Today, we read in Proverbs 12 again about the Way of the Righteous, the Mouth of the Righteous, the Work of the Righteous, the Friends of the Righteous and a Righteous Wife. There are other verses in this chapter but today, let’s look at Proverbs 12 focusing on these 5 themes.
The Way Of The Righteous
The point that stands out the most to me is that the righteous love to learn to be godly. Correction is not a negative thing. With the ungodly though, they hate to be corrected, or disciplined. Verse 15 reinforces how the way of fools seems acceptable to them, but the wise listen to advice. The wise, righteous person is wiling to learn and display godly character. The wicked live deceitful lives, and the righteous know that the path that they are on, they will not be separated eternally from God.
Verse 1 “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.”
Verse 2 “Good people obtain favor from the Lord,
but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.”
Verse 7 “The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous stands firm.“
Verse 12 The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.
Verse 15 “The way of fools seems right to them,
but the wise listen to advice.“
Verse 16 “Fools show their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.“
Verse 20 “Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.“
Verse 21 “No harm overtakes the righteous,
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.”
Verse 28 ” In the way of righteousness there is life;
along that path is immortality.”
The Mouth Of The Righteous
The Lord detests lying! Many of the verses that pertain to speaking, cover honesty, (not lying, gossiping and spreading rumors). These will really hurt, like a piercing pain. So integrity is necessary in our speech. Those who live righteously, speak healing words, good things, the truth and kind words that cheer up other people.
Verse 5 “The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.”
Verse 6 “The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,
but the speech of the upright rescues them.”
Verse 13 “Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,
and so the innocent escape trouble.”
Verse 14 “From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,
and the work of their hands brings them reward.”
Verse 17 “An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.”
Verse 18 “The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
Verse 19 “Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.”
Verse 22 “The Lord detests lying lips,
but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”
Verse 23 “The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,
but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.”
Verse 25 “Anxiety weighs down the heart,
but a kind word cheers it up.”
The Work Of The Righteous
We need to work hard to make a living, to support ourselves and our family. Diligence is working hard and covering details. It is NOT laziness! I know several people who are lazy. They place expectation on other people to work all day, then come home and cook, serve and clean up after them. This is sad. I believe that it is important to work together to manage a home. It should not be up to only one person.
I think it is interesting in verse 11, it says that those who work their land, will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” This verse got my attention as I wonder if this applies to people who try and work pyramid schemes. They try to get riches, and develop a team under them that they can gain from. They work this business instead of just working hard themselves. I have in the past, worked some multi-level marketing businesses. In my experience, I found that there was such an expectation to get others to work so that upline can prosper. I question whether this is a godly way to work. Selling items is not wrong, but having an upline and downline and really concentrate on acquiring wealth and showing off my wealth, I believe is wrong.
Verse 11 “Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”
Verse 24 “Diligent hands will rule,
but laziness ends in forced labor.”
Verse 27 “The lazy do not roast[a] any game,
but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
The Friends Of The Righteous
This is So important. My husband and I tried(and still try) to encourage our kids to pick and hang around the right type of people. It is so easy to be lead astray by listening and following friends who do not want to honor God.
Verse 12 “The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.”
Verse 26 “The righteous choose their friends carefully,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
The Righteous Wife
We can look at both of these types of women, just like we can in several of these verses, and know that as broken people, some days we may really be wonderful wives and a real blessing to our husbands. Other days, we may really get on his last nerve. Making good choices daily, will help in our relationship, especially with our husbands.
Verse 4 “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.”