Walking in Integrity
Proverbs 10-: 1-10
God gave us the Book of Proverbs to help us discern between good and evil (1 Ki 3:9). If we follow the advise given there we will get an understanding mind as we make decisions in our day-to-day life.
In Proverbs, we do not find the simplistic conclusion that poverty is always caused by laziness. Nor do we find the simplistic conclusion that riches are a sign of being righteous. Nor does Proverbs endorse the view that the answer to poverty is to coddle the poor and foster dependency. Neither does it endorse the view that the rich have no responsibility towards the poor.
This second Solomonic collection begins here and goes through (to 22:16). It consists of 375 individual proverbs. Each of which expresses a complete idea. This is one of the few places in Scripture where context is of no help. Each proverb represents in a practical way the choice one must make between the way of Wisdom and the way of Folly. The parallel, two line in proverbs of chapters 10-15 , are mostly contrast or opposites (antithetical), while those of chapters 16-22 , are mostly similarities or comparisons (synthetical).
The first 9 chapters of the book of Proverbs is considered Solomon’s introduction to the book. From chapter 10 onwards we start to get into the traditional proverbs – the short sayings with powerful meanings.
Proverbs are not promises. Let me say that again, proverbs, in the Bible, are not promises that God is required to satisfy for you. The book of Proverbs is written in different literary styles. In the Bible there is narrative, there is poetry, there is wisdom literature, there is apocalyptic literature, there is epistle, and there is gospel. These are all different literary styles the Holy Spirit has inspired human authors to write the Bible in.
Well, each of these different literary styles have their own interpretive principles that you have to be mindful of when you try to understand a text that is written in a particular literary style or technique of writing And if you ignore those interpretive principles, you can misunderstand what’s being communicated. And so when it comes to Proverbs, it’s important to realize that it is Hebrew Poetry and we have to interpret it as such
Proverbs entail probable outcomes, not guaranteed outcomes. Take, for example, a modern proverb like, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Notice, it’s a short, pithy way to capture an idea. And is it true that if you eat fruits, and apples, and vegetables that generally you’ll be a healthy person? But is it a promise? Is it a guarantee that if you eat an apple every day you will never have to see a doctor? Well, of course not. We all know that’s not the case? So, is that a violation of that proverb? No, it just means that, no, generally speaking, if you eat a healthy diet, you’ll generally be healthy, but it’s not a guarantee or a promise.
Now, think of a biblical proverb like Proverbs 16:7. : “If a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, then he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Okay, well let’s think about this. Was the Apostle Paul 's ways pleasing to the Lord? Well, I think we can safely say yes, they were. I mean, here’s a man who proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully. He also wrote parts of the Bible. Were Paul’s enemies made to be at peace with him? No, not at all, right? I mean, they try to kill him. In fact, they succeeded. We do not know how he died but it was not a natural death. Tradition tells us that he was clubbed to death or crucified. This is hardly peaceful. Well, does that mean that God didn’t satisfy or fulfill His promise to Paul? No, it doesn’t mean that at all. Because remember, proverbs are not promises.
Having said this lets dive in. In chapters 10-16 we find verses that are mostly antithetic; meaning that they contain a parallel arrangement of contrasting ideas. In our text, the first of the antithetic proverbs, Solomon says, “Wise children make their fathers proud of them; foolish ones bring their mothers grief.”
In his introduction (chapters 1-9) Solomon made it painstakingly clear that our lives are a grand-sum-total of our decisions. We are where we are today, in life, because of the decisions we have made. As he goes on to lay out a series of parallel choices, he offers to us opposing truths with opposing consequences. In this text the choice is made by children (sons and daughters) and the consequences are either good or bad for the parents. However, this does imply that the parents did their part. They trained their children in the way that they should go (Prov 22:6), they instructed them in righteousness, and they lived their lives as godly examples before their children. Having done their part, they have every right to believe and expect their children to walk in the way of the Master.
The children, of course , must make their choice: to walk in wisdom and make their parents proud, or to ignore Godly counsel and cause their parents grief You can either bring honor or dishonor to your parents. You can either submit to or reject what they have taught you. It doesn’t matter how old you are or whether or not your parents are still alive, what you do today can either be a tribute to their legacy or a disservice to their name. Make the right choice. Honor your parents; it is the right thing to do! (Eph 6:1).
Then in verse 2 Solomon contrasts the lives of those that seek wealth through unrighteous means and those that seek to live upright.
Now, please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. Money, in and of itself, is not bad. Money makes an excellent servant, but a poor master
Attaining wealth is also not bad, but wealth must be pursued the right way. If you increase wealth God’s way, then you will be able to enjoy the benefits of wealth with a clear conscious, but if you pursue wealth the wrong way it can destroy your life and legacy
Next we have that God will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but He pushes away the desire of the wicked.
Solomon contrasts God’s response to the desires of both the righteous and the wicked. For the righteous the message is clear: God will never leave us, nor forsake us (Heb 13:5). He will not allow the thirst of our souls and our stomachs to go unfulfilled. He is a loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father who wants to bless His children.
