Proverbs 14:1-35

Balance is one of the most important and most difficult virtues to achieve in our lives.  We tend to swing from one extreme to another in our lives and have a hard time coming to balance and looking at things from a reasonable perspective.  The problem is that we all consider our point of view to be the reasonable one so we can easily push that out to an extreme because we are all convinced that we are correct.  In the previous chapters we have looked at a contrast between wisdom and wickedness.  This chapter draws up a contrast between wisdom and foolishness.  Like all of these chapters, it is very difficult to find any sort of an outline that is complete, but there are a couple of repetitive themes that appear so we will use them as our focal point.

HOW TO LIVE IN PRUDENCE: Prudence is simply another word for wisdom.  Wisdom is contrasted to both wickedness and foolishness in Proverbs.  This chapter seems to emphasize the area of foolishness.  The prudent person will build up their own house while the foolish person destroys it.  The prudent fears and follow the Lord while the devious despise the Lord.  The foolish will find themselves being repeatedly punished because of their words while the prudent will be protected.  The prudent recognize that hard work produces great benefits even if things might get a little messy.  The idea is that milk comes from cows and that cows make a mess.  It is foolish to expect to have milk and a spotless barn.  The prudent are very careful with the words that they choose while the foolish spout off about all kinds of things.  The prudent have respect and sincerity as well as a reverence for the things of the Lord.  The prudent will be reserved in his sorrow and joy.  The prudent recognize their own frailness and propensity to do what is evil.  The prudent know that there is balance in both joy and sorrow and knows that there are consequences to every choice we make.  The foolish will be very gullible while the prudent consider the words of others carefully.  The foolish make snap decisions while the prudent consider things carefully before choosing a direction. A life of prudence will bring great reward.

HOW TO RESPOND TO POVERTY: Poverty is a reality with which we will always need to deal.  Much poverty is brought on because of foolishness or laziness.  That does not mean that those who have material blessings can look down at or pass judgment upon those who are less fortunate.  We must find balance in the way that we view and respond to poverty.  Those who are poor tend to have few friends while the rich seem to have many friends.  This is a true observation but it is unfortunate that people shy away from embracing the poor and it demonstrates greed that people flock to the rich in hopes of getting something from them that is not true friendship.  It is sin to be respecter of persons.  We must demonstrate generosity to the poor and genuine love to the people who are around us.  We must place a high value on hard work and recognize that even if it does not lead to prosperity the work has real value.  Those who brag and talk about work, without actually doing it, will end up in poverty.  We must be honest, fear the Lord and follow the Word of God as it bring us great peace and reward.  We must exercise humility, self-control and peace in our hearts in order to prevent the bitterness, strife and envy that make our flesh rot away.  We must not oppress the poor but be generous to them as it honors our God when we do so.  When we treat others with love and respect no matter to which social class they belong; God is pleased our nation will be strengthened and we will be favored by both God and man.