Proverbs 20

Proverbs 20:1-30

Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,

and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

• You saw Footloose … drinkin’s fer sinners.  Okay – not really.  However, any loss of control of your senses from anything (e.g. drink, anger, love, drugs … anything) is, in fact, a sin.  Keep your mind clear, but a drink periodically, within moderation, is a-okay.
• That said, alcohol drops inhibitions and let’s the Enemy in.  Let’s all list the things we’ve done while under the influence.  Don’t want to say them out loud?  Exactly the point.  It’s like your history with alcohol is mocking you.  It causes some to be more flirty, some to become aggressive and angry.  It makes you who you don’t want to be.
• Don’t open the door.  Keep it under control.  If you can’t, then don’t drink at all.

The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion;

whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his life.

• Sin is an aggressive action against God.  It’s like a slap in the face to Him.  Thankfully (1) He is slow to anger and (2) all of our sin has been “paid for”, so we are redeemed through Christ’s death on the cross for our sins.
• That said, why provoke the Lion?  Do you realize what he did for us?  Don’t you WANT to be the person He created you to be?  No one’s forcing you.  There are no points for Works.  But if you don’t feel a deep level of gratitude and show it through your heart, were you really saved?  Really?  Just something to consider.

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife,

but every fool will be quarreling.

• Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling.
• At church, we’ve been talking about being a biblical man.  Biblical men don’t fight, aren’t petty, look to discuss differences, not to throw fists.
• Boys fight for whatever reason.  Men fight only as a last resort, when all other measures have failed.  

The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;

he will seek at harvest and have nothing.

• This is a disease in America: The type that asks for (sometimes demands) the harvest, but does not want to put in the sweat and tears to get it.  
• And we’re currently giving them what they demand.  But this can not last forever.  Pretty soon, we’ll have nothing BUT sluggards and no harvest.

The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water,

but a man of understanding will draw it out.

• Purpose is at the core.  It’s what drives us.  We all have a true purpose, but we sometimes like to inject our own ideas.  Seek your purpose from God – let His purpose drive you.
• "Men of understanding" do not take what we say or do at face value, but truly understand the inner conflict that goes on within all of us.

Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,

but a faithful man who can find?

• A man of his word, without selfish motives, who says what he means and means what he says.  That is a biblical man.
• Many “say”, but many don’t deliver.  God wants good men, after His own heart.  
• You don’t have to be that man today, you just have to surrender and let Him make you into that man.  The man (or woman) He created you to be.

The righteous who walks in his integrity—

blessed are his children after him!

• It’s one thing to teach your kids about living a holy and righteous life, according to God’s Word.  It’s another to show them through how you live your life.

A king who sits on the throne of judgment

winnows all evil with his eyes.

• The King can see the good from the bad.  He weighs the evidence, then distinguishes what is right and what is wrong.

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;

I am clean from my sin”?

• Who can say, “I’m a pretty good guy.  I don’t sin.”?  Answer:  No one.  A person who says this obviously doesn’t know what sin is.  
• If I were to put a unit to it, I would ask myself, “How many times per DAY or even per HOUR do you sin, Greg?”
• Paul said quite clearly, “No one is righteous.  Not one.”  We all need the saving grace of Jesus.  It’s a free gift offered to everyone.  EVERYONE.  

Unequal weights and unequal measures

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

• If you cheat, steal, mislead, outright lie … even if you’re never caught (by anyone here), God knows and hates it.  He HATES sin.  He can’t even be around it.
• They are an abomination because, that is not how he created things.  What he created was good – 100%.  We (Adam, Eve and the rest of us since) messed it up by not following His design – by not trusting Him that He knows better than we do.

Even a child makes himself known by his acts,

by whether his conduct is pure and upright.

• Talk the good talk all you want, people see who you really are by your actions.  Say you’re a Christian, but don’t act like one?  The perception – probably not really a Christian.  Simple as that.  
• Do you show people the Christ you believe in … that you want others to know about?  Careful how you convey Christ through your actions.  You could be repelling them.

The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

the Lord has made them both.

• God gave you ears and eyes.  Hear and see.  Don’t go through this life deaf and blind to what needs doing.  Do something.  Act with compassion.  Use your time for God’s glory.  
• See with His eyes.  Hear with His ears.  Try to see and hear the world the way He sees and hears it.  Then act. 

Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;

open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

• Thank God (literally) I know this.  Otherwise, I would sleep aaaaaaall the time.  Man, being a slug is a serious temptation.  
• Get the sleep you need, but no more.  Get up.  Get to it.  God has plans for you.
• Give us this day our daily bread.  Give us what we need God – that’s what we’re asking in the Lord’s prayer.  And He responds – then get up and get to my work for you, and I promise – you’ll have your daily mana from heaven.  All you need.

“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,

but when he goes away, then he boasts.