The psalmist said, “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). Let that sink in for a moment. He will not withhold any good thing from those that walk upright! He will not ignore those that are in covenant with Him. He will hear our cry. He will answer our call. He will take the time to commune with us, but we must have a relationship with Him and our heart must be in the right place. Our motives must be pure. We must be able to distinguish our needs from our greed. God is not promising to give us everything we ask, but He has promised to give us everything we need to fulfill our purpose in the earth and to maximize our potential along the way. Jesus said it best when He said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mat 5:6).
The wicked that Solomon is referring to are not living lives pleasing to God. Therefore, they cannot come to God in confidence. They don’t have a covenant to have confidence in. In the fifth chapter John said, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Whenever I read this verse I like to say, “What are your questions?” That is about as clear as it can be. Those that have accepted Jesus are in covenant with God and those that have not are not. John went on to say, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him” (1st John 5:11-15).
It means your relationship with Jesus should give you complete and total confidence with the Father. You should come to Him with the assurance of knowing that He will not withhold any good thing from you as long as it is in His will However, those that have not accepted His Son, who are not in covenant with Him, don’t have that confidence. Can God have mercy upon them? Absolutely! But you don’t want to live your life based upon mercy alone. Your life should be rooted and grounded in the covenant that you have with the Father, sealed by the blood of His Son, your Savior – Jesus the Christ!
He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth -Prov 10:4
This is not a reference to Spiritual riches. This is a proverb that makes it clear that if you want to ahead in life – in any area of life – you are going to have to work at it. I challenge you to find one person, in the entire Bible, that God used mightily, who was lazy Paul was one of the men called by God and he worked tirelessly to build God’s Kingdom for the rest of his life. What do you think his perspective of hard work was? We can get an idea of where he stood on the issue by reading something he said in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica. In that letter he wrote, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2nd Thes 3:10).
Now, in Christ there are eternal and countless riches. There are many Spiritual riches that are way more valuable than money. But to be clear, this verse is talking about money.
1. Walking with God does not exonerate us from work.
2. Working diligently is honorable and expected from God.
3. If you want to get ahead in life, don’t expect God to do it all for you. You have a part and He has a part. If you do your part He will do His!
A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest. - Prov 10:5 GNB.
In the earlier verse Solomon makes it clear that laziness opens the door to poverty and diligence opens the door to riches. Now he gives solid counsel about the timing of work. Although we must all work, it is neither reasonable nor sensible to work all the time. If we are not careful we can work ourselves into the ground. But on the other end of the spectrum is the lazy person who is stuck in a perpetual state of rest. Neither extreme is beneficial.
There are many truths in the Bible that are expressed to us in parables that deal with farming. God knows that farming principles are easy to understand and His goal is to provide us His unsearchable wisdom in ways that we can relate to and apply.
Farmers work hard during sowing season, preparing the ground, removing weeds and rocks, sowing the seed, and then covering up the seed with enough soil to protect it from the sun. There is then a space between sowing season and harvest time. Farmers get some rest in this time, but the warning here is against getting so comfortable that they get lulled into laziness. If the farmer is not careful he might sleep through the harvest, spoil all the work he had done during sowing season, and miss the opportunity to capitalize on his investment.
As believers we must be both active and industrious. Proverbs is about God’s wisdom and when we walk in Godly wisdom we are able to see opportunities that others might miss. The problem comes when we see the opportunity, but we are too lazy to capitalize on it. Wouldn’t it be a shame for God to open a door for you, only for you to fail to walk through it, because of the work waiting for you on the other side? Thomas Edison said, “Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
Lazy people not only miss opportunity, they run from it. Don’t be one of them. Look for opportunities, ask God to show them to you, but do so with a mindset that is prepared to work. If you continually squander God-given opportunities there will come a point where God stops giving them to you.
Blessings are upon the head of the righteous - the upright, in right standing with God) but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence- Prov 10:6
Jesus said it best when He said, “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. You can tell what a tree is like by the fruit it produces… Good people do good things because of the good in their hearts. Bad people do bad things because of the evil in their hearts. Your words show what is in your heart” (Luke 6:43-45), and, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Mat 12:36).
Jesus explains that he issue of your words is an issue of your heart. Your heart is like soil and it receives whatever seed you put in it. There are two ways to sow seed in the soil of your heart: your ears and your eyes. What goes through your ear gate and your eye gate eventually gets down in your heart and it will bring forth a harvest. The harvest comes out of your mouth. That’s why Jesus said that your words show what’s in your heart. To change your output you must change your input.
We have happy memories of the godly, but the name of a wicked person rots away.- Prov 10:7 NLT
How do you want to be remembered? Will you be remembered at all? 100 years after your death, will your name still remain? Will the legacy of your works echo through the halls of time? Will the work of your hands leave an indelible mark in heaven’s history books? After you are gone, will you be inducted into the Hall of Faith? These are probing questions. They are soul-searching questions. These are the types of questions that make us consider what life is all about and whether or not we are giving our time, energy and effort to the right things.
In Proverbs 13 v.22 Solomon tells us that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children. Now does the inheritance he talks about does mean only money? The Amplified Bible translation of that text tells us that part of what a good man leaves behind is an inheritance of “Moral stability and goodness.”
