Proverbs 13:9 The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.
10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
Here we see that the righteous like doing all things in the light and are not ashamed of the life they live. The wicked does not like anyone to see what are doing so like the darkness to hide in.This image of life, prosperity and joy is contrasted with adversity and then death.
Pride is one of things that stands in the way of lot people accomplishing the things God would have for them to do. Prideful people do not like taking advice from others and are not teachable. Wise people are eager to learn and become wiser for it. The proud spurn the advice given from others while the wise accept it.
For people who gain wealth quickly by doing things that are crooked or unlawful will loose it about as fast as they get it because God will not bless it. It is what we hear a lot “easy come, easy go”. The best gained wealth is the rewards you get from hard work. When you work for what you have you appreciate more and if you give of it to those that need it God will bless you even more.
If we will be determined to keep everything we do in the light for everyone to see and keep our pride out of the way and humble ourselves and do the work God allows us to do to gain what we need we will be blessed for above what we can imagine.
Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
8 The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
It easy to see here that we someone who is rich but really has nothing and someone who seems to poor by has everything. We could say that one may say and pretend he has great riches trying to impress people for selfish gain and I am sure we all people like that. They really have nothing. We also know people who have great wealth and are only concerned about adding to it instead of using any of it for good. They also have nothing. Then you can look at the second man, that we all see sometimes, that pretends to be poor but is very rich. We commonly call him someone who “poor mouths”. From a spiritual standpoint we see this this second man as someone who gives almost all he has away to those less fortunate, he has treasures laid up in Heaven so he is very rich.
The first part of the second scripture shows us a man who has probably worked hard for the wealth he has in this world only ot be hated by jealous people. While a poor person is never spoken evil of because he has nothing for people be jealous of. We Can also see that a rich man could use his money to get himself out of trouble, but riches used in a godly way could be a blessing to you and those around you. Then there are the poor who would like to help a lot times but just do not have the money. I hope that people will always use the wisdom of God in handling their finances so that they will be blessed even above and beyond what they could imagine.
Proverbs 13;4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
6 Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
Hers Again we see different classes of people.
We have the sluggard; or lazy person; the loathsome person, and just the plain ole sinner. The characteristics of these three kind of fit together in that the lazy person will do all he can to keep from working even to the point of lying and cheating which is characteristic of the loathsome person. They bring shame upon themselves for what they do just like the lazy person. Their actions are sinful making them a sinner. If they continue in their actions they will just get deeper into sin.
We also have the diligent, the righteous, and the upright. The characteristics of these three should be what everyone strives to be like .If we work at our jobs as if we are doing it for God we will prosper. We should always be truthful in all things we do even if sometimes it hurts. Then in all things we should do our best to light the Jesus shine in our righteousness and He will uphold us.
Please attend church somewhere today where God can be praised and you can gain more wisdom to be able to face the world we live in today.
Proverbs 13:2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Hers in these two verses we see one of the secrets to life.Again it contrast to different kinds of lives. We know that if we speak good things about whatever we dealing with it will say a lot about who we really are. We can see in these two verses that a man of good words prospers, but a man evil words sets himself up for destruction. A lot times it is best if do not say anything in some situations because we may say something we regret latter and we can not take it back and could regret it forever. Those who run there mouths all the time usually do not know when to stop because they are trying to cover up what they said to start with.If you know much about the book of James it lets you see how deadly the tongue can be.
Proverbs 13:1 A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
A father always wants the best for his son so he tries to give him the instruction to help him lead a more successful life than he had. A wise son will take advantage of his fathers instruction knowing that his father gained this knowledge from experience. A scorner is the son who does not want to listen to instruction from anyone. Parents that love their children will rebuke their children when they do wrong but if the child does not learn from this are in for serious trouble . In the Old Testament, a rebellious son was to be taken to the edge of the city and stoned to death. This was a drastic measure, but I believe we are to see in that lesson that a person who will not be instructed is headed for destruction We will see later in this chapter how to help with the problem child.
Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
This chapter winds up telling us that if we remain in good standing with God we will have a good life here on this earth. Also we we have even a better life when we leave this world in Heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The second death has no power over us. Revelation 22:1-4 gives us a good picture of how it will be for righteous.
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
I hope all who read this will make plans to be here.
Proverbs 12:26 The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.
27 The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
These verses again show contrast between different kinds of people. A righteous person is always thinking of others and is valuable to his community. A righteous person guides his friends in the right direction and even tries to win people to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The wicked on the other hand is always trying to bring people down with him in what ever he is doing and the yare usually always in trouble. They even want things others have and are always causing their neighbors problems.
The slothful person does not know how to make good use of what he has. They usually never finish the task they have to do so lose any opportunity they have to gain from what they could done. For the one who is diligent in what he does and accomplishes what he sets out to do gains perseverance. There is always greater reward in accomplishing things than there is in continually putting things off till tomorrow.
25 Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
Anytime some worries it makes them hang their head.
In Matthew 26:37, we see that even Jesus was troubled facing the death on the cross.”And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.”
We are warned not to worry too much but when we are really worried it does seem to make the heart feel heavy. we are not not about tomorrow but to stay focused on how we live today. We should not worry about what we say if we are relying on what we have learned through God’s word and depend on him to give us the words to say in any situation. We can ease the worries people by saying good things that God will us to make them glad.
22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
23 A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.
24 The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
Here we have three more types of people contrasted.
We have the lairs and we know that God hates lying .
Next we have the foolish who talk about stuff they know nothing about and in essence this lying which God hates.
Last the slothful who are just lazy people and are forced to work to survive.
On the other side we the truthful which is a delight to God but not just to speak the truth but to live it out in our everyday lives.
Next an intelligent man instead of running off at mouth will wait till he knows the facts before saying anything.
Finally those that do not mind working hard for what they get and usually wind being the boss over those that are lazy.
As a child of God we should strive to be the ones who are honest, knows how to keep the peace, and are hard working. Again the question has to be asked which one these groups of people who you like be in?
Proverbs 12;20 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.
21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
Those who plan evil by deceit have no joy because of the risks and dangers in their plan, also they cause mischief which brings punishment upon them because of their sin. We that are children of God have joy because we are counselors of peace and because we God’s there is nothing that can happen to us with out a purpose. God may allow tribulation to come on us but it is to help us grow stronger. The devil cannot bring trouble on us without the Lord’s permission, if we are Christians. Job is a very good example of this. Let us strive each day to be counselor of peace and follow in the leading of the Lord. Today is Sunday the Lord’s day please try to attend a Bible believing church today and see what God has for you. Luverne First Assembly of God loves and welcomes all and we would be glad to see you today.
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." I John 5:7
