Proverbs 19:1-10

be on here every day and then sometimes life catches up and it happens. You know I think you've probably been there with your devotions before haven't you? Where you have been doing really well with your devotions and then kind of life just interrupts. Now thankfully this isn't my primary devotions. There's time that I spend on my own with the Lord but I do apologize to you. There's been a lot going on. There's still some privacy things that I don't think I can openly discuss here on Coffee and Devotions, but just real heavy pastoral issues and family things. Nothing necessarily dealing with sin, but some of the hardest things I've ever dealt with. So if you'll continue to pray for me and for our family, that would be helpful. But this morning, the Lord's given us 10 verses to look at.
I'm gonna jump online here and make sure that everybody gets online. Okay, it looks like we're doing well there and there. Perfect. Okay. Wonderful. Well, 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. And this year, 2021, I promise you, we'll still make it through all the wisdom literature. This morning, we are at Proverbs chapter 19, the first 10 verses. Why don't we have some coffee? We'll pray and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray.
Oh Father, we thank you so much for this day. What a blessing it is to be your people, to sit at your feet. Our Father, you love us and you teach us. You admonish us, correct us, and train us. Lord, we pray that you would do your work this morning. In Jesus' name, amen.
Here we go, Proverbs chapter 19, the first 10 verses. better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips and a fool." It's better to be poor and walk in the ways of the Lord than to be a fool and have perverse lips. Lips that tell lies and slander and gossip and stuff like that. better for you to be poor than to try to get a leg up on people acting the fool and trying to play the manipulation game. It's better to have your righteousness and integrity than it is to just be a smooth talker who nobody, everybody knows he's just a fool.
Verse two, also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge and he sins who hastens his feet. I have written here in my margin, fools rush in where angels tread to fear. It's better to be, or it is also not good for a soul to be without knowledge, right? We should desire knowledge. And the more and more we know, the more we desire to think the Lord's thoughts and to walk wisely, we're a little bit slower to rush into some things. This is the second part, and he sins, who hastens with his feet, who just rushes into things right away and doesn't think through them, doesn't have wisdom in the ways in which you're supposed to walk.
Verse three, the foolishness of a man twists his way and his heart frets against the Lord. This is what sin and sinful thinking does. It takes our hearts and it twists it, it turns it, it manipulates it in ways that we never thought we would ever think that way or live that way or do those things, but that's what foolishness does. It twists us and turns us and his heart frets against the Lord. This is what happens. Our hearts, as we turn from the right way and turn towards the perverse way, your heart will also turn and twist and become sour unto God. And here this dad is telling his son, boy, I'm telling you, son, listen up. This is what that way of the fool does. It twists against his walk and it twists against the Lord to be careful. Just know that this is what happens.
Verse four, wealth makes many friends, but the poor is separated from his friends. Have you ever heard these stories of somebody who wins the lottery? And after they win the lottery, it's like all of a sudden all their best friends from high school come out, and all of a sudden everybody they know in their family just loves them so much, and all of a sudden the wealthy person has all sorts of friends, but the poor is separated from his friends. This is the reality of the sinfulness of people's hearts and lives, is they will They'll come around you like flies.
I mean, that's a hard picture, but it's true. People are manipulative and seek after their own ways. And this isn't meaning to be cynical. This is just fallen human nature. Most people seek what they can receive. And so they'll become friends with people who have money because they want that money. They become friends with people who have power because they want the power. They become friends with people because of what they can get out of it. And it's amazing what happens when that evaporates and someone becomes poor and their friends are sayonara. Verse 5, a false witness will not go unpunished, and he who speaks lies will not escape. Perjurers and liars will be caught. Even if it's not in this life, God knows the truth.
He is the one who judges every word that comes out of our mouth. So you need to be careful about what you say, even the careless words which come out of your mouth. James tells us that this is difficult, right? We have to be those who are able to tame our tongues, and it is an unwieldy thing. It sets forth a blaze, and it's like a small rudder that turns the whole ship. We need to be careful in how we speak, and we need to be those who are radically about the truth.
Verse six. Many entreat the favor of nobility, and every man is a friend to one who gives." This is tied to verse 4, isn't it? Verse 4 was, wealth makes many friends. Verse 6 is, and every man is a friend of him who gives. This is the reality, again, that I was saying. And so how do we take this and live it practically in our lives? You need to check your own heart. In your own heart, in your own life, why do you have the friends that you have?