It means that we should keep the main things the main things. In this day and age is too easy to get so caught in the daily “rat race” and to fail to keep he important things important. A great majority of people spend most of their time on things that have no eternal significance. Don’t be one of them. Determine today to do all you can, while you can, for as long as you can; and as you do it, do it with God in mind. Keep Him first and He will help you to prioritize your efforts so that you can leave the legacy He expects you to leave!
The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces - Prov. 10:8.
The person who does not receive instruction is the person who believes they know it all. I have learned over the years that the closer you get to God, the less you think of yourself. Now, let me be clear, I am not talking about having a low self-esteem No, I am talking about remaining humble. The more you know about God the more you realize how much you need Him. You know that it is only by the Grace of God that you are who you are and that if it had not been for God – working through many people to speak to you – you would not be who and where you are today.
When you enter your day with that perspective you are more apt to be receptive when a word of instruction or correction comes through someone else. You don’t fight the messenger, because you know that it has taken many corrections and much teaching to get you to the point where you are. If you are going to maximize your potential and purpose, in the earth, before you die, then you must remain teachable. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing.
James said, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (1:19). Being quick to listen and slow to speak is easier for some than others.
People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall - Prov. 10:9.
The writer of Hebrews painted a picture for us. in chapter 12. He used the comparison that our lives is a race and how our purpose is wrapped up in the race that God has set before us. He told us that to affectively run the race we must rid ourselves of every weight that could slow us down (12:1). Not everything is a sin. Some things are weights – things that we know we simply should not do – and if we rid ourselves of the weights and the sin, then we can freely and surely run our race.
Solomon is not talking about a man that is sinless, because only Jesus was sinless, but he is talking about a man that walks in sincerity, integrity, and with a pure heart towards God and man. This man worships God with his whole heart, he seeks to be a blessing to others, he allows the Word of God to be the ruler by which he judges every decision. He walks by faith, with humility and patience, and he does it in love. This man is safe and his spirit can be at rest. He has nothing to fear and no reason to be afraid. The Psalmist told us that God will not without any good thing from those that walk uprightly -Ps 84:11.
On the other hand we have the man that willingly chooses crooked paths. This man is not deceived; he knows the difference between right and wrong and he chooses wrong. He refuses to submit to Godly counsel. He ignores the Word of God. He is deceitful towards others and walks with contempt towards God. Solomon says that he will slip and fall. This man has chosen to live the shifty and shady life and he will be exposed. Sooner or later he will reap what is has sown - Gal 6:7.
You have a choice between walking in integrity or choosing the crooked path
Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin. Prov. 10:10 NIV
This is somewhat of a departure for Solomon, in that his previous comparisons have been between good and evil, righteous and unrighteous, godly and wicked. In this case, both are in the wicked category. They are, however, different types of wickedness.
He continues in this style of comparison in verses 18;22; and 26.
Some men are crafty and cause real harm. Some men use their mouths, do some harm, and are fools. Compare these two kinds of men to dogs. A dog’s bark is often worse than his bite. Barking dogs seldom bite. Beware of a silent dog. Timid dogs may bark the most. The proverb presents two wicked characters, and they are contrasted by the damage they do to others or to themselves. Which of these two men is the most dangerous?
The proverb has two clauses, contrasted by the word “and.” The first clause describes a wicked man, for Solomon warned about him (Pr 6:12-15; Ps 35:19). The second clause describes a foolish man (Pr 10:8; 18:6-7; III Jn 1:10). connected with a “and,” Both men are wicked, and both will be judged, but one is more dangerous than the other.
A man who winks with his eyes is dangerous, for he is subtle, secretive, seductive, and subversive. He is the silent dog – biting without warning. You need to avoid this wicked snake, so God gave warning of the greater danger. Beware of hypocrites, who cover evil intentions by good words and fair speeches (Pr 26:24-26; Rom 16:17-18). These liars may call their mischief a joke, but they are dangerous and to be rejected (Pr 26:18-19).
This crafty person may stay hidden. He may not get caught until the Day of Judgment. Foolish men may never recognize the danger, but wise men will learn to identify and avoid him. When a man seldom speaks directly, you need to watch your back. He cannot be trusted, for honest men never behave this way. You have met a dog that would rather bite than bark.
A muttering fool is a big-mouthed and long-winded idiot, for he is babbling and chattering to no real purpose. He can do little harm. He is mostly or all bark. His bite is less than the noise he creates. He gives himself away in mere minutes of meeting him. He is more bluster than bite. He is going down even while he is talking, because others can easily recognize that he is a foolish braggart and harmless boaster. He falls in his own noose every time he opens his mouth (Pr 10:14; 13:3; 14:3; Eccl 5:3; 10:3,12-13).
Do not trust those who are outwardly friendly with aggressive gestures, body language, facial expressions, or flattering speech but show little depth or substance in sober conversation and lack zealous godly conduct (Pr 6:13; 7:10-21; 10:18; 23:6-8; 26:23-26; 27:6; 29:5). They are usually dangerous, for their heart is not with you. If you learn to identify and avoid these dangerous deceivers, you will save yourself from trouble.
