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19:22: That which is desired in a man is loyalty and kindness [and his glory and delight are his giving], but a poor man is better than a liar. |
In the eyes of the Lord, it's better to be poor than to lie. God doesn't judge success the same way that people do. People look at how much you have, who you know and how prestigious you are. God looks at the heart. He looks at things like honesty, integrity, love and humility. When you can live by godly principles even when its tough to do so then you are "successful" in the eyes of God. If you are rich but dishonest then you would be better off giving up your wealth and becoming a poor honest person. What will you do to climb the ladder of success at your workplace? Are you willing to lie or become dishonest? Are you willing to backstab your co-workers so you can get the next promotion? If you will remain honest instead then the Lord sees that and you will have His reward in the end instead of man's. His is so much better! |
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20:4: The sluggard does not plow when winter sets in; therefore he begs in harvest and has nothing. |
It's not easy to get motivated to work when the conditions are not the best for it. But if you don't plant you won't reap. If you don't work then when payday comes there will be nothing there for you. Be wise and think ahead and prepare. A wise person won't just expect the Lord to bail him out when the bills come without having planted something. You wouldn't except a company to send you a paycheck without having done work for them. The winter time is a time when it looks the bleakest. The conditions are the worst and a whole season of work is ahead of you. It's a time when the most work is yet to be done. Yet this is the time when you need to get out there and start working. Then when payday comes you will have a harvest. |
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20:13: Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you will be satisfied with bread. |
The thought of staying home, sleeping in late and doing nothing all day may be appealing. But the truth is, if you want to keep from poverty then you need to open your eyes and get out of bed. If you want to be satisfied with good food, then you'll need to get to work. What you do today affects your future tomorrow. There's a time when you just need to think about today. Like Jesus said in Matthew 6:34--you don't need to be anxious about tomorrow. There's enough to take care of today without worrying about tomorrow. And learning to be content where you are today is necessary in order to live in peace. But being content doesn't mean you sit around and be lazy. It simply means you're not feeling that you're lacking in anything. You're thankful and appreciate for what you have--including your job and your ability to work and earn an income. |
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21:5: The thoughts of the steadily diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want. |
The diligent and the impatient are contrasted here. When you act impulsively or impatiently you do so because you don't want to wait for what you want. You don't want to be in a state of "lack". You want what you want now. But by doing so you end up bringing yourself down a path that leads to more lack. If you borrow money because you can't wait for something then you end up spending much more for that thing then if you would have been diligent and patient to save up for it. And many times by waiting to buy something you may find that you really didn't need that thing anyway so then you've saved a lot of money. Hasty spending habits keep you in a discontented frame of mind. But when you're diligent and patient you are satisfied and have plenty. |
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21:6: Securing treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro; those who seek them seek death. |
If you try and gain treasure or get something valuable by compromising godly principles then you have not gained anything at all. What do you feel is a great treasure? In God's eyes a great treasure is a great heart--for example one who is honest and has integrity, humility, mercy and love. When you see honesty and integrity as a treasure greater than material treasures then you have tapped into the heart of God. The end does not justify the means. Even if you want to use that treasure for a "good" purpose, God looks at how you've gotten it and not just at what you've gotten. |
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21:17: He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. |
One whose primary goal is to live a lifestyle like the rich and famous will end up broke in one way or another. When you're pursuing a life of pleasure and ease while neglecting your responsibilities then you're not going to go very far. It's not that God doesn't want you to enjoy yourself or have good things, He does. But you will reap what you sow. In order to enjoy good things there is work to be done to get there. Many people want to reap a harvest where they haven't sown. They want the good things of life without having done anything to get them. The joys of life spring from a peaceful heart and a peaceful heart comes from having a clear conscience which is a result of taking care of your responsibilities. |
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21:20: There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident foolish man swallows it up and wastes it. |
A self-confident foolish man is one who devours and wastes precious treasures. He is one who spends money flippantly and impulsively. One who will feed his appetites, maybe even while bills go unpaid. This kind of attitude is similar to an addiction which causes you to feed your addiction no matter what the cost. This person may be one who can't hold on to money at all. If he has it, he has to spend it. The wise, on the other hand, properly prioritize what to spend their money on and as a result have a higher quality of living to show for it. They're not trying to impress anyone with a false standard of living. They're willing to increase slowly and take care of what they have rather than trying to expand too fast beyond what they can handle. |
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21:25-26: The desire of the slothful kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all the day long, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous gives and does not withhold. |
Have you ever met anyone who talks all the time about all the things they want? And it usually seems they have a tendency to criticize what they have, (or what others have) and talk about how they're going to get this bigger and better thing. They are never satisfied. What they have now, or what you have now, is never good enough. The reality is, they really don't know the value of what they want. They're not willing to work for what they want. They can't save towards anything because they spend whatever they have. They crave all this stuff but they aren't willing to do what it takes to get it. It would cost them something more than they are willing to give to get it and they just can't do it. Their laziness keeps them discontent. But the righteous give. The righteous are free from lust and greed. They're free from laziness and as a result they have extra to give and they are happy to do so. |
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22:4 The reward of humility and the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. |
There is a reward that comes along with humility and fear of the Lord. According to this scripture, that reward is riches, honor and life. That's a pretty nice reward. Many people today think that you won't get anywhere unless you push yourself to the top. They think you need to boast about yourself and criticize your "competition". They don't think that following the ways of God's Kingdom is going to get you anywhere. But we continue to see throughout the book of Proverbs that when you do things God's way there is a reward greater than any other. We read that God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. When God is resisting you, you won't get very far. But with His grace you can live a beautiful life. |
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22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. |
The borrower is servant to the lender. What happens when you owe money to someone and you don't pay your bill? Eventually you'll end up going before a judge. Once you borrow money from someone then you are obligated to pay them back according to your agreement. If you agreed to make monthly payments then part of your income every month has to go towards that bill. You have become a servant to them. That part of your income is not free for you to do what you want with it. Be very careful before you borrow money. You're not just tying up part of your income for a certain time period but you're tying up part of your life. If you wanted to quit your job for whatever reason, or take a lesser paying job, or retire, or take a leave of absence or whatever, then you would still have this obligation to pay back this money and you may not be able to do what you want to do because you can't afford it. Keeping yourself out of debt gives you a lot of freedom. |
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22:16 He who oppresses the poor to get gain for himself and he who gives to the rich--both will surely come to want. |
In God's eyes, giving to the rich is as bad as using the poor for personal gain. What does He mean by giving to the rich? When you give to someone hoping for some sort of repayment then you need to check up on your motives. Instead you could be giving a much needed meal to the poor. Of course, the poor wouldn't be able to repay you and "rubbing elbows" with the poor rather than the rich may not appear to be as profitable for you. But whose favor are you looking for--a rich man's or God's? Do you think there's something a rich man can give you that God cannot? It comes down to the motives and priorities of your heart which have much to do with the final outcome of your deeds. |
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22:28: Remove not the ancient landmark which your fathers have set up. |
The "ancient landmarks" set up by our "fathers" have to do with boundaries established by prior generations. He says here not to remove them. God Himself establishes certain boundaries or lands for appointed time periods, (see Acts 17:26). When we try and expand beyond those boundaries we can get ourselves in trouble. Like the prodigal son who took his father's inheritance and squandered it outside his father's house. Wealth can grow from generation to generation as long as your generation follows the principles God has established. Your wealth is not just for you. You can't take it with you when you die. You pass it on to the next generation and if you have squandered your wealth then your children will need to start over. If you are wise and diligent then there will be more to leave to your children. When you learn to live within your current limitations--your current budget--then you are benefiting the bloodline of your future. |
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