Proverbs 16:25-33

that. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day we get together. We get into God's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together. This year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. Why don't we go ahead and have some coffee? We'll pray and get into God's word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. Thank you for this time you've given us to be in your word now. Lord, we pray that you would care for us. Please calm our hearts. Please teach our minds. Let us fix our eyes on you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Here we go, Proverbs chapter 16, verses 25 through the end of the chapter. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. This is one of those difficult sayings, but it's so true. What does the Lord say here? There is a way that seems right to man, a way that we might think is the right way to go. But at the end of the day, it's a dead end street. Its way leads to death. This is what sin always does, what temptation always does.
It makes us think, oh, this is going to be good. This is going to be great. But the end of it is death. People think, I want to be happy. But when we follow things that we think are happy that aren't in accordance with God's word, what we end up is not a place of happiness, but of death, destruction, ruin.
The person who labors, verse 26, the person who labors, labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on. That's pretty true. You get somebody hungry enough and they'll work pretty hard. It's amazing when we tell our kids, no, you're not going to eat dinner until you finish your chores, how quickly they'll get their chores done, even though they might have lingered on them for hours before. To our frustration, when it's 10 minutes before dinnertime and they're starving and you say, Nope, no dinner until you get your chores done. All of a sudden those chores, lickety split, 10 minutes, they're done and they're at the table. They might be whining the whole time, but the point is that hunger drives us on. How much more should we hunger and thirst for righteousness? And as we do that, looking to Christ, should we then proceed with good works? Verse 27.
God an ungodly man digs up evil and it is on his lips like a burning fire This is the idea of an ungodly man would be Translated a worthless man right digging pits that someone else might fall in them just being mischievous just just in their heart desiring to hurt others for no reason other than just taking delight in pain and suffering of others on his lips.
And it is on his lips like burning fire. The wicked person is always ready to slander and gossip and tear people down. Verse 28, a perverse man so strife and a whisper separates the best of friends. This person is always looking to just whisper little trinkets of gossip in people's ears, just slander people. It's just always ready on their mouth to whisper and separate best of friends. The wicked person really does love chaos, does want to just break up friendships, just wants to tear things down.
This can even happen in marriages. Husbands just speak down to their wives, just whispering things in their ears or even screaming at them at times, always just digging pits, just waiting for them to fall in. Verse 29, a violent man entices his neighbor and leads him in the way that is not good. One of the translations says a cold-blooded murderer motivated by greed and hate employs false accusations and unjust judgments. It's not loving your neighbor. This is what the wicked do.
Lastly, the wicked man in verse 30, he winks his eye to devise perverse things. He purses his lips and brings about evil. This is a scoundrel scheming for what he wants. He winks his eye and devises perverse things. He purses his lips and he brings about evil. He's got that smirk. That look that someone has on their face, that they're delighted to do something bad.
And then the proverb changes. The silver-haired head is a crown of glory if it is found in the way of the righteous. This person is compared to the scoundrel. This person is the one who desires righteousness and truth. and that silver-headed hair that as the king james is a hoary head right the the crown of glory is is this beauty of a long life lived of righteousness seeking after the lord desiring what is good and wise and true and god giving that person a long and full life It's one of the amazing things I'm always marveling at in our society. We have such a preoccupation with not looking old. I remember somebody making fun of me because when I smile I got crow's feet. I didn't know even what that was. I don't care that I got crow's feet. That means I smile a lot. That's wonderful.
Who cares if you have gray hair? The Lord has blessed you with long age. Have wisdom and good fruits that flow from that. Verse 32, he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty. And he who rules his own spirit than he who takes a city. Oh man, this is truthful. He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty.
The mighty person might be able to beat their chest and might be able to tear down a city and break walls and lift things and hurt people. But who's really the strong person? It's the person who can tame their mouth. It's a person who can quiet their own heart. It's a person who can think before they speak. It's a person who can show kindness and control themselves.
The mighty person is not what the world thinks of as mighty. The mighty person is the one who walks in the ways of the Lord. who has control over his own spirit, her own spirit. That's the person who's mighty, who's mighty in the deeds of the Lord. That mighty person might be the 86-year-old grandmother in your life, who every day prays, and every day is in the Word, and every day it seems like she has endless patience and love, self-control and grace. That's the mighty person.
Verse 33. The law is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. There's no such thing as chance. There's no such thing as happenstance. It's the Lord. It's the Lord who controls the lot. When the dice were thrown, the Lord knows what numbers they're going to land on. The decision is His. He's sovereign. So why don't we go ahead and pray.
Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you. for teaching us both what the scoundrel looks like, as well as what the godly looks like. Lord, we pray for your Holy Spirit that you would make us godly. We pray that we would be mighty men and women of valor, of righteousness, living long lives for your glory, that you might receive all the praise. and that we might benefit from holiness. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may you walk in the ways of Jesus Christ. May you be strong in the works of the Lord. May the Spirit of God be always in you and working through you as you interact with those you come into contact with today. I'll see you on Monday. Bye.