Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 09/06/2022 8:00am
17 A murderer haunted by guilt
is doomed—there’s no helping him.
18 Walk straight—live well and be saved;
a devious life is a doomed life.
Doing Great Harm in Seemingly Harmless Ways
19 Work your garden—you’ll end up with plenty of food;
play and party—you’ll end up with an empty plate.
20 Committed and persistent work pays off;
get-rich-quick schemes are ripoffs.
21 Playing favorites is always a bad thing;
you can do great harm in seemingly harmless ways.
22 A miser in a hurry to get rich
doesn’t know he’ll end up broke.
-Proverbs 28:17-22 The Message
17 If one is burdened with the blood of another,
he will be a fugitive until death;
let no one help him.
18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,
but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
21 To show partiality is not good,
but a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.
22 A stingy man hastens after wealth
and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
-Proverbs 28:17-22 ESV
Verses 17-18 studies: A sinner’s conscience will drive them either to guilt or death. The guilt that builds up will probably result in repentance. Death will probably happen of refusal to repent. It is no act of kindness to try to make them feel better. The more guilt they feel, the more they are likely to turn to God for repentance. If we interfere with the natural consequences of his act, we may make it easier for them to continue in sin.
Verse 20 study: Faith and wisdom may lead to riches, but giving priority to riches is a severe error.
Verse 21 study: Just a tiny bribe can have messy results in maintaining order and justice in society.
Verse 22 study: A stingy man, a miser. Poverty will come. This means two things.
Miser lacks the wisdom to keep wealth and gain it.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 09/07/2022 8:00am
11 The rich think they know it all,
but the poor can see through them.
12 When good people are promoted, everything is excellent,
but watch out when the bad are in charge!
13 You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it;
you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.
14 A tenderhearted person lives a blessed life;
a hardhearted person lives a hard life.
15 Lions roar and bears charge—
and the wicked Lord it over the poor.
16 Among leaders who lack insight, abuse abounds,
but for one who hates corruption, the future is bright.
-Proverbs 28:11-16 The Message
11 A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
but when the wicked rise, people hide.
13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
14 Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always,
but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over poor people.
16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor,
but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
-Proverbs 28:11-16 ESV
Verse 11 study: The rich don’t correlate with unrighteousness or poverty with wisdom and righteousness. There is that tendency, nevertheless. Those who believe they are wise in their own eyes are fools more than those who see folly as wisdom.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. -1 Corinthians 1:18-25 ESV
The rich believe they are wonderful, not depend on anyone; they take credit for everything. It is called a hallow self-esteem issue. Even though the poor use dependence on God in their struggles, they develop richness in spirit that no amount of wealth can provide. The rich can lose all their material wealth, while no one can take away the poor man’s character. So don’t be jealous of the rich; money may be all they will ever have.
Verse 12 study: Righteousness leads to social order and happiness, while unrighteousness destroys and alienates.
Verse 13 study: It’s natural to hide our sins or overlook our mistakes. It is hard to learn from your mistakes. It is hard to learn from your mistake that you don’t acknowledge making. What good is a mistake if you don’t teach yourself anything? To learn from an error, you must admit it, confess it, analyze it, and make adjustments so it doesn’t happen again. Everybody makes mistakes, but only fools repeat them. There is something in us that won’t let us admit that we were wrong. This is why we admire those who openly admit to their mistakes and sins. These types of people have a strong self-image. They don’t always have to be right to feel good about themselves. Be willing to reconsider, admit wrongdoing, and change your plans when necessary. Always remember that the first step to forgiveness is confession; as you confess, you prompt mercy from mankind and God. Well-being in one’s life is linked to orderliness and an intensely personal relationship with God. Unconfessed sins are the ultimate disorder in life. Confession and repentance lead to restoring a right relationship with God based on his mercy. All other relationships depend on this.
Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil of David.
32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah -Psalm 32:1-4 ESV
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. -John 1:6-9 ESV
Verse 14 study: Blessed and whoever hardened his heart. One who will set his will against the Lord. To fear means to revere and honor the Lord.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. -Exodus 7:3 ESV
13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said. -Exodus 7:13 ESV
Verse 16 study: Tyranny is contrary to wisdom. It demonstrates a lack of discernment. The second line implies that the greedy tyrant brings its own destruction.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 09/03/2022 8:00am
Your Face Mirrors Your Heart
17 You use steel to sharpen steel,
and one friend sharpens another.
