“When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.” Proverbs 11:7
Money is not hope. Often money leads to wickedness, that is why Jesus said that it is the root of all kinds of evil. It doesn’t mean that it in itself is bad, or wrong – it actually is very useful in this world, but only here. There is no hope in wealth beyond the grave. Those who neglect the rest of life after the constant need for more wealth find hopelessness at the end of that journey.
Lord God, remind me, at my wicked moments, of this truth. Strengthen me to keep my eyes on You. Inspire me to take the opportunity in front of me to do the things you’ve put on my heart – but also to do what You’ve been asking me to do, seeking Your face in everything. Father, I ask that you bless my family this year. Bless us greatly. Give us the will to follow where You lead, and the ability to receive Your best for us. Wipe clean our minds and our hands. Focus our hearts on You alone. In Jesus Name, I pray, amen.
“The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.” Proverbs 11:6
It’s a matter of demonstration and reward. Seeking righteousness has many benefits. Here, Solomon goes as far as to say that it will deliver one who seems to be in trouble. The character of an individual, when consistently demonstrated to be “good” (i.e. honest, diligent, kind), can weather the lies of accusation and trouble when they pop up unexpectedly. Those who do not live in such a way, or who live in an intentionally untrustworthy way will be caught by the very things that they desire… At the end of that path, however, is not the reward that they think, that is why Solomon uses the word captive. It paints a picture of an animal bated into a trap with a piece of food.
Lord keep me faithfully on Your path of righteousness. So much feels out of place right now. Keep us faithful to You and what You’ve called us to do. Show me the steps – and strengthen me to take them – lead me to a place of rest, faithful rest. Glorify Yourself in me and my family. I need You. We are in dire need of You. Show us Your Glory, and what it means to be faithful. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.
“The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.” Proverbs 11:5
There is confidence in doing what is right. When one walks righteously, to the best of his ability, he can trust that God will intervene on his behalf and keep him on the right path. The wicked are also on a path, however, it does not lead to anywhere good, and here God does not need to intervene on their behalf (in keeping them on that path)… their own wickedness drives them further toward that end. Beautifully, however, Jesus Christ does intervene on behalf of the wicked, and if they follow Him they will be redeemed from the path that will inevitably fail.
Lord God, I praise You for this truth. I praise You for the practical wisdom of seeking righteousness. Guide me, and help me to stay on that path. Bless this house today. Change our hearts and our thought patterns to align with Yours, In Jesus Christ’s name, amen.
“Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” Proverbs 11:4
Money means nothing to a man on a sinking ship. Each of us will come to a crisis where money will not “fix” the problem. Death comes to those who are wealthy as well as to those who are poor. One of the richest men ever to live wisely tells us, here, that only righteousness will save us from death. It seems that Solomon had a hint that there would be some form of redemption yet to come, and he knew – probably through his father, David, that God himself held the key to that redemption because that was His heart. We can’t be perfectly righteous by the law, that was why the old covenant involved sacrifices. Ultimately, we who have the wisdom of the entirety of scripture, know that the righteousness that saves us is through Jesus Christ because He alone is righteous. His righteousness saves us from death!
Jesus Christ, I Praise You! I thank You for a way for us to be, again, with God. You ARE the sacrifice. Jesus, You are my righteousness! Thank You! Lord, it seems that through this, You are showing me that we need to do is sell what is in the garage. Strengthen me, focus me, and help me to communicate that to my wife and kids because I want to obey You. Bless our house today. Change the hearts of my kids, that they would seek Your glory first. Give my wife and me the rest, and discernment to guide them accordingly – to rest and focus on You in all they do and think about. In Jesus Name, and for His glory I pray, amen.
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” Proverbs 11:3
Integrity is a straight line. It is a line that points to the truth. This is where integrity is part of true honesty. Like the needle on a compass that points to true north (most of the time 😉 ) honesty and integrity, which also insinuates an intact whole – such as the integrity of a vessel – always leads to the whole truth. This pleases God and also guides those who use it. If the needle on one’s compass is bent or the integrity of one’s ocean-going ship is compromised it will be very difficult to find one’s way to a safe harbor. Perversity and unfaithfulness (the crookedness of the treacherous), to follow this analogy, will cause the ship to flounder.
Lord, I also see – You must have revealed – the detriment of being ‘unfaithful to a spouse as well. I marvel at how you have that as a ready example before me… how when I am ‘wondering’ looking for ‘satisfaction’ elsewhere it brings anger, deceit, and a misaligned focus without me even realizing it… and if it weren’t for Your grace it would have destroyed me – it was in fact on the way. But you saved me! Praise Your Holy Name!! Spirit, You have worked marvelously in my mind! I praise You for all of this, to the glory of Jesus Christ, amen.
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
Humility is the foundation upon which wisdom is built.
