Thursday, July 7, 2022
17 The road of right living bypasses evil;
watch your step and save your life.
18 First pride, then the crash—
the bigger the ego, the harder they fall.
19 It’s better to live humbly among the poor
then to live it up among the rich and famous.
20 It pays to take life seriously;
things work out when you trust in God.
21 A wise person gets known for insight;
gracious words add to one’s reputation.
22 True intelligence is a spring of fresh water,
while fools sweat it out the hard way.
23 They make a lot of sense, these wise folks;
whenever they speak, their reputation increases.
24 Gracious speech is like clover honey—
good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.
-Proverbs 16:17-24 The Message
17 The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;
whoever guards his way preserves his life.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 Whoever gives thought to the word[a] will discover good,
and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
21 The wise of heart is called discerning,
and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
Verse 18 study: People who stay proud are the ones that take a little account of their weakness and run into traps. They believe they are over everything among ordinary people. So they will continue to stay trapped. People that stay proud seldom realize that pride is their problem, even though the people they hang around see it.
Verse 22 study: People fought a fountain of youth, a spring that promised eternal life and vitality for many centuries. But it was never found. God’s wisdom is a foundation of life to make a person happy, healthy, and alive. How is that? When you choose to love God’s Word, he washed these deadly sins away, and hope of eternal life with him gives us a beautiful perspective of our present life. The fountain of life is reality. You choose to be enlightened by God’s wisdom or be dragged down by your foolishness.
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. -Titus 3:4-8 ESV
Verses 23-24 study: God’s wisdom is revealed in these two verses. This is taught in our hearts; these truths and promises are meant to influence our speech. It’s prepared for you to be controlled in your thoughts and speech. “Sweetness” and “health” in speech bring desires from relationships or divine grace in living. It leads to overcoming in a believer, victory in life, consistency, and acknowledgment of the power and might of God with both mouth and manners. (Psalm 19:14; Matthew 15:7-9)
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
-Psalm 19:14 ESV
7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
-Matthew 15:7-9 ESV
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