Saying 20
1 Do not envy the wicked,
do not desire their company;
2 for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble.
Saying 21
3 By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4 through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures.
Saying 22
5 The wise prevail through great power,
and those who have knowledge muster their strength.
6 Surely you need guidance to wage war,
and victory is won through many advisers.
Saying 23
7 Wisdom is too high for fools;
in the assembly at the gate they must not open their mouths.
Saying 24
8 Whoever plots evil
will be known as a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin,
and people detest a mocker.
Saying 25
10 If you falter in a time of trouble,
how small is your strength!
11 Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
12 If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?
Saying 26
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.
Saying 27
15 Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,
do not plunder their dwelling place;
16 for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.
Saying 28
17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from them.
Saying 29
19 Do not fret because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
Saying 30
21 Fear the Lord and the king, my son,
and do not join with rebellious officials,
22 for those two will send sudden destruction on them,
and who knows what calamities they can bring?
Further Sayings of the Wise
23 These also are sayings of the wise:
To show partiality in judging is not good:
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
28 Do not testify against your neighbor without cause—
would you use your lips to mislead?
29 Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.”
-Captain Jean-Luc Picard
It is one of the great strengths of men, and one of our most painful follies, that we believe that good things come to those who work for them. Many of us were raised with a defiant attitude, one that promised that through hard work and a little luck, we could achieve any goal we put our minds to, that when we grow up, we could be whatever we want.
And yet, Solomon still feels the need to remind us NOT to envy the wicked…
Why?
Why does Solomon feel he must double, triple, and quadruple down on the idea that our hope is in something other than the success we see people achieve through evil means?
Because he knows there will be times in life where it looks as if the best way forward is not the way of God.
You may get passed over because someone else lied, your success may take longer to achieve than that of devious men, your reward may look pale in comparison to the riches of the sluggard. You may do nothing wrong and still “lose,” in the world’s sense. These things may happen.
And still, Solomon reminds us, do not envy those who “win,” based on sinful methods.
“Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
Know also that wisdom is like honey for you:
If you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.”
Brother, your hope and heart are secure so long as you gauge success against the proper scale.
As we talked about in Proverbs 16, there is something God-honoring in being skilled in your work, but look again at the purpose. The point is to honor God and to work for His glory alone. When we remember this, we are freed from the temptation to look around at what people have given over their integrity to obtain and envy it.
There is nothing worth paying that price to accomplish.
Longing to succeed, earn accolades, and accomplish, these are natural desires of the Human Heart, ones that can be harnessed for the good of people around you. Still, if they become so strong that your motive behind them is no longer to honor God, they can cause chaos. Test your motives today; check on them like a gardener inspects his plants. Have you given in to envious thoughts? Have they caused you to admit sin into the process? How do you fare when someone achieves something you coveted? Are you outraged? What about when someone you don’t like fails? Do you find comfort in their fall? These are signs that you have placed your hope in something other than God’s plan, and it is time to bring that to Him.
“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,
but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
Build your life on the principle that God has your best in mind. Construct walls full of the faith that He will provide for you in the proper time. Let a roof made of the memories of His faithfulness protect you from the attacks of the enemy luring you towards jealousy and scheming. Live in His goodness and mercy, and then you will live an honest life that outlasts all others.
—
God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that You establish what is good for me. Thank You that it is my plumb line, my true north and that I can compare everything I see, feel and desire against it to find if it is worthy of You. I see that envy is not of You and that I am called to You and You alone. It is a freeing and blessed reality to lose any sense of comparison. I fall into Your hands, giving up hanging onto anyone else’s approval or satisfaction to give me my sense of worth. Thank You that I am Yours alone. Amen.