18 If you care for your orchard, you’ll enjoy its fruit;
if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored.
19 Like water mirrors your face,
your face reflects your heart.
20 Hell has a voracious appetite,
and lust just never quits.
21 The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame.
-Proverbs 27:17-21 The Message
17 Iron sharpens iron,
and one man sharpens another.
18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
19 As in water, face reflects face,
so man’s heart reflects the man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied
And never satisfied are the eyes of man.
21 The crucible is for silver, the furnace is for gold,
and a man is tested by his praise.
-Proverbs 27:17-21 ESV
Verse 17 study: When you are around good people, mental sharpness comes with it. A meeting of minds can help people see ideas with clarity, refine them, and shape them into brilliant insights. But this will require discussion partners who can challenge each other and stimulate thoughts. This helps focus on an idea without involving egos in the discussion; people who know how to attack the review and not the thinker. Two friends who bring their ideas together can help each other become sharper. This is a positive effect of interaction with others on one’s character.
Verse 18 study: The problem and concerns a leader has, they can overlook essential people who deserve attention; faithful employees or volunteers. People who stand behind you, work hard and help you get the job done to earn to share in your success. So when you are worrying, planning, and organizing, don’t forget the people who are most helpful to you. Diligent work and honest service are rewarded.
Verse 19 study: Water reflects our outward appearance, just like the thoughts of our hearts reveal our inner nature and character.
Verse 20 study: The parallel with destruction implies that the insatiability of the eyes involves endless desires that become destructive.
Verse 21 study: Praise tests a person, just as metal is tested through high temperatures. How does praise affect you? Do you work to get it? Do you work harder after you’ve got it? Your attitude towards praise says a lot about your character. People with high integrity are not swayed by praise. They stay in their inner convictions and do what they want, whether or not they are praised. Choose how your character is, praise, or high integrity. You are genuine if you can survive the comments of acquaintances.
Sincerity Having Peace instagram Post. 09/02/2022 8:00am
11 Become wise, dear child, and make me happy;
then nothing the world throws my way will upset me.
12 A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks;
a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
13 Hold tight to collateral on any loan to a stranger;
be wary of accepting what a transient has pawned.
14 If you wake your friend in the early morning
by shouting, “Rise and shine!”
It will sound to him
more like a curse than a blessing.
15-16 A nagging spouse is like
the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet;
You can’t turn it off,
and you can’t get away from it.
-Proverbs 27:11-16 The Message
11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him who reproaches me.
12 The prudent sees danger and hides,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
13 Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up safety for an adulteress.
14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning,
will be counted as cursing.
15 A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
16 to restrain her is to control the wind
or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.
-Proverbs 27:11-16 ESV
Verse 11 study: Parents are usually right in wisdom before others because of the parents’ success. They can pass knowledge on to their children.
Verse 12 study: Prudent = simple. Discretion is the better part of valor.
Verse 14 study: This reference is to say that saying this is a false representation of friendship when that is not the case. Closed-minded friends may look at it as evil intent when your intent is to be good in motivating your friend.
Verses 15-16 study: Unnecessary arguments, and unwanted advice, are all forms of torture. People tend to nag because they believe they are not getting through. Nagging hinders communication more than it helps. Stop and learn your motives when tempted to engage in destructive habits. Are you concerned about yourself, having your way, wanting to be right, more than about the person you are pretending to help? If you are concerned about others, your communication should be better to react or effectively get through them. Surprise them with words of patience and love and see what happens.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 09/01/2022 8:00am
6 The wounds from a lover are worth it;
kisses from an enemy do you in.
7 When you’ve stuffed yourself, you refuse dessert;
when you’re starved, you could eat a horse.
8 People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon,
are like restless birds, flitting to and fro.
9 Just as lotions and fragrances give sensual delight,
a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.
10 Don’t leave your friends or your parents’ friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
then a distant family.
-Proverbs 27:6-10 The Message
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
7 full One loathes honey,
but to one who is hungry, everything bitter is sweet.
8 Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man who wanders from his home.