Are you just a friend who's... trying to get something from people, or are you the type of friend that will stick closer than a brother? Are you the type of friend who will be there in the day of adversity? Will you be the friend that Jesus has called you to be to visit the person when they're in prison? To visit the person you say you love when they're in the nursing home and cannot repay you for anything? Will you show true religion, caring for the orphan and the widow in their distress, the people who could never pay you back?
This is what verse six is getting at. Many entreat the favor of nobility, and every man is a friend of him who gives gifts. It's human nature. Verse seven. All the brothers of the poor hate him. How much more do his friends go far from him? He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. This is the reality of poverty. It's not popular to be poor. Family will forsake you. People will leave you. And yet, that's the reality of life. This is exactly why, again, the book of James, I love the book of James, it's so wonderful when it comes to things like this. So wonderful for a lot of things.
But in the book of James, this is why it's saying there's not allowed to be any partiality in the church. If somebody walks in the church and they have fine clothing and they might have gold necklaces and rings and stuff, you're not allowed to put them in the best seats of the church, giving them a place of prominence. No, in the house of God, there is no favoritism. where master and slave sit at the same level, where father and son are of the same value, where wives and husbands are of the same worth, where poor and rich sit together and care for one another. Verse 8.
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding will find good. We hear a lot about self-care and self-love. Let me tell you the best thing you can do for your soul, for yourself, for your life, for your family. is to go get wisdom. And what is the beginning of the wisdom but the fear of the Lord?
Go into God's Word. Dig deep. Go ahead. I give you permission today. Spend extra time in God's Word. Take care of yourself. I give you permission today. Put off a little bit of work. Maybe, you know, take a little bit longer break. Not that you're allowed at work, but, you know, maybe after dinner, feel free to turn off the TV. You can push away all the distractions and go ahead. I give you permission. Go spend some time with the king of the universe.
Love yourself. He who gets wisdom loves his own soul and he who keeps understanding will find good. Let's go to verse nine. A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will perish. This is almost verbatim of verse five. That's how important it is. It's a doublet. Two times the Lord is saying this to us in the same chapter. Hold on, son. Be careful before you speak. God is going to judge you for your words. Liars and perjurers will be judged.
Lastly, verse 10.
Luxury is not fitting for a fool, much less a servant to rule over princes. And this might seem a little bit odd. We're Americans, hold on. Isn't it good when the underdog rises up when the servant becomes the master? That's not really what this is talking about. I don't think that that's necessarily what this is talking about.
I think what this is saying is it's not good to have a puppet king. It's not good if somehow the second in command is the one running the country. It's not good if somehow we have a president who is nothing but a public face, but really it's his generals behind him who are supposed to be his servants who are calling all the shots. It's not good for a servant to rule over princes, nor is it good for luxury to be fitting for a fool.
We look at people, and even the psalmist cries out to this. Why? Why is it that the wicked are getting the good things in life and the righteous are getting the bad? This doesn't make sense, Lord. And it's right. That's not the way the world is supposed to work. Now in our fallen world, this is the way it often works. And it's not right.
It's horrible when we see people who are engrossed in all sorts of immorality and they enjoy all the wealth and the luxury of this life, but let me just say it's not fitting for them. Actually, it shows the ludicrousness of this world. But at the end of the day, the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth are going to pass away. And what's going to be left when God judges? only thing that's valuable.
Jesus Christ and eternal life with him. You get the richest inheritance in the world. You get the full inheritance of God. You get eternal life if you trust in Jesus Christ. You get to sit in the presence of the King bowing before his throne, worshiping with a myriad of angels on the streets of gold. we find your joy there.
Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day and we thank you for your word. We pray that as we read your, or that as we have read your word, you might teach us to be wise with our mouths. We pray that we would not be focused on the wealth and the cares of this world, but that we might love our souls by seeking wisdom, which means loving you.
In Jesus's name, amen. Well, may the Lord bless you today. May you take time out of your day to be self-caring, loving God's word, soaking it up. May God make you wise with your speech, and may he always give you peace in your heart as your mind is stayed on Jesus Christ. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.