Proverbs 29
NEEDED – SELF-DISCIPLINE Passing on leadership responsibilities without guidance and instruction in personal discipline, as well as how to adapt one’s life to the responsibilities of the role, is a great disservice to any person. Parents should do this with their children to prepare them for living a righteous life. Assembly leaders should do this to prepare young men for what is needed to guide God’s people in biblical practices that are essential for fellowship and public testimony. Government leaders should do this so that those who are responsible to maintain social justice and a prosperous peaceful society are ready to take responsibility. There are parameters for conduct that must be taught in a way that will promote self- discipline in children, assembly leaders and social order.
Last chances in living are not advertised, like in buying things. Good advice given over and over is important in families. Warnings given over and over to the lost by those who preach the Gospel, will not be given forever, even though they are often repeated. Seldom is there a countdown to the last opportunity in the normal practice of living. When a change is needed, do it immediately. It might be the last opportunity. Citizenry thrives under righteous leadership. People enjoy peace and contentment when they trust their leaders. Evil leaders foolishly impose insecurity, uncertainty and grief on the people with their self-centered leadership.
A disciplined child becomes a self-disciplined adult who knows how to apply wisdom to his principles of living. An undisciplined wicked son wastes all his father gave him, for his own personal, short-lived immoral satisfaction. What a grief that person is to his father. Justice and stability go together. Bribes and self-interests make a whole society unstable. Flattery is very unkind. First of all, it lacks sincerity by being a lie that sets a trap for another reason. Secondly, dishonest comments are deceitful. Some people will actually think the flattery is true. Praise is. Flattery is not. Sooner or later the dishonest wicked flatterer will be snared by his own dishonesty. A righteous person who is disciplined by their own conscience and wisdom, can go on their way singing, and will not stumble over the temptations that are all around.
God is concerned about the poor and we should be also. Fairness toward those who are truly in hard times is our responsibility. We can’t expect the wicked to do anything for them. Worthless troublemakers only cause unrest and riots, and they mock at those who know the value of discipline. Wise people who have learned the value of self- discipline, can often show the way to restore peace in living to a troubled community. The impact of the Gospel has affected many communities in a positive way. To try to talk sense to a fool is in vain. To attempt it is frustrating because they don’t pay attention. A person who is without self-discipline will shout, mock and rage against the person who had tried to help him – and he still remains a fool.
A murderer hates those who do what is right and will seek to do to the righteous what Cain did to his brother Abel. Out-of-control fools vent their inward rage without any restraint. They may throw things, break things, and even hurt themselves before they stop. The self-disciplined wise person controls what they say by thinking first, calming themselves down and then they are able to calm the situation. A leader who listens to lies, will soon have his cabinet full of lying advisors. They will follow their leader. Rich and poor, oppressors and oppressed all live in the same world, even though they are in a different social class. It is the Lord who gives sight to both, so they have this in common – life for both classes depend on the Lord. Everyone is ultimately dependent on Him and responsible to Him.
A leader who is fair will rule for a long time. What he is in character will affect his constituents and how they live. Children need the training of wise parents who lead them well. By controlling them and their behavior, they teach them how to control themselves. If a child does not feel the pain of wrong doing, they will bring disgrace on themselves and their parents. They will likely face the ire of a teacher and then the law if parents fail to train them up in the ways of the Lord. Values are taught and learned at home. When wicked undisciplined people thrive, sin abounds, crime rates increase and danger is rampant in many different forms in society. All those who are righteous are able to do in that setting, is to live by faith, rejoice in the Lord and remain faithful to the Lord and His word. Trained children will have learned how to control and discipline themselves. That will give their parents peace in their own lives, and joy in watching their children grow and prosper in their personal lives.
Prophets brought the people messages from God. When there was no message and no vision, the lawlessness of the people became their downfall. They were living without restraint; they were uncontrolled and undisciplined. When we know what God says and wisely do it, there is confidence and happiness. Words don’t always have the desired effect on those who are willful, and who refuse to do what they should. Employees may have to be fired if they will not do what is justly expected of them. Unreasonable, thoughtless words spoken in an emotional outburst, has a great potential for bad results and failure. Even a fool can be helped better than a thoughtless person. Showing favoritism enables employees to think they are able to do what they want. The position a person has, and is able to fill depends on how he was trained. If there was no discipline expected when mistakes were made, there will be no self-discipline when he is doing his work.
There are some people you must stay away from. They are those who get angry quick and their anger is out of control. Others have no control over their temper and will create trouble wherever they go, just because they like to cause trouble. There is generally sin when one is angry because of lack of self-discipline. The arrogant man thinks mainly of himself and his self-perception is far from reality. His pride will ultimately be his downfall. In contrast, a person of humility has an honest and realistic evaluation of himself. He will be exalted because he can be trusted. His self-discipline makes him one who has real discernment as to his strengths and weaknesses and he can discern much of another person’s character.
An accomplice to a thief, who perjures himself under oath, will face charges himself. He has not learned how important morality is in his own life, and how it is expected of him to tell the truth. To be afraid of what people will do to you is a snare. It will affect all you do. Some people are afraid to witness for the Lord. Others won’t take a job for fear they won’t be able to do it. Others won’t venture out to take a chance on anything for fear they will make a mistake. When there is reverential fear of the Lord, we are set free to do what we know is right by faith, and that is pleasing to our Lord. That is good for us and for others.
A lot of people want justice, but those who work for the leaders in government will often do and say what they think is expedient for them, not necessarily right. It is only from the Lord real justice comes. He may use a leader, but real justice comes as an answer from the Lord through prayer. There is a gap between those who live righteously and have respect for others, and those who detest the upright people. Such a barrier is as impossible to cross and it is to have light and dark at the same time. Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ need to understand there is no common ground between right and wrong. Good and evil by their very nature remains separated. In this day of tolerance and wishy-washy “Christianity,” true believers will find themselves more and more separated from the mainstream of society because they refuse to accept changing social practices and man-made laws that are contradictory to divine standards.