His Ambassador Blog

Proverbs is a book known for its applicable wisdom. Written by Solomon, the son of David and the third king of Israel. The Lord told Solomon that He would give him anything that He asked for. Instead of asking for riches, power, or anything of these sorts, Solomon asked for wisdom and the Lord greatly blessed him with such. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs so for the next 31 days of May we’re going to take a look at the wisdom in each one. 

Chapter Thirteen: Lying and Pride, Truth and Humility. 

“The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked. One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.”(v.5-7) 

One who is prideful will lie their way through life but those who live in humility are truthful. Those who are living righteous lives will be living in truth. Lies, even the small ones, are sins. Lying will only take you so far and in the end you’ll end up empty handed. 

“The light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom. Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”(v.9-12) 

Those who are living righteously have much to rejoice over. Because Jesus is at the center of a righteous man’s life he has light. Those who live righteously know how to live well with others. They do not cause unnecessary trouble or strife through lying or pride. They bring hope and life to others through kind words and giving. Righteous living is generous living. The goal is to point others to Christ and what better way to do that than to love others how He does?

Righteous living is also marked by hard work and discipline. God made man with the ability and the duty to work. Adam took care of the gardena no animals even before sin entered the world. We were not made to do nothing. The wealth gained from fruitless endeavors will only fade with time, but the blessings from hard work will be enjoyed for an eternity. Those who live righteously will give what they earn back to God. When we give back to Him and make ourselves to be poor, He showers us with blessings. God loves and embraces those who are humble. We have to remember that there is no way we could live righteously on our own. We can live this live because Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to be washed clean. 

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.”(v. 14, 18, 20, 25) 

Nothing good comes from refusing to learn and seek wisdom. He takes humility to actively look for wisdom. We must realize that we don’t know everything, that sometimes we get it wrong. But God, who is perfect, will so graciously pour out His wisdom on us, all we have to do is ask. Ignoring correction and wisdom leads to poverty and disgrace. This is what happens when we let our pride get in the way. 

Wisdom will seek out others with wisdom. Who you become friends with matters! We become like the people we spend the most time with. If you wouldn’t want to be like your friend, it’s probably time to rethink that relationship. Being friends with those who drag you down in your faith will harm your relationship and intimacy with the Lord. 

The righteous find what all souls long for when they found Christ. Through Christ the hunger of our souls is satisfied. Every human being is suffering from a God-sized hole in their heart and He is th only One who can fill it. We are never fully satisfied until we know Jesus Christ!