Apicontent

Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life. There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the LORD which will stand.
(Proverbs 19:20–21)

In the Wisdom book of Ecclesiastes, often attributed to Solomon, we are told to “fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Chapter 12:13b, 14).

Humans have been given free will; we can do those things which are good and are loved by the Lord or those things which are evil and are hated by Him. He is the God of all conscience who counsels on moral questions.

Solomon reminds us that our misfortunes are typically the results of our own folly, or impatience, or selfishness. A person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way. The wise person does not move impetuously and he or she listens to counsel.

Certainly, there is freedom of choice, but the repetitive command of this chapter is “listen to counsel and receive instruction that in the end you will be wise.” God has built freedom into the human spirit—the desire to have choices and live according to one’s will is not an invention of any government. God designed and gave mankind freedom, freedom to obey His commandments and to avoid all the evils and dangers to which we are exposed, and also the freedom to not rely on His counsel or help and to follow our own devices. Reverence of the Lord gives life, security, and protection from harm. There is a choice, one can choose Wisdom (life) or refuse Wisdom (death). It is a matter of choice.

Why do people have free will? What limits do you desire on your freedom? Do you choose or refuse wisdom? Can one really choose spiritual life and death?

Doing wickedness is an abomination to kings, because a throne is established in righteousness. The delight of a king is righteous counsel, and he will love the one who speaks uprightly.
(Proverbs 16: 12–13)

Effective leaders have inner strengths of wisdom, understanding, and respect for others. Leadership ability does not depend upon external characteristics such as popularity, ambition, wealth, and good looks.

The most effective leaders are servants for the best leaders lack selfishness and arrogance. In fact, the best leader serves best. Effective leaders also delegate, giving important responsibilities to those they trust. The leader (president, premier, prime minister, king) delights in subordinates who are wise and those in government who speak the truth. Leadership, and government, itself, are exercised through trusted relationships, and leadership is made secure by justice.

The best leaders weather the tough times and effective leaders do not give up but are willing to work through the wrongs. There will be inevitable temporary setbacks but the best leaders persevere by keeping their eyes fixed on the goal.

Finally, it is important for governmental leaders to be men and women of integrity. As Lemuel is admonished in Proverbs 31, it is not for kings to spend their strength on women or to drink wine or beer to excess. Solomon maintains that a lack of integrity on the part of a leader can result in compromised functioning and oppression of those whom he serves.

What are the hallmarks of a great leader? Do you lead by serving? Do you have the “right stuff” to emerge from the background population to the pinnacle of leadership? Who among us will be listed in Time’s review of the twenty-first century? Who among us will be listed as a great leader on the Day of Judgment?

Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting. A woman who fears the Lord—she makes herself praiseworthy.
(Proverbs 31:30)

The condition of women is the criterion by which a society may be judged. To Solomon, the virtuous woman had value far beyond any measure of material wealth. The good woman is sensitive to and reflective of God and she is in all ways distinct from the good man with spiritual intuitions and eternal insights.

Missing in Solomon’s world is the modern concept of the “liberated woman”—an independent person involved in her own business or profession. Solomon depicts the good woman as being highly relational and most often united in marriage. She is a friend and confidante. She has her husband’s best interest at heart: “She will not hinder him but help him all her life.” (Proverbs 31:12) The good wife becomes a crown to her husband and his power and influence in his community or country is directly and indirectly related to her. The good woman is industrious, business-like, active, trustworthy, gracious, cheerful, generous, compassionate, honest, humble, and loving.

What is your definition of a “good woman”? What qualities in your mother/wife/sister will you admire in 30 years? How can you edify the women in your life? How can you better demonstrate your love to the good women in your life?

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
(Proverbs 11:3)

Differentially, Solomon shades and colors his nearly innumerable maxims on goodness. No matter which iteration, however, wrongdoing is always a mistake, a source of insecurity and weakness, ultimately producing destruction and death, whereas goodness or the good person is a perpetual blessing. The good man is rewarded with beautiful gifts and unexpected blessings.

God watches the affairs of men closely, rightly dividing good from bad, integrity from evil. There is a real sense, based on the rewards and punishments presented, that God keeps records. Even if that were not so, being an upright person is its own continual reward. Goodness results in ever-increasing success and intimacy with God but evil is, by definition, the law of diminishing returns and further separation from God. Further, the blessing of the good man is not limited to the good man himself; it falls to his children as well.

Being a good (upright or holy) person is not a legalistic lifestyle but is a condition of the heart; it is the natural expression of an intimate relationship with a loving God. Goodness, and God himself is ultimate goodness, is essential to a life of happiness, for there can be no peace of heart or mind without it.

Are you a good (godly) person? Are you presently moving from success to success or failure to failure? Do you believe your actions are being monitored and recorded? Do you believe in a “Day of Judgment” where good and bad will be weighed? What have you done with God? What have you done with the gifts and abilities God gave you to work with?

The LORD created me as the beginning of his works, before his deeds of long ago.
Then I was beside him as a master craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, rejoicing before him at all times, rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and delighting in its people.
(Proverbs 8: 22, 30–31)

God is altogether other and He is infinitely beyond understanding. Solomon wants us to know God as creator, as father, as eternal, and as controller of this world. In Proverbs chapter 8, Solomon paints the picture of the complexity of the cosmos. The Spirit of Wisdom was there with God at the beginning, giving perfect form and order and mathematical precision to the universe.

