightfully so - pleasing to whom? Well, in this case, the well-pleasing man is the one who lives well pleasing to Jehovah. This is what is told to us in this proverb. This good man - the one who is well-pleasing - receives favor from God. Thus the one he is pleasing is God Himself. Look further into the Hebrew word "tobah" which is the word used for "good" here and you will see this clearly. The word means not just well-pleasing, but also fruitful, morally correct and proper. The idea is that good is in th eyes of God Himself - Who is the One determining the "rules" for good and evil. Ah, again we run into a wall in regard to worldview. Yes, God is the One who determines the rules - Who sets them - Who has given us His moral Law and calls us to obey and walk according to it. The man who seeks to walk according to this moral law is the one God refers to as the good man. The benefit for walking in this way is God's favor - which means pleasure, delight, acceptance. God offers to the good man His favor. Thus the good man knows that God takes pleasure in his ways - He delights in how He is living - and His lifestyle is one that God accepts. How men rebel against things like this. How can we be so arrogant as to say one lifestyle is superior to another? The world hates it when we say that a lifestyle is morally superior to others - and inversely - when a lifestyle is considered immoral. They want all lifestyles to be considered valid in their own way. What they don't understand is that in making that assertion they make it to where the only immoral lifestyle is the one that holds to any morals. In addition to this - they also place all moral judgments on shifting sands of public opinion. In effect they lower all moral choices to the level of no moral choice at all. Everything goes in their worldview - because the most immoral judgment at all is ever voicing a moral judgment. God lays the foundations for moral choices and moral judgments in this world. He does so because He is God - because He is creator - and because He is both true and just. Thus we read the second half of this proverb which says, "but He will condemn a man who devises evil." There it is again - a moral standard. God sets it - and when a man begins devising (thinking, considering, setting up) evil - God brings a moral judgment to the table. God condemns such behavior. How is evil defined? God is the One who defines it in His Word. Since He is just - He will set up what is just and good and all that does not agree with Him and what He says, is evil. Here is the crux of this proverb. The truth is that there is a moral standard in the world. God has set it. If there is no moral standard set by a being outside of this creation - then there is no moral standard. Worse that this - the actual working out of this lie is that there will be a standard - but it will be set up by men - and eventually enforced by unjust men who will have things their way. You wind up with a moral morass. Things WILL spin out of control. It is far better to have God set up what is right and wrong - and do so by a Word that He has given to reveal what that is in the world. God gives us His Law and His commandments. He does so without any respect of persons - and - in the end He alone will be the One before Whom we stand - and through Whom we will know whether we are called someone good or someone evil. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3
As a pastor, I have the fun task of informing people that God sees and hears everything. This is usually after someone learns that I am a pastor - and immediately apologizes for saying something crass or ungodly. I appreciate their graciousness in apologizing, but I also want to inform them that God hears and knows everything. There are some who do not believe this - but kind of believe that I'm mic-ed by God for surveilance of anyone near me. Soooo . . . when they speak within the range of my mic - God hears them - but when I'm out of range - well, everything is go for ungodly behavior. Proverbs lets us know - the eyes of Jehovah are in every place. God has an attribute called "omnipresence" which means that God is everywhere at all times. That is one reason God sees all things. There is a second attribute of God called "omniscience" which means that God knows all things at all times. Therefore we see that God not only sees all things - He knows what is said - the motives behind what is said - and He even knows what was not said but merely thought. This is information that is unnerving to say the least to those who are walking contrary to God's ways. I think it is one reason why some are so adamantly atheistic in their views of God. They cannot tolerate a God who konws all things they have done - and more importantly, One to whom they are accountable for these things as well. Therfore they just choose to deny Him instead. Of course this is as ridiculous as someone who denys the sun exists - yet still receives the light and warmth of the sun - even though he denies its existance. God does see - in every place - and He watches the evil and the good that is going on everywhere at all times. There is nothing He does NOT see or know. To be perfectly honest - this is unnerving to me! It is unnerving because there are times even I don't live like God sees and knows everything. It is unnerving because God does see all I do - and knows every motive that I have and every thought that passes through my head. If I did not know of the blood of Jesus and the grace of God - I might find myself mentally unstable due to this knowledge - but peace reigns in my heart because I do know such things. What a respect and fear of God comes to us when we grasp the attributes of God. It is a good thing to know this - because the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is when we grasp such things that we realize that a life lived for our own desires and lusts is a foolish life indeed. It moves us to wisdom because we grasp that life is to be FOR God - for His purposes and plans. It moves us to wisdom because such a knowledge leads us to a life lived THROUGH God Who alone is capable of giving us what we need to live a life acceptable to Him. So, next time you are tempted to trust self - live according to self - please self - and think that no one but you matters . . . think again. The eyes of God are in every place - seeing the good and the evil. And . . . He is the One with Whom we will have to deal in the day of judgment. |
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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