Pride rises because disgrace and/or shame are feared. The fear of shame prompts us to promote ourselves, to “look out for #1,” and to use our own wellbeing as the motivation to do tasks and create habits that will bring us honor. But… God opposes the proud, for pride is acting out of fear. The inverse of ‘the disgrace of pride’ is ‘the favor/grace/wisdom of humility.’ Humility is an attitude that must be self-chosen. By humbling oneself, those observing will see the better option of humility as well as its importance.
Praise You, Father God, for the blessings of yesterday! Show me more of who You are, and let me revel in Your glorious grace & goodness, leading my family, in humility, to do the same. Bless the work of my hands today. Keep my mind focused on You and my eyes trained on Your glory! In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.
“A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.” Proverbs 11:1
God desires honesty.
Honesty is: “The courage to Be The Truth, in word and in thought, and in action.”
Characters of Courage.com
Payment for goods, according to their weight, was a very common practice in Solomon’s day. However, if the scales used to weigh the merchant’s goods were not calibrated accurately, (thus being false) a buyer might pay less than he ought to, for a given lump of goods. To cause this to happen, on purpose, is here described with a word that the Bible reserves for extraordinarily horrible things. However, as much as the LORD hates the injustice of this act, those who are honest in these transactions bring Him an equal amount of delight.
LORD, praise You for the realization of Your smile. The moments when I’ve done something fair/honest/well and I could feel Your delight and have never known quite what that sensation was. Protect me from the pride and arrogance of this truth. The realization of “the right thing,” let it be an opportunity to praise You and revel in Your delight. Let it, also, encourage my desperate soul that You are with me and giving me the grace to delight in You. Let me delight in delighting You! All of this I pray, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
“The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.” Proverbs 10:32
Most adults know the composition and condition of the words that come out of their mouths. Often, children do not and therefore dad needs to teach them, and the best way to teach them is a consistent example. However, Solomon is not saying, here, that the wicked do not know, only that the wicked understand that their words are not acceptable. Often, it seems, the wicked seek to pronounce their expressions and opinions with the intention of being perverse. The reverse is true as well. A man who speaks only what is acceptable often is seeking to glorify God with his tongue.
Lord God, let me speak words that are acceptable and glorifying to You. You made my tongue, You made the brain that comes up with the things that come from my mouth. You are Holy. Let me be holy, set apart, for Your glory in what I say, what I think, and how I behave. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen.
In 1946, Viktor Frankl published a book called Man’s Search for Meaning. In it, he laid out a dream that has become a movement with the intention of moving the nation. Here is what he said,
“Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibility. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”
Viktor Frankl
Concept Design for The Statue of Responsibility
Frankl, a holocaust survivor, knew firsthand what it meant to be free, and that it does not come without a price, nor a duty.
You can visit the website, for Frankl’s dream becoming a reality, at statueofresponsibility.com to see the inspiring story. They began to make the dream a reality in 1997 with an artist designing the shape of the statue and hoped to have it constructed by 2020. I believe, the reason it has taken so long to get traction for this idea, is that our country, sorely lacking men willing to stand up and take responsibility, isn’t quite ready for a statue to remind them of the task that God has given them, that many are neglecting, …but it will be. I believe our nation is pining for responsibility to come back to the forefront, it just doesn’t yet know how to get it there.
It starts with you. Are you willing to take up the responsibility of who God made you be? To stop complaining about the way things are and do something about them; train up your children to stand with you? Are you willing to live out Psalm 78?
“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark saying from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;”
Asaph, Worship Leader of both King David and King Solomon
This was the theme verse when we began the children’s ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel in Denver. We chose this verse because of its driving nature to intentionally pass on the truths of who God is to the children who will live by them and themselves pass them on.
There are generations of us who have not had intentional training passed down to us from our fathers. That is the reason I have done the research that I have done. I needed it! So, you are in good company if you look at a passage of scripture like this and think, ‘yeah, great idea… I really want to do that, BUT…’ I’ve been there. The piece that I was missing was simply some key stepping stones to inspire my own ability to carry and pass on the torch of manhood to my boys, and to lay the groundwork for my girls to be protected, provided for, and to be kept pure. You can pass on these truths to your children too.
“The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.” Proverbs 10:31
What is on your mind, will inevitably come out of your mouth. God asks us to focus on righteousness, and when we do we will speak righteousness as well. When His truth is “in our hearts” it will come out of our mouths. This can be a great litmus test. Here, however, Solomon also brings forth the concept of God’s desire for His truth to spread. It is hard to speak without a tongue, dare I say impossible. Perverseness, by definition, is not what was intended when God made our tongues. We have the opportunity, as in many aspects of our lives, to use what He has given to us for His glory or run the risk of losing that ability entirely.
Lord God, You are Holy… in fact, you are Holy, Holy, Holy!! Your might and wisdom are demonstrated day by day in Your creation. Be glorified today by the creation of my tongue. Let me use the “litmus test” to discern if Your ways are saturating my heart, or if what is coming out of my mouth is not for Your glory… and when I find the latter to be the case, forgive me and lead me back to Your ways and Your presence in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
