Proverbs 21 THE LORD EXAMINES OUR ATTITUDES It is well for us to remember there is nothing hidden from the eyes of our all-present Lord. Actions, ambitions and attitudes; behavior, business and beliefs; commitments, comments and convictions are all an open book before the Lord. “For all people everywhere”: kings and paupers; politicians and preachers; parents and children – people from every way in life and in all places are under the ultimate authority of our sovereign Lord. The attitude of my heart, the actions of my daily life, the connections I have with other people – and of particular concern, my attitude toward the Lord, is in no way hidden from Him.
The life and rule of kings and those in authority are no more than ditches, canals and rivers the Lord uses to direct the controlling power of God to where He wants it. Almost everyone thinks they are okay, and many will say they are good, but the Lord looks behind the outward veneer and the excuses we make for our sins, to the motives in our hearts. There is no substitute for righteousness. Sacrifices and offerings are not to be bribes we use to seek to please God and get Him to overlook our sins. They were given to the Jews to use as expressions of their devotion and obedience to the Lord. Sacrifices we might make to further the Gospel or help God’s people do not take the place of a right relationship with God and His people.
Sin in a person is in our nature, passed on to us from the first Adam. But in our lives, it comes from the attitudes we have and choose to keep. Looking down on others, over-estimating ourselves, and self-centered conceit are not hard to understand as being sin. But the plowing of the wicked seems, on the surface, to be a stretch to be calling it sin if we think it means turning over the ground on a farm to get the land ready for seeding. Actually, it is a reference to my thoughts that I turn over in the fertile field of my mind, and they are what gives visual evidence to what lights my life – my motives. That is what really controls people and why they sin if they are not saved by the grace of God. Diligence and commitment are a result of self-discipline. Neither is natural, and needs to be taught to us in one way or another. They do produce solid character in people who are willing to think before they act. Wise, diligent people consider the possible outcome of a matter before they go forward. By patiently doing the little things that lead up to the big ones, takes both diligence and patience. In contrast to the prudent person is one who makes hasty decisions and takes actions that will lead to defeat and poverty.
Some people have made fortunes by lying, but there are the unmistakable and unavoidable actions of truth that will end in a person losing all they thought they had gained as well as their reputation and character. “To lose one’s wealth is much, to lose one’s health is more. To lose one’s soul is such a loss, that nothing can restore.” Evil thoughts lead to evil actions. Greed will never be satisfied and it will seek to get all it wants and everything it wants. Violence and its consequences will trap a covetous person and will “drag them away” like a prisoner to be locked up. There is a tension under which a guilty person has to live that cannot be alleviated, because they have to be guarded in everything they say and do, lest they be found out and convicted. A person who lives an honest and clean life, doesn’t have to be afraid of being caught. Transparent lives are a very wholesome and comfortable way to live.
A small private room is a better place to live, than in a mansion with every convenience and a discontented and contentious wife. Conflict in a home leaves that house a cold, unhappy place to live for everyone under that roof. No matter what he has or doesn’t have, a wicked person will want and go after, evil. Nobody will please him or her. A neighbor who tries to help him will be mercilessly rejected. The nature of such a person is to do evil and no one can change that person but the Lord. Some people are just unwilling to learn life’s lessons, and so have the consequences of punishment that happens to a fool. It is a wise person who learns from the mistakes of others. Watch and listen for what you can learn by observation and paying attention to what is said to help or correct other people. A courtroom is a good place to learn the consequences of right and wrong.
“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” God knows what goes on in the lives of sinners. He is righteous and will have the final word, and take the final action against those who refuse His guidance. To ignore the needs of those who are poor is to ignore the Lord. Act in mercy and grace toward known needs of the poor, and protect their rights. We may need help ourselves someday. To bribe a person who is angry in order to get what one wants, will only increase the sin that created the anger. The bribe may pacify an angry person for a short time, but what one thinks is a secret deed, is open to the Lord, and He knows what the real motives behind it is.
Those people who do what is right, find joy when justice is carried out. They know the Lord is righteous and will do that which is right in every case when He rules in righteousness over all the earth. Justice to an evildoer means he has no place to hide. To wander through life in sin, and practicing sin instead of the in the way of understanding and wisdom, will bring a person down to hell. That is not just a short stopover, but is the gathering place of those who are dead to God and separated from Him forever. To choose to stay on the broad road, is to choose against the Lord. Lavish feasts, luxury and temporary pleasures have only poverty of spirit and empty dreams at the end. To have pleasure as a priority in life, is to have poverty as the result. Payday comes someday. The wicked will have the tables turned on them and will take the place of those who are losers before the Lord when the final account is settled. Thankfully, our Lord Jesus took the place of those who have trusted Him as their Savior, because He is the Righteous One who suffered to bring us to God. We are free in Christ!
The conditions of homelife in which an unhappy wife was making everyone unhappy went from sounding like a continual dripping of water that aggravates, to a room on a corner of the roof that isolates, and now goes to a far place on the desert that separated. It is not wrong to save money now for needs that we will have to meet in the future. This is not merely hoarding for the sake of keeping what we have, but is making sure we have what we will need in the future without borrowing or becoming burdensome because of spending it now. Foresight into the future, and restraint in the present go well together. There are some things it is wise to go after until we get them. Go after righteousness and love. They are guides that lead us to the kind of life that pleases our Lord, prosperity that provides for our loved ones now, and honor that will bring glory to God.
A wise person understands where spiritual weapons are to be found. So, he will go there first before taking aggressive action against false teaching and teachers, and the defenses of ungodly men. Wisdom from the word will bring victory over human speculation. Controlling our tongue is probably the greatest battle we will have. It resists control in many ways. The calamity it causes, is serious enough that it can ruin or negatively affect us for a lifetime. Deception, untruths, unfair accusations and gossip all come from the mouth. Truth, worship and praise that brings honor to the Lord also comes from the mouth. Mockery, scoffing at others, at the Lord, at the Bible and at the faith of believers are not uncommon today. Such people can get angry quickly for no reason at those who are Christians. Those arrogant people think they know everything, can tell everyone what they ought to believe and do, and are not able to be corrected. In pride they have no fear of God, and in many cases don’t believe there is a God. Such a person considers himself above others.
A lazy person will not work but covets what others have and wants it for himself without working for it. Those self- centered laggards are covetous, greedy, lustful and wicked. He will have a list of things he wants other people or the government to give him, and complains when he doesn’t get them. His demands are endless. The hard-working righteous man has enough for himself and his family, and can share what he has with others who are in real need. Counterfeit worship is no more than an attempt to bribe God into blessing those professed worshippers. But God rejects and hates that kind of display of religion. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” Obedience, love, devotion and a thankful heart are things that please God.
The untrue things a person says will soon be exposed for what it is and will be stopped. A true witness is given a hearing and will be asked to continue to explain what is obviously true. The bold face of an adulterer and an adulteress have a hardness that is not welcoming to one who loves righteousness. In contrast, one who is morally clean and is happy to live in fellowship with God and man, has an appealing countenance. The sovereign Lord has His plans, and no plans of ours nor insight we think we have, will change the Lord. He is supreme in authority, power and justice. The Lord is sovereign over everything and everybody, even those who rule and make war. The outcome is in His hands. We have our work to do, and our role to fill in life, but we must fulfill it in faith and obedience to the will of the Lord.