v.1-12
I. We discussed about this before, be wise/foolish not just affecting yourself, but people around you and your family.
Family : "Every wise woman builds her household, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. v.1" "The household of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.v.11" Can you afford to be foolish? Or you will pursue the LORD and get wisdom so that you can build up your family?
Friends: " Leave the presence of a foolish person, or you will not understand wise counsel. v.7" Be careful how we choose our friends. This is a command to leave the foolish person. They will not give you any wise counsel. Do you listen to your friend more or do you listen to the Bible?
II. Foolishness includes self deception.
"The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deception. v.8"
And the most dangerous way is self-righteousness.
"There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way that leads to death v.12." The way only seems right to that person. He/she probably thinks they can set the right/wrong. In other words, they are so prideful. see NET notes, 'The individual can rationalize all he wants, but the result is still the same." At the end, God will judge and we need to face the reality-death.
May we not deceive our time and see clearly where do we stand before God? Are we a good Christian before God? Or we just deceive ourselves?
v.13-24
In this passage I see the difference between the wise and fool in plan ahead. "Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love. v.22" Both groups of people do plan, "devise" and "plan." Scriptures encourage us to spend our energy to plan for the good then we will see God's faithful covenant love. When was the last time you plan to do good? Think ahead for 2020 and see what good do you want to do. Have you ever prayed and asked God in which area He wants you to serve Him more? In what area of the church you can help? Whom are the people you can show your care?
Closely related to planning is to be cautious. "A wise person is cautious and turns from evil, but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident. v16." I think in today world, we are encourage to make risk, which is not necessary bad. But Scripture warns us to make no risk in the matter of evil. Think ahead of what a temporary joy of sin will bring us. Over spending in shopping, outburst of anger, or being lazy in teaching your children, etc, all will have its consequence.
v.25-35
There are 2 pairs of proverbs that caught my attention:
14:27 The fear of the LORD is like a life-giving fountain,
to turn people from deadly snares
Both verses start with "the fear of the LORD" and they both talk about the confidence, the refuge, the life-giving that turns us away from death. That's true, God is mighty and He is faithful. But He is also invisible. Do we have the faith that if we fear Him then we can have confidence? The Scripture talks about strong confidence, life-giving. In the turn of the century, Chinese Christians facing the challenge of the government and they stood by their faith. During the Roman Empire, the Western Christians were persecuted to death. Do we have that kind of confidence?
14:30 A tranquil spirit revives the body,
but envy is rottenness to the bones.
The inner man (emotion, spirit) affects the physical body and even the whole person. Quick to anger, envy show our folly and brought us down. Note the opposite of envy is tranquil v.30. I once read a book about insomnia and one thing the author suggested is to forgive anyone who offended against you. That helps you to sleep better! On the same token, envy prevents us to have a tranquility and that will affects us. See NET notes for the definition of envy, "...envy or jealousy the word describes an intense and sometimes violent excitement and desire that is never satisfied." Confess our sins of envy now and experience the peace.
1. 14:26 In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence,
and it will be a refuge for his children.14:27 The fear of the LORD is like a life-giving fountain,
to turn people from deadly snares
Both verses start with "the fear of the LORD" and they both talk about the confidence, the refuge, the life-giving that turns us away from death. That's true, God is mighty and He is faithful. But He is also invisible. Do we have the faith that if we fear Him then we can have confidence? The Scripture talks about strong confidence, life-giving. In the turn of the century, Chinese Christians facing the challenge of the government and they stood by their faith. During the Roman Empire, the Western Christians were persecuted to death. Do we have that kind of confidence?
2. 14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding,
but the one who has a quick temper exalts folly.14:30 A tranquil spirit revives the body,
but envy is rottenness to the bones.
The inner man (emotion, spirit) affects the physical body and even the whole person. Quick to anger, envy show our folly and brought us down. Note the opposite of envy is tranquil v.30. I once read a book about insomnia and one thing the author suggested is to forgive anyone who offended against you. That helps you to sleep better! On the same token, envy prevents us to have a tranquility and that will affects us. See NET notes for the definition of envy, "...envy or jealousy the word describes an intense and sometimes violent excitement and desire that is never satisfied." Confess our sins of envy now and experience the peace.
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