He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Adversity pursues sinners, But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.
He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, But the stomach of the wicked is in need.
Proverbs 13:20-25
I had a good weekend recently, being able to spend time with my family. The hard part was saying goodbye, as my sister and her family are soon moving far away to Florida. We’ll still keep in touch, but it’s always good to see each other in person. Family and friends are very meaningful and beneficial relationships to us, and should be. Of course, no relationship is perfect, so even difficulties and challenges creep into these. While we are influenced by our family and friends, we can also use God’s wisdom to impact positively our family and friends.
Proverbs 13:20 and 21 focus on our relationship with friends. If we chose wise friends, we will learn wisdom with them and from them. If we chose the opposite, we will not only learn foolishness from them, but suffer the consequences of that foolishness. This is not just for a short time either. Learning foolishness from others means that adversity and trouble will keep coming after us; it will be one trial after another. However, learning God’s wisdom from wise friends leads us in the path of righteousness from God, and thus there comes a reward.
Proverbs 13:22 to 25 turn to our family relationships. We can leave an inheritance for our children and our grandchildren to enjoy. But any wealth we gain in sinful life will be dispersed to others outside our family. So we want to live each day for God and imitating His goodness, so that we may do good to our family.
Sometimes, rough times come to a family. This may be through injustice, which is no fault of the family. The potential is there for prosperity, but circumstances or factors beyond your control may bring hunger and difficulty. Proverbs is not giving us advice on how to overcome this injustice; just to give us the wisdom to acknowledge trials can come for many reasons.
Holding a family together in those times is a consistent love. It can be hard to understand how discipline is an act of love; many see it as an act of abuse. Proverbs is not speaking of physical abuse of children covered up as ‘discipline.’ The word ‘discipline’ can cover a variety of different means of teaching and instructing in what is good. It can include a giving of reward and a taking away of privileges. The focus is on the consistency of this love. Discipline is not always easy, nor always at a convenient time. Love sacrifices what you might prefer to give goodness to others – even if that goodness is in the form of discipline, correction, or instruction.
Finally, Proverbs 13 ends with an encouragement of God’s care and provision. Seek Him and His righteousness and all that you need for life will be added to you. You may not have everything you might possibly desire, but you will have enough. But on the opposite side, to turn from God and His ways leaves you without His care and with need. True, some reject God and have plenty to eat, but the focus here isn’t on quantity but satisfaction. In this way, the end of Proverbs 13 ties with the beginning of Proverbs 13; satisfaction in life comes by listening to the correction of God’s Word. The Bible gives instruction for righteousness; instruction for obedience. As you pursue these in a consistent, diligent manner, God is gracious and gives good and perfect gifts.
Thank you for joining me. I hope God blessed you as we chatted about His Word together.