He that gets wisdom loves his own soul. He that keeps understanding shall find good.
It is amazing how quickly young men are drawn into the company of fools! They sit at the feet of “wise” fools in the university, impressed by their neat rhetorical devices and their ability to turn a phrase this way or that. They are easily drawn into a culture that takes God’s creative forms and twists them toward violating His law-order. Instead of reproving the unfruitful works of rebellion, existentialism, nihilism, and other ungodly systems of thought, they slowly amalgamate into them.
The problem with these young men is that they hate their own souls! Have you ever seen anyone who hated his right hand so much that he cut it off? It is one thing to hate your right hand or your left foot, but what crazy person would hate his own soul? This is a form of insanity. Instead of seeking out ungodly influences in your life, you must seek out godly teachers who will lead you in the paths of wisdom. For the love of your soul, you must do this!
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaks lies shall perish.
Here is a severe warning for the man who perpetuates lying. “He that speaks lies shall perish.” Although the Old Testament has little or nothing to say about the eternal state after death, the book of Revelation provides a clearer picture. There is a life after death. But not every person will make it into heaven. According to Revelation 22:15, outside the heavenly city are “sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, and idolators, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.” And leaving no room for equivocation on the matter, the book of the apocalypse further declares that “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). These grim passages should, at the least, cause us to take the matter of lying seriously. But would God condemn a child to hell for lying to his mother about whether he removed a cookie from the cookie jar? This is, of course, a serious matter. For if a small boy begins his career of lying in this way and continues in this vein for a lifetime, he will most certainly be consigned to the flames of hell. While it is not a single lie that defines a liar, the heart that loves the lie is the determinant factor. Naturally, it is a string of lies that proceed from the heart of a liar. Unless the liar repents of his love for lies, and, by God’s grace, can see that he is lying to himself by being in rebellion against God, he will most certainly burn in hell forever. A Christian may lie occasionally, but if his heart has been sanctified by the Spirit, he will hate those lies and repent of them.
For related commentary, reference Proverbs 19:5.
Delight is not seemly for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
There are some things that are wise and fitting and others that are not. To seek to perpetuate that which is unwise and unfitting is to do wrong. This is one reason why the Bible discourages the plowing of an ox and a donkey together. We do not have the right to act like idiots.
Now suppose a building contractor characteristically rewards his laziest and most unproductive employee with a trip to Hawaii each year, but provides no such benefit to any of his other more productive employees. To make this a regular practice is not only foolish but also sinful and destructive to the work of true dominion.
Sadly, many large social systems have adopted Marxist thought, seeking after something called “social justice.” It is based on the idea that everybody should enjoy equal pay and equal status. However, the foolishness of egalitarian Marxism is obvious when you consider that not everybody is of equal character to merit equal pay and status in life. While it is true that income level is no true indication of the character of a person, it is terribly unwise to attempt to take wealth from a person. Nor is it wise to elect men of little character and self-control to high public office. Even within democratic societies, these men quickly destroy their reputations and bring shame upon themselves and their electorates. Americans will doubtless always remember the character weaknesses of President Bill Clinton and his penchant for womanizing while he filled the highest office in the country. If men of low character are appointed to authoritative position in business, they often abuse their employees, make unwise decisions, and generally fail to lead with vision and wisdom. Such foolish men will drive their businesses and nations into the ground.
1. If you loved your body, would you want to feed it from time to time? What about your soul? How would you feed your soul?
2. Have you been telling more lies lately? Are you turning into a habitual liar? Do you find your lies giving birth to more lies? Why is it such a frightening thing for us to give way to a habit of lying?
3. Is everybody of equal character in life? What happens when you reward somebody with riches, power, and comfort, but they do not have the character to handle it?