Human beings are further evidence of God’s infinite creativity. Solomon’s father, David, wrote that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” (Psalm 139). God is the maker of our incomprehensibly complex brain, our eyes, our ears, our other senses, and our systems. God made us higher than the animals and He made each one of us highly unique from all others with distinctive gifts and abilities.

God is also the engineer of circumstance, very much in command of His universe and this world and He is always the defender of the poor, the weak, the needy, the widow, and the orphan. In His sensibilities, God is father-like and mother-like and His tender instruction and promises can always be counted on. Living in one accord with the Father’s instruction results in grace and honor. This living God, Solomon contends, deserves our humble respect and our highest honor. Solomon’s God reveals himself as the only God, the one true God. He reveals Himself as holy – the absolute standard for morality.

Who is God? Who is He really? Do you believe that God is who His Word says He is? Do you find yourself thinking about or doubting God when you are faced with a tough situation? Is it difficult for you to trust God as a living, loving Father with the circumstances and challenges of your life?

Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life.
(Proverbs 4:23)

God, as a loving Father, expects his children to keep his instructions in their hearts. When the Bible talks about the heart, it refers to who we are as a person. It can be said that the heart is the nature of a person or one’s inner self. Thus, it affects everything one does, and it is God’s primary concern. The Lord does not judge the outward appearance,b but He weighs the motives, thoughts, and intentions of a person, that is, the person’s heart.

God hates a scheming, plotting, evil heart. The proud heart is self-sufficient and does not subject itself to God’s words; whereas, the humble heart is ready and willing to be instructed. A heart in tune with God’s desires is one of integrity.

Without Christ, our hearts are “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). But when Christ saves us, He gives us a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26).

The above passage along with other verses in Proverbs indicates that we as Christians must guard our new hearts because the heart shapes life.

How do you protect your heart? Are you self-sufficient or open to others’ help and instruction? Are you known as a kind and loving person? Is your heart in tune with the ways of the world or God’s ways? What is the evidence that your heart has been redeemed and renewed by God?

Through loyal love and truth iniquity is appeased; through fearing the LORD one avoids evil.
(Proverbs 16:6)

The Proverbs make the moral leap from the prohibition of retaliation, i.e. not getting even to a spirit of love which actually turns the tables and repays good for evil. One who forgives in this fashion looks with assurance to the Lord for a reward.

This high ideal, the duty of forgiveness, is based on the need, which we have of God’s forgiveness. Solomon also speaks of atonement, i.e. pardon and acceptance by God. The person who attempts to hide his sins will not succeed but one who confesses and turns away from his wrongdoing will obtain mercy from God. The Lord God is a loving Father full of mercy, ever willing to forgive. First, however, there has to be confession and repentance—sorrow for wrong-being and wrong-doing. There is truly no way that man can “cover” his sins from God. Secondly, turning away from sins results in a lifestyle of mercy and truth. Selfishness and falseness can be forgiven and pardoned. By God, selfishness gives place to mercy and falsehood to truth.

Do you find it hard to let go of the past? Do you identify with the bumper sticker: “Don’t get mad, get even”? Do you find it easier to forgive an enemy than a friend? Is one of your important relationships paralyzed by a lack of forgiveness? Have you ever asked God for forgiveness? Do you consider God as a loving Father? Do you desire to see God someday or do you fear His judgment?

Indeed, if you call out for discernment—shout loudly for understanding—if you seek it like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand how to fear the LORD, and you will discover knowledge about God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2: 3–6)

Insight means a perception of things unseen or apprehending the true nature of a thing. It may be a penetrating discernment or understanding of underlying truth. Insight is an appreciation of God’s ways and is a special subtype of wisdom. Insight is contact between God and the human spirit, which results in a direct revelation of that which God has purposed or hidden. The Word of God is the source of such understanding. Those people who treasure his word can enjoy the appropriate application of knowledge. Insight comes from allowing God to guide us into the deep things of the physical and spiritual realms.

Spiritual insight allows us to see clearly what God’s purpose is for us as well as the purpose for His world. Insight allows one to discover God’s desire for his or her life and then to obey that will.

Are you one who sees “beneath the surface”? How do you regard coincidence? Is there an underlying unifying theme to seemingly diverse events and circumstances?

The wicked will be captured by his own iniquities, and he will be held by the cords of his own sin. He will die because there was no discipline; because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.
(Proverbs 5:22–23)

Solomon states that we should not try to avoid responsibilities by saying that we were not aware of them. God knows all hearts and he knows you better than you know yourself. He knows your comings and your goings; he keeps records of all of your thoughts, words, and deeds. He keeps watch over your soul and he knows what you know and what you do not know. He knows the exact day, hour, minute, and second of your death and He will judge everyone according to what they have done and have not done with the opportunities in this brief life.

Death has the final word. No one gets out of this alive; no one escapes the ultimate death sentence. In the face of death, we are utterly helpless and no amount of success, fame, courage, or strength can overcome death. Only the Ancient of Days, the God of life and death, can shepherd us through death’s valley to life eternal. Life is uncertain, and then you die; however, Solomon’s God offers the hope of eternal comfort.

How often do you consider death? Do you live as the dying person that you are?   Is it true that one can only live a happy life if he/she is prepared to die? What will your legacy be? Who will speak at your funeral and what will be said? Do you believe that you will live forever, either with God or without Him? What will happen to you after your death?