Summary: Honesty in business. Humble gains wisdom. Integrity is guide. Straight path of the righteous. Rewards of the righteous vs the wicked. Mouth can bless and curse. Success of righteous, death of the wicked.
Overview of Proverbs chapter 11
V. 1. Yahweh demands honesty in business practices.
V. 2. The egotist does not learn except in disgrace, but the humble gains wisdom.
Vv. 3, 5-8, 18, 19, 21, 23, 31. These verses contrast the rewards of the righteous and the wicked. Wisdom concentrates on this world and has little to say about a future life. Therefore, each must receive the fruit of his or her ways in this life. The wicked will be trapped by their evil desires and destroyed. When they die, all is lost. The integrity of the righteous guides them in life, rescuing them from trouble and granting what is good.
Vv. 9, 12, 13. The mouth has the power to bless and curse. It can destroy, denigrate, and disclose confidential material. The wise know what to say, when to say it, and when to be silent.
Vv. 10, 11. The life-styles of the righteous and the wicked directly affect the well-being of their communities. They can be blessed or destroyed. Thus they rejoice in the success of the righteous and in the death of the wicked.
V. 14. The security of a people lies in the wisdom of their leaders.
Vv. 16, 17, 24-27. Kindness and generosity not only help others, but they rebound to expand the quality of one's own life. The cruel and ruthless who hoard their resources earn the curses of the people and store up destruction for themselves.
V. 20. Behind the moral order of the universe stands a God who takes pleasure in those who are blameless and is displeased with those whose values are perverted. This is the basic theology of the wisdom teacher.
V. 22. Physical beauty unmatched by moral purity is as incongruous as a gold ring in a pig's snout.
V. 29. A fool destroys his own inheritance, and instead of becoming the head of his own family ends up serving one who is wiser.
V. 30. RSV follows the Greek, while the NIV attempts to make sense of the Hebrew. “Wins souls” means preserving lives.
1 A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight. (RSV)
1 Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. (NIV)
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord,
But a just weight is His delight. (NKJV)
God hates people who are dishonest in their business activities. God likes those who are honest and just in business deals. So as godly believers, we must always be fair, ethical, win-win in all our business dealings, so that God will bless our business. From worldly point of view, fairness and win-win are also secular wisdom for business practices which will lead to more business deals, being favoured by customers and vendors alike.
God hates deceit in business, an abomination to the Lord. We must not have ill intent to be deceitful. Cheating and fraud are no-no, that we should not touch.
2 2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace;
but with the humble is wisdom. (RSV)
Pride will eventually bring about disgrace and dishonour. But the humble will gain wisdom. To be wise, we need to learn. To be an effective learner, we need to humble ourselves and unlearn in order to learn and relearn. Humble heart and open mind enables us to learn knowledge, and gain wisdom.
Pride is one of the abominable sins. If we are Leaders, we must be careful to avoid being proud. We become Leaders because God wills it, God has given us certain talents, gifts and knowledge. Let's not be proud of our achievements, our leadership, our success. But we should humbly thank God for God's hand in enabling us to be leaders.
If we are rich and wealthy, we must remember our success is from the Lord. If God has blessed us much in material things, riches and wealth, let us remember to thank and praise God, and continue to humbly walk in Godly ways and in wisdom.
3 3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. (RSV)
3 3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (NIV)
3 3 The integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them. (NKJV)
Integrity should be our guiding principle in business dealings and all aspects of our lives. Crookedness and perversity would be counter-productive and destructive. Nobody likes to do business with a crooked and dishonest businessman. Hence, integrity, honesty, fairness, win-win should be our guiding principles for our business and general life.
4 4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death. (RSV)
4 4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death. (NIV)
Riches and wealth are only good for our lives in this world. In the life after, whatever riches and wealth we have now is worthless and useless in heaven. But righteousness is valued highly in eternal life. Hence, we must have a good balance. We must not be lazy, we must be diligent and hardworking in our work and business, to make a decent living for ourselves and our families. Yet we must also build and store up "treasures" in heaven. We must live in wise manner, godly and righteous ways, having a close relationship with God. As much as we need to invest wisely in this world, we must also invest in and for our eternal life.
5 5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,
but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
6 6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. (RSV)
5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight,
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. (NIV)
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires. (NIV)
Righteous way is the straight way, the shorter route, the simpler and happier way. In the desert, taking the straight way is advantageous because the straight way is the shorter way. Shorter way is very important in the desert because there is scarcity of water in desert. If excessive time is spent in travelling, the travellers may run out of water and this is dangerous, so the direct and straight path is essential.
For those who choose live a sinful life, they will be troubled by the effects of their evil doing (e.g. fraud, deceit, adultery, extra-marital sex, stealing, assault). They will be trapped by evil desires, by greed, by lust, by pride, etc.
Let us pray to God for a good control of our life. Let us pray that we do not end up submitting to Greed, Lust or Pride.
To be continued the next day.
Friday, Jan 17, 2014.
Michael Yeap.
NIV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2011&version=NIV
RSV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2011&version=RSV
NKJV: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2011&version=NKJV
Commentaries:
1) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Prov%2011:1
2) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.11.1
3) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.11.2
4) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.11.3
5) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.11.4
6) http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Prov.11.5-Prov.11.6
7)
No comments:
Post a Comment