Proverbs 23:17, “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.” The definition of envy is, “a feeling of discontentment that leads to resentment aroused by the desire to have the possessions or qualities of another person.” A similar concept to envy is what John called, “the…

Proverbs 23:4, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.” According to recent studies, the American worker is the most overworked employee of all the developed nations. Americans on average work longer hours, have less vacation time, less days off and retire at an older age compared to workers in…

Proverbs 22:24-25, “24 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, 25 or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.” Everyone at times struggles to keep his or her anger under control. For some all it takes to sin in their anger is a bad day…

Proverbs 22:10, “Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.” Throughout the book of Proverbs the fool is contrasted with the wise person. A certain kind of fool that is often highlighted is the “mocker.” A mocker is “someone who ridicules others or purposely misrepresents something for the sake of…

Proverbs 21:17, “Whoever loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.” Is King Solomon teaching us that pleasure is bad? No, if he were then he would be contradicting the parts of the Bible that encourage us to enjoy life (Psalm 104:14-15). For example, Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes…

Proverbs 21:2, “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.” Have you ever thought you were right about something, but later found out you were wrong? Maybe you were sure that a person you were dating was going to be your spouse, but it turned out they were…

Proverbs 20:25, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider ones vows.” America has a big rash problem… a “rash behavior problem” that is. From the White House to your house and from Wall Street to Main Street, people too often commit to things they don’t follow through with. Whether…