Summary: The wise store up knowledge. Wealth of the wise protected and safe like a fortified city. Righteous people works and lives a good life. Control our lips to avoid transgression against other people. Speech of the righteous is esteemed and highly valued, being beneficial to other people. God's blessings includes Riches and Wealth without heavy toil.
Proverbs of Solomon (NIV).
Wise Sayings of Solomon (RSV) (NKJV).
14 14 Wise men lay up knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near. (RSV)
14 14 The wise store up knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. (NIV)
1414 14 Wise people store up knowledge,
But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. (NKJV)
Wise people loves to learn, and continually learn. Hence, wise people will gather and store up the knowledge. Whatever knowledge we learn may be useful at other time, so laying up the knowledge is good and beneficial.
On the contrary, the foolish hates learning, just love empty talking. In the long term, due to lack of learning, wisdom and knowledge, this would lead to his own ruins. Example of ruins could be poverty. Because of lack of knowledge and the foolish person's laziness, he will run into poverty and mediocrity.
Because of lack of practical wisdom and self control, the foolish person may get involved in immoral sins, lots of extra marital affairs, hence wasting much of his money, time and effort in satisfying his fleshly lusts and fulfilling his high sexual desires. Despite good income, he will waste off his extra money on all these women and ruin himself.
Because of jealousy and greed for power and status, the foolish person may slander and backstab another person. The habit of slandering will make other people hate this foolish person. In the end, he will many friends, thus ruining himself.
15 15 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin. (RSV)
15 15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,
but poverty is the ruin of the poor. (NIV)
15 15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
The destruction of the poor is their poverty. (NKJV)
For the wise and rich/wealthy, his wealth is properly stored and secured as if inside a fortified city. The wise and rich will not buy all his money and wealth all into a single instrument/investment form. The wise and rich will put his money and wealth into various forms such as cash into the current/check account, savings account, and term deposit, stocks and shares, gold, unit trusts, loan stocks / debentures, investment into business, property investment, etc.
For the unwise people may not necessarily have the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to preserve the money they earn, hence causing their poverty.
Reasons of poverty are possibly:
1) Good income but waste it on unnecessary expenses (fleshly lust, carnal/worldly desires, lust of the eyes).
2) Good income but not storing up a portion of income. No planned and continual savings.
3) Low income due to lack of knowledge or lack of skills.
4) Low income due to laziness.
In comparison, wisdom is important. Because the wise people love to learn new knowledge and skills, including financial wisdom.
16 16 The wage of the righteous leads to life,
the gain of the wicked to sin. (RSV)
16 16 The wages of the righteous is life,
but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death. (NIV)
16 16 The labor of the righteous leads to life,
The wages of the wicked to sin. (NKJV)
The workings of the righteous will result in godly life, a fuller life in this world, a joyous spiritual life, and eternal life. On the contrary, the workings of the wicked result in a sinful life (various types of sins including wicked sins and milder sins), and spiritual death. Income earned through wicked means (e.g. fraud, evil schemes, cheating, stealing, robbing) when come into the hands of the unwise people may be wasted through pride (luxury car, branded watches) and immorality (prostitutes, adultery).
17 17 He who heeds instruction is on the path to life,
but he who rejects reproof goes astray. (RSV)
17 17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. (NIV)
17 17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray. (NKJV)
To be wise, we must listen and take heed of instructions. Learning the instructions and keeping them in our minds and hearts, and doing accordingly is to right/correct way leading to a meaningful and good life in this world as well as good spiritual life.
Living as wise believers, we must also be receptive to reproofs, rebukes and corrections. We must be humble enough to accept reproof. "To err is man, to forgive is divine." We must be willing to humbly admit our weakness and shortcoming. We must not feel offended when reproofed by other brethren, or rebuked by non-believers.
Because those who refuse correction and rebuke due to their pride will not be able to continually improve. Everyone has weakness, shortcomings. Everyone makes error. Be open minded to reproof and rebukes.
Especially for Leaders....If the Leader is making a mistake, the Team member mentions the error and suggest the correction, the Leader must humbly accept the reproof for the sake of himself and the team. If the Leader with huge pride blatantly refused to be corrected and insist on going the wrong direction, he is leading his Team astray, going wrong direction, not meeting the Team objectives.
18 18 He who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and he who utters slander is a fool.
19 19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but he who restrains his lips is prudent. (RSV)
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips
and spreads slander is a fool.
and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their tongues. (NIV)
but the prudent hold their tongues. (NIV)
"Concealing hatred" may indicate a person with malicious intent, a two-faced person, a person who hides his likes and dislikes. Lying, fraud, cheating, slandering, false accusation...all these are wicked doings of the foolish people.
Foolish people do not refer to non-believers, but I personally think, folly is also in many believers. Believers who do not live fully in wisdom, righteous and godly ways are living in folly. Wisdom is related to God, folly is related to the Devil.
As believers, we should think: How many percent of the time we follow the Wisdom pathway? How many percent of the time we walk in the path of folly?
When we talk a lot, we have higher tendency to transgress and sin. Lips can be a good, beneficial instrument as well as an evil, wicked weapon. How do we want to use our lips? To sing praises and thanks God? For beneficial purposes to other people? Or to gossip, spread rumours and lies, slander and backstabbing? We must control our lips so that our lips do not help us to sin and transgress against other people. Our lips speak of what is in our minds and our hearts. We need to have noble thoughts and hearts of kindness, so that our lips speak forth good and not evil.
20 20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the mind of the wicked is of little worth.
21 21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense. (RSV)
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many,
but fools die for lack of sense. (NIV)
but fools die for lack of sense. (NIV)
As believers walking in godly ways, we must speak what is good and right, so that we can be testimony for God's goodness and demonstrate our wisdom. With wise talk, we will be honoured by others for our ways of wisdom.
On the contrary, the mind and heart of the wicked person is lowly regarded by other people. From a wicked mind and wicked hearts, the lips are fully of lies, slander, and destructive speech. The way of the wicked is leading to spiritual death.
22 22 The blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.[b] (RSV)
22 22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth,
without painful toil for it. (NIV)
22 22 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich,
And He adds no sorrow with it. (NKJV)
God's blessings can make a person rich and wealth without heavy toil. With little effort, yet abundance of riches and wealth...that is the kind of blessings God could pour out on whom he desires to bless.
Who does God like to bless? In Deuteronomy 28 verses 1-14, God promises to bless abundantly those who obey God.
http://micfood.blogspot.com/2013/12/deuteronomy-281-14-blessings-for.html/“And if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; and he will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
11 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, within the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall tend upward only, and not downward; if you obey the commandments of the Lordyour God, which I command you this day, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Extract of Deuteronomy 28:1-14) (RSV)
To be continued the next day...
Thursday, Jan 16, 2014.
Michael Yeap.
NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+10&version=NIV
RSV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+10&version=RSV
NKJV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+10&version=NKJV
Commentaries:
13) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.14
14) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.15
15) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.16
16) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.17
17) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.18
18) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.19
19) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.20-Prov.10.21
20) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.10.22
21)
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