9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend
And do not go to your brother’s house on the day of your calamity.
Better is a near neighbor
than a brother who is far away.
-Proverbs 27:6-10 ESV
Verse 6 study: What would you prefer? A friend’s wounds or an enemy’s kisses? A friend who has your best interest at heart has to give you uncomforting advice sometimes. But you know it is for your own good. An enemy will whisper words you want to hear and send you on your way to be ruined. We always want to listen to what we want, even if an enemy is the only one saying it. A friend’s advice is always better, regardless of how much pain it causes. Wounds of a friend mean similar to “open rebuke.” Tough love is always better than hypocrisy.
Verse 7 study: This proverb is not limited to food. It expands to anything with an appetite.
Verse 8 study: Rootlessness hurts the wanderer and people who should be relating. In other words, humans need personal relationships.
Verse 10 study: This proverb tells us we should have relationships outside the immediate family. Relatives are sometimes unwilling or unable to come to our aid.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 08/31/2022 8:00am
You Don’t Know Tomorrow
27 Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow;
you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow.
2 Don’t call attention to yourself;
let others do that for you.
3 Carrying a log across your shoulders
while you’re hefting a boulder with your arms
Is nothing compared to the burden
of putting up with a fool.
4 We’re blasted by anger and swamped by rage,
but who can survive jealousy?
5 A spoken reprimand is better
than approval, that’s never expressed.
-Proverbs 27:1-5 The Message
27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool’s provocation is more severe than both.
4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
-Proverbs 27:1-5 ESV
Verse 1 study: Wisdom is concerned with taking hold of your life. The fact is, people do not have control over their future. Fools believe they do, but they don’t reckon with God’s sovereign will.
Verse 2 study: Humble = Wisdom
Verses 3-4 studies: These two verses show the destructiveness of folly.
Verse 5 study: Open rebuke: aimed at correction for one’s good. Hidden love: genuine, lacks the moral strength to risk giving a rebuke.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 8/29/2022 8:00am
17 You grab a mad dog by the ears
when you butt into a quarrel that’s none of your business.
18-19 People who shrug off deliberate deceptions,
saying, “I didn’t mean it, I was only joking,”
Are worse than careless campers
who walk away from smoldering campfires.
20 When you run out of wood, the fire goes out;
when the gossip ends, the quarrel dies down.
21 A quarrelsome person in a dispute
is like kerosene thrown on a fire.
22 Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you want junk like that in your belly?
-Proverbs 26:17-22 The Message
17 Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own
is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
20 For lack of wood, the fire goes out,
and quarreling ceases where there is no whisperer.
21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
-Proverbs 26:17-22 ESV
Verse 17 study: Grabbing a dog’s ears is a good way to get bitten. Likewise, interfering in arguments is a good way to get hurt. In most cases, both arguers will turn on the other person who interferes. Stay out of arguments you don’t have anything to do with. If you have to get involved, wait until the arguers have cooled off after fighting. Afterward, you may be able to mend their differences and their relationship. This also comes with wisdom, knowing when to not interfere.
Verses 18-19 studies: Destruction can be potential in a common element of property and person (v. 18) and personal relations (v. 19.)
Verse 20 study: Adding fuel to the fire keeps the fire going. The same can be said when talking about someone that irritates you. When you stop adding fuel to the fire, the fire will eventually stop growing. Likewise, if you stop talking about the person that upsets you, your irritation dies because nothing is added to annoy you. People will always talk bad about you without knowing the truth. Knowing how to handle it is what wisdom is all about.
Verse 21 study: I’m not happy if I’m not working. A quarrelsome man is not satisfied if they can’t undermine a relationship. Understanding the difference between not being happy with something good versus knowing when to cut ties is essential.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 08/28/2022 8:00am
11 As a dog eats its own vomit,
so fools recycle silliness.
12 See that man who thinks he’s so bright?
You can expect far more from a fool than from him.
13 Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there!
Tigers are prowling the streets!”
and then pull the covers back over their heads.
14 Just as a door turns on its hinges,
lazybones turn back in bed.
15 A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie
but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.
Proverbs 26:11-16 The Message
11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.
12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
14 As a door turns on its hinges,
so does a sluggard on his bed.
15 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who can answer sensibly.
