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Proverbs 18

Again there is not just one theme in this chapter but different applicable points that Solomon wants to pass on to his son. One point I would like to focus on is friendships.

Friends (vs 1, 22, 24)

The first point we see is friends. Verse 1 says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” We know we are not meant to be alone.

There are a couple things that I do not like doing alone, one of those is going to the movies. For some reason I will never go to the movies alone, which is funny because it is not like I can have a deep and meaningful conversation during a movie. I also do not like going out to eat alone. Eating is a social thing, you are able to enjoy food with someone and have a great conversation all at the same time.

God wants us to be social with other humans. Jesus is the example of being social, he went to people and met their needs. We can not meet others spiritual needs if all we do is hang out with ourselves. Also, when someone seeks his own self and isolates himself, he can not have the feedback from others. We should seek counsel from other godly men and women. We see a contrast to being a loner to what a true friend is in verse 24 which says, “A man of many companions may come to ruin but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.” In verse one we see the too little or no friends and now we see too many of friends. It is interesting but it is true, if you have too many you will come to ruin, what do you think this means? True friendship is based on a giving of oneself. To be a good friend, you must be self sacrificing. You can not do this with everyone you will run out of giving. You can only be like this with your true friends.

The last means of friendship is marriage. In verse 22 it says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.” I must say it is true, my wife is my best friend. She knows me better than any other person or friend I have. She knows things that I have only shared with her. Your spouse should be your close companion.

What kind of friendships do you have? Are your friends encouraging you in the ways of the Lord? Are you a friend who is giving of themselves to others or are you only taking? Your relationship that you should put more effort in is your relationship with God then your family then your friends. The sad thing is the priorities of friendships are not this but usually friends, then family, then God. Start with God then family then friends and you will see the true blessings of friendships.

To answer these questions, fill out your name, email, and answers in the comment box below.

Proverbs 11 – The wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. T or F
Proverbs 12 – The righteous choose their friends uncarefully. T or F
Proverbs 13 – What happens if you walk with the wise?
Proverbs 14 – What does the false witness do?
Proverbs 15 – What does a gentle answer turn away?
Proverbs 16 – What does pride lead to?

Proverbs 14

As we continue to read through Proverbs we can see the different themes that are brought up, some are ones repeated such as not being lazy, watching our mouths, and listening to wisdom. In verse 4 we read, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the oxen.” This verse caught my attention because it is different than the other ones and also it was funny to think about.  When there is no oxen in the manger to mess it up of course it will be clean but if you do not have the oxen you can not plow the field and make money.

We in America of the take it easy approach and want the get rich quick idea. The thought of hard work has gone out the window. It is a mere thought in some traditional people. What Solomon was saying was that in order for you to make it, you need to be willing to have a little “pasture patties” or “Buffalo Chip” or scrape your elbow, take a chance in this life. Work hard and you will see the fruit of the work.

Do Something for God

Looking at this, we need to look at it in a spiritual way, we can not be afraid to step out and do something for the Lord. If we are too worried about failing we are n0t trusting the Holy Spirit. When D.L. Moody was first starting out in ministry he was doing something that no one else was doing in Chicago. He was going to the poor parts of the city that no one else would go to and would invest in the lives of the kids. He would hold Sunday school every week and encourage them to grow in their faith. He was ridiculed for it, people told him he was wasting his time, or that he was crazy. The truth was God was behind it every step of the way and D.L. Moody took a step of faith and trusted in the Lord. He wanted to serve God and do ministry. He did not wait for ministry to come to him. It is the small things that matter.  He did not care that his manger was clean because he needed the oxen to harvest the field. The same good have been said about David as he faced Goliath or Gideon and his 300 men.

We need to take a step of faith. That is what we see with these men and women in the Bible. They worked hard, did not take the easy rode and God used them mightily for his kingdom. Sure it was not always easy, it was tough but you can not fear getting dirty. Instead we should be motivated to work harder for the kingdom of God as God will show himself in a mighty way. People will not always understand but when you are seeking God and obeying him, that is all that matters. When you live like this you are not afraid to try something new, you are not afraid to speak boldly, and you seek Christ in all.

Proverbs 13

The saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt” is not really true, words do hurt and so do sticks and stones. Have you ever heard this one, “I am rubber and you are glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Yeah, still not true. We can say something and it ruins someones day. We can be so hurtful with our words and can leave a scar forever. As this chapter has many other practical points besides holding our tongue, I would like to look at verse 3 which says, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips come to ruin.”

Guard Your Mouth

Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard O Lord , over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! We should really take a look at this passage and take it to heart. Why would whoever guards his mouth preserve his life? Is it because if we just talk we could end up in trouble with the wrong person? Is it because we waste time and energy when we talk? Solomon was speaking about just making sure you speak what is good and what is true. James 1:9 encourages us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.  James 3 talks about how destructive our tongues can be just like a small spark can set a whole forest on fire.

The opposite can happen too, we can make someones day by what we say. I like how David watched what he said, in Psalm 39:1 it says, “A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” We should watch what we say so we do not sin against God with our mouths. We sin against God with our mouths by cursing, gossip, hate, anger, deception etc. Do you watch what you say? Do you guard your mouth so that you do not sin against God? How you can do that is by asking God to help you watch what you say. Start by being conscious of what comes out of your mouth. What is it, is it good or bad? Also take your parents advice, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” So, learn to be a quiet person. President Calvin Coolidge was known as “Silent Cal” and when he was asked why he spoke so little he said, “I never have regretted anything I didn’t say.” Take that advice!

And lastly, instead of bad coming out of your mouth try filling it with praise. We should have constant praise out of our mouths. Just like Paul told the Ephesian church in Ephesians 5:19-20 which says, “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Proverbs 12

As we see that these Proverbs are phrases that can be themed together. Today I would like to look at one verse, the first one. It says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates reproof is stupid.”

Do you Love Discipline?

I think this is a hard thing to do, to love discipline. I mean usually when one gets disciplined it is to be corrected of a fault. That means your pride has to be swallowed and you have to allow yourself to be corrected. That also means you have to admit you are not perfect and were wrong. When I was a teenager, I hated being disciplined. I thought it was the worst thing in the world. But you know it is love being shown when one is disciplined. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children. Just like God who disciplines us spiritually our parents are commanded to discipline us because they love us. My parents disciplined me because they love me not because they wanted to make my life miserable.

Adah is now 7 months old and she is starting to roll over a lot. It has become a little problem when we try to change her on her changing table. The reason is because she could roll off and get hurt. We do not want her to get hurt because we love her. We have to teach her not to roll over when we are changing her. She does not like that very much. The reason why we do it is because we love her. The same is with the Father. He disciplines us spiritually (allowing us to get caught in sin) because he wants us to be a better Christian. Parents discipline you so you could be a better person.

Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spars the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” When we get into trouble and are disciplined it is love being shown in a way that we may not quite understand at that moment. When I was 13, I did not quite see the love being displayed as I was disciplined but now being 26 I can totally see it. I challenge you to learn to love discipline. Know your parents do it because they love, if they did not love you they would not care about what you did. Be thankful for the discipline and love it.