#915 Proverbs 10 Of No Consequence

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

2 Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,

but righteousness delivers from death.

3 The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

4 A slack hand causes poverty,

but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5 He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.

6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing,

but the name of the wicked will rot.

8 The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,

and a babbling fool will come to ruin.

11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

12 Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses.

13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

14 The wise lay up knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

15 A rich man's wealth is his strong city;

the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,

the gain of the wicked to sin.

17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.

18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool.

19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth.

21 The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense.

22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it.

23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,

but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but the righteous is established forever.

26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked will be short.

28 The hope of the righteous brings joy,

but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

29 The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers.

30 The righteous will never be removed,

but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse. Proverbs 10 ESV

Proverbs 10

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother - I didn't have a dad around growing up, but I was blessed with a multitude of mothers, and I was often a sorrow for them. They never stopped praying for me or confronting me about my behavior, and I am now grateful for the truth they told me even if I hated it then. 

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit - It is deceptive, the gain we may make quickly by deceit, theft, illegal trade, easily convinces us that the reward is worth the risk. We tend to measure only in temporal consequences, things related to the material and here. We are actually excited, exhilarated at the idea of danger and rebellion. Some even reach seats where they look down upon the law, and since they have no one greater than them here, they act as if they will not give account.

…8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, these men are unafraid to slander angelic majesties.… 2 Peter 2: 8-10

…35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… Mark 8: 35-37

A slack hand causes poverty - If we have hands, feet and half a mind, then we should use them to our profit and God's glory. Sloth is a horrible thing in a human being; it is arrogant in insisting that others should carry more of the load. Someone else will have to be the slave to my laziness.

…9 Not that we lack this right, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.… 2 Thessalonians 3: 9-11

But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence - It looks like a mouth but what comes out of it is from the abundance of the heart.

…36 But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”… Matthew 12: 36-38

Hatred stirs up strife - It needs a war, it needs a sacrifice, it's own discontent must be spread. Hatred comes from pride, me thinking that I am just in my anger, finding and object for my wrath and convincing myself that he or she is somehow beneath me. Like misery it begs company. 

…19 We love because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.… 1 John 4: 19-21

But a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense - I remember growing up in the 80's, and watching as the rest of the world moved away from repercussions, but my mom would not. When we did the wrong thing, she did not make excuses for us. She confronted us for lying, for getting in to fights, for disrespect to her and our school teachers. When we were small we got spankings, and I even threatened to call HRS (Child Services) on her, once I heard about it. As we got older it changed from that to loss of privileges, like going to a friends house, taking away my fishing rod or BB gun, grounded. She was trying to teach me a hard truth about individual responsibility, but I was proud and stubborn and only wanted to learn the hard way. I was like the man who climbed to the top of a building and jumped off yelling, "I refuse consequences." How dare anyone confront me about my sin, if you wanted to be my friend then you had to go along, tell me how good and noble I was, how unfair and unjust everyone who disagrees with me is. I remember sitting in the principles office at school because me and another boy got into a fight, and they called his mom and she said, "she didn't believe he would start anything like that, not her child, he is a good boy." I knew him a little better than she did; he was a bully, older than me, he was picking on me, threw first, but when the substitute teacher came out I was on top of him with balled up fist. Waiting in the hall, we both decided to lie and say we were just playing, but no one bought that, and while his mom refused to let the school discipline him, they called my mom, and she quickly consented. I would like to say a light went off then, that I realized what she was trying to teach me, but I have a really hard head, and even when I was little I would laugh at spankings. She also told me not to use drugs, and I overdosed, not once, not twice, 3 times, but when she heard I was trying to quit, she moved up to where I lived and helped me rehab. 

…9 Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live? 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. 11 No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a peaceful harvest of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.… Hebrews 12: 9-11

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool - He will brag about it; it's not embarrassing to him, it's street cred.

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him - Send a lazy man and the report back will be irritating. He will cause embarrassment, ruin your business, steal, cause more work for you and others. The job won't get done, or he will take short cuts that could harm others, damage equipment, or lose business. I have seen many a parent destroy their business by putting their spoiled child in charge, and not correcting him for things they would fire others for. The other employees suffer, sometimes the business closes, but it loses it's good name, and your child is not a better person for all your lack of correction. You make a monster. He sees the hurt of others as necessary, because you won't remove him from the position he is not mature enough to perform, he won't remove himself, because he or she is a little princess. 

…4 When you are gathered in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?… 1 Corinthians 5: 4-6