-Proverbs 26:11-16 ESV
Verse 11 study: Fools will not learn from their mistakes but repeat them like a dog to its vomit.
Verse 12 study: The degree of folly is found in the highest of the fools that think are wise. Examples are seen in worldly wisdom that regards God’s wisdom as folly.
Verses 13-16 studies: If you find excuses not to work, you won’t work and will have endless reasons not to work. Laziness is more dangerous than a prowling lion. The less you do, the less you want to do, and the more useless you become. To overcome laziness, take some steps towards change. Set realistic goals, figure out your steps towards change, and follow these steps. Pray for strength and persistence. To keep excuses from making you useless, stop making excuses. It’s not worth it.
Verse 14 study: Like a door on its hinges, a lazy person turn restlessly on their beds.
Verse 16 study: The number 7 is precise. It symbolizes completeness. But it is not necessary for this instance; it serves only to highlight the self-delusion of the fool.
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 08/27/2022 8:00am
6 You’re only asking for trouble
when you send a message by a fool.
7 A proverb quoted by fools
is limp as a wet noodle.
8 Putting a fool in a place of honor
is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.
9 To ask a moron to quote a proverb
is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk.
10 Hire a fool or a drunkard
And you shoot yourself in the foot.
-Proverbs 26:6-10 The Message
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
-Proverbs 26:6-10 ESV
Verses 6-11; 17-19; 23 studies: These are a list of contradictions that should typically never be together.
Verse 6 study: Asking a fool to do errands is asking for trouble.
Verse 7 study: From a fool’s mouth, a proverb becomes useless as a paralyzed leg. Some people are blind to where wisdom won’t work, even when needing proverbs. It’s only people that have receptive attitudes to make the most out of them. If we wait to learn from God, he will respond and pour his heart out to us. Wisdom being said by a foolish person is so incongruous within his character that it loses power.
Verse 8 study: When someone in a group causes tension, the leader usually tries to make him loyal and productive by placing privilege or responsibility. It doesn’t work because it won’t go anywhere. It’s like trying to tie a stone to a sling. It will only come back and swing at you. New power may be just what the person causing tension needs to manipulate the group.
Verse 9 study: When a thorn pricks us, that’s an alert so we can remove the thorn before it causes damage. A drunk person may not feel the thorn, so it will work its way into his flesh. Similarly, a fool may not feel the sting of a proverb because he doesn’t see where it touches his life. So a fool won’t take the point to heart; he will go to his church, employer, spouse, or whoever and apply his rebellion against those. So the next time you find yourself saying, “So-and-so should pay attention to that,” stop and ask yourself, “is there a message in it for me?”
Sincerity Having Peace Instagram Post. 08/26/2022 8:00am
Fools Recycle Silliness
26 We no more give honors to fools
than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest.
2 You have as little to fear from an undeserved curse
as from a wren’s dart or a swallow’s swoop.
3 A whip for the racehorse, a tiller for the sailboat—
and a stick for the back of fools!
4 Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool;
you’ll only look foolish yourself.
5 Answer a fool in simple terms
so he doesn’t get a swelled head.
-Proverbs 26:1-5 The Message
26 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
so honor is not fitting for a fool.
2 Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying,
a causeless curse does not alight.
3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he is wise in his own eyes.
-Proverbs 26:1-5 ESV
Verse 1 study: The perceptible orderliness of nature should parallel society’s educated guess of human nature.
Verse 2 study: Curses don’t have the power to afflict someone innocent. This type of curse has meaning only as an expression of divine retribution. A curse has no purpose if it has no effect.
Verses 4-5 studies: These two verses seem to contradict each other. But the writer is saying we shouldn’t take foolish people seriously. This will only make them proud and determined to win the argument. It’s an empty argument, not worth the fight. In some situations, you shouldn’t try to answer a fool. There is no way you can get inside their closed mind. You could be stepping to their level if you choose to respond. Fools will abuse you, and you will be tempted to harm them. In other situations, common sense tells you to answer when you have to expose a fool’s pride and folly.
These verses also illustrate that no proverb is intended to cover every possible situation. The contradiction in these proverbs shows that proverbs should be applied suitably. One situation demands we should avoid playing the fool’s game by giving an answer, while another demand that we expose the folly that the fool is not considered wise.
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