• In America, we call this buyer a good negotiator.  By hook or crook, get the best deal.
• The phrase you’ve heard, “It’s just business.”  Hate that phrase.  So does God.  
• It does matter to God how you conduct yourself, your integrity, your honor.  
• Maybe you didn’t get the deal you COULD have gotten if you would have just misled the seller.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul.  Do you?

There is gold and abundance of costly stones,

but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

• “You can have all this world.  Give me Jesus.”  Jeremy Camp
• There is a never-ending supply of “stuff”.  Get a new gadget … a newer, cooler one comes out the very next day.  Stopping chasing that stuff and chase the real stuff – knowledge.
• God’s knowledge is all that matters.  Seek it, understand it, live it.  That’s the rich life.

Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.

• Don’t co-sign on a loan for somebody.  Period.  Bad idea.

Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,

but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.

• He will feel powerful at first, having duped someone, but he will feel the after effects of guilt.  
• Lying is fun – but not for long. Then the results of your folly come crashing down on your head. You may think your lie helped in some way, but it only made things worse. 
• Be sure your sin will find you out (Num 32:23)

Plans are established by counsel;

by wise guidance wage war.

• We need wise advise in spiritual matters.  The best, most wise advise comes from God and His Word.
• The greatest weapon in spiritual war is Scripture.

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets;

therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

• Have friends who are gossips?  Always digging up dirt and spreading it around?  Not good.  Ge them to stop, or get away.  Don’t associate with them.  
• They will not only talk about YOU too, they will make you feel like you should gossip, too.  REALLY not good.

If one curses his father or his mother,

his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

• You have to be in a bad place to curse the people who loved you and raised you.  You’ve gotten to a very dark place.
• If one is that far gone, they will not see the light.  They may be doomed to eternal darkness.  

An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning

will not be blessed in the end.

• Makes me think of that horrible Lissa.  Always talking about getting her inheritance.  Heh, heh.  Sorry Lis.
• Staking a claim on an inheritance?  Seriously?  What’s most important to you?  Your parents, or their money?  If the latter, the inheritance you receive will not be blessed.  It will bring no good to you.

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;

wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

• Vengeance is a sin.  And not for the reasons you think.  It’s REALLY saying that God doesn’t see the evil and/or can’t do anything about it.  He can and He will.  Leave it to Him.
• Your job is to forgive.  Period.  Turn the other cheek.  Hard?  Yes.  God’s command?  Also, yes.

Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,

and false scales are not good.

• You will not get away with it.  Cheat away, but God sees and is a good judge.  And a good judge punishes – he makes things right.

A man's steps are from the Lord;

how then can man understand his way?

• Why do certain things happen – both good and bad?  Heck, I don’t know.  But God does.  
• What happens in our lives, the blessings, the tough times … they are all to sculpt us into what God intended.  Only He knows what that is.

It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy,”

and to reflect only after making vows.

• Don’t commit to something so quickly.  Think about it before cannonballing in!  
• Absolutely!  No wait – maybe?

A wise king winnows the wicked

and drives the wheel over them.

• Winnows – to cast away, disperse, scatter
• A wise King gets rid of the wicked before they cause (more) trouble
• He runs them over with the threshing wheel – woof.  Figuratively speaking?  Hoping so, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

searching all his innermost parts.

• We are made of three parts – body, soul and spirit.  
• God is revealed through us.  Or at least He SHOULD be.  
• We don’t have the ability to see the innermost parts of anyone, but God can.  He sees the real us, despite the mask we pose with.  He’s looking for THAT version of you.  The real you to represent Him – from the inside out. 

Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king,

and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

• A king who lives by the sword … who lives without love for and faithfulness to his people … will fall.  Only love and faithfulness makes it possible for the king to reign forever.
• God is our King.  Jesus is our King.  He will reign forever because – you guessed it – God IS love, and He is faithful to the end with His promises to us.  Incredible promises that He keeps.

The glory of young men is their strength,

but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

• As I grow older, this means more and more to me.  Could I lift that tree trunk when I was younger and at my peak?  Heck yeah I could!  Email high five, bro!  Chest bump.
• But now I am more wise, less strong.  And with wisdom – ironically – one finds that wisdom is actually much more valuable.  Lift a tree trunk?  Ha – I’ll get that young guy to do it and spare my back.  

Blows that wound cleanse away evil;

strokes make clean the innermost parts.

• From Bible Questions Answered:  
• "When parents avoid disciplining flagrantly, willfully disobedient children, they allow "evil" to remain.  This evil does not go "away.”  … such discipline results in a change of heart for the good."  
• "God assumes that parents, especially fathers, will be wise and loving when they apply discipline to a willfully disobedient child.  In Ephesians, God warns fathers not to provoke their children to anger.  Children may be angry for awhile after they are spanked. That is normal, but sustained and prolonged anger must be avoided."