Proverbs 19:13-29 Navigating through the fog
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.
My father taught me the importance of navigating away from the rocks. We had a small boat and I went out with him before school to check our lobster pots. One morning the fog came in and once we dropped the pots back down we couldn’t see five feet in front of the boat. Our lobster pots were in among the rocks so this was quite scary, go the wrong way and we’ll be on the rocks. On the other hand you can’t just sit there because the tide and wind will push you onto the rocks. What to do? We could hear a bell buoy nearby so my dad decided to head towards it with me on the bow watching for rocks with an oar. Still once you get to the bell buoy you are now on the edge of the channel, but which edge? We got up to the buoy and my dad asked for the number, I didn’t realize these things had numbers, but I found it and told him. He then pulled out the map found the number and we were then able to figure out almost where we were. We then headed to the next bell buoy and when we had that number we knew exactly where we were. I never understood before why we needed that map. The Bible is our map, it helps us navigate in the most extreme circumstances.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
The forefathers of this nation left us all kinds of great assets. The constitution, the bill of rights, a country that goes from sea to shining sea. But if you want a congress that is prudent, that is from the Lord. You look at the corruption, the lies, the hypocrisy overflowing from the Capitol you are seeing that we have lost the Lord’s favor. We have rejected Him and He is rejecting us. The issue is not a phony impeachment or a rigged election. The issue is that God’s people have rejected the Lord.
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.
So many people didn’t want anything to do with the government, didn’t care about the news, let someone else worry about that, they have more important things. They would rather watch football or some Hollywood movie than pay attention to what is going on. While you slept the thieves crept in. Until you deal with your laziness there will be no solution.
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.
To reject the laws of God is to show contempt for your ways. There are certain rules for a navigator. They know how to tell their location using the North Star and a clock. If your clock doesn’t work you have a real problem which is why Britain didn’t just develop a world class navy they also developed world class clocks. But what if you can’t see the North Star because of clouds? As a result they would have maps of the entire sky. The problem is the stars you can see at night change with the seasons. So not only did they have maps of all the stars, they had copies of these maps for every month. The navigator got a big room on a ship with these maps. You look and all you can see is the ocean in every direction, but a navigator who keeps these maps, these commandments, can see exactly where you are on that big wide open sea. I used to have contempt for that map my dad had, but once I gained an appreciation for it I realized that map could save my life.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
You want some investment advice? Be kind to the poor.
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
No one likes to be mocked, ridiculed and insulted. When people are foolish and are deceived they may do this thinking they are doing the right thing. Even a father could be so offended he decides to let his son follow his foolishness to his death. Wisdom is not wisdom if it does not include faith, hope and love.
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
Sometimes the only remedy, the only cure is to pay the penalty. We call this tough love. A person who gets into a bar fight, maybe it is better to spend six months in jail than for others to make excuses about how they are really a good person. When you do that you minimize the severity of their crime. This could lead to domestic violence. Every person who has rioted and looted this year must be prosecuted and pay the penalty. It is disgusting to me to hear of Kamala Harris and others bailing them out and letting them take part in more riots.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
Really? I remember as a kid I was a fool. I was completely clueless about what wisdom was, it was a total mystery. Could it really be this simple, listen to advice and accept discipline? Consider Malcolm X, he is counted among the wise today but in his youth he was one of the biggest fools.
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Denzel Washington said “no one plans to fail, they fail to plan”. But that wasn’t the only thing he said in that speech. He also said that when you go to bed push your slippers way under the bed so in the morning you will have to get on your knees to get them, and while down there pray to God. The Lord’s purpose will prevail, are you aligned with the Lord’s purpose? Pray. Read the word and little by little you will be.
22 What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
A liar is truly a big flashing red light alarm. If you are dating a girl and she is a liar, that is all you need to know, extricate yourself from that relationship as soon as you can. If you are in business with someone and learn they are a liar, remove yourself from that contract as soon as possible. If you learn that the NY Times is a liar, or CNN, or MSNBC, or Facebook, or Twitter, or Google then terminate your relationship with them. It is better to be poor, use a different search engine, use a different source for your news. Everyone wants unfailing love, it is very hard to find, so you will find liars promising that. Don’t fall for it.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Really, untouched by trouble? There are a lot of scary things happening today and so far I have been “untouched”. That doesn’t mean I have hid in the basement, no I have been on the streets protesting injustice. It doesn’t mean I have been silent, no I speak every day. Hiding in the basement, being silent and avoiding confrontation is not equivalent to “the fear of the Lord”.
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
We got into this situation with a corrupt government selling us out to foreign nations because we were lazy and we slept. Now it is time to rise and eat. These giants are our food. Slay them.
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
When Twitter’s stock price collapses, when the board of directors fires the CEO and other key personnel, when the lawsuits hit their backs like lashes from a whip. Then the simple in other companies will learn prudence. The discerning will gain knowledge from this rebuke. CNN has seen a drop in ratings of 40%, you can be sure others are taking notice.
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
Twitter kicked out their biggest and best accounts how idiotic is that. With the investors and advertisers this will bring shame and disgrace. Twitter censored the people who use the service with bogus excuses and prevented the truth from getting out about Biden prior to the election. The main value of Twitter is to disseminate the truth that everyone needs quickly and widely. They violated their entire reason for existence, they insulted their customers and got rid of their biggest and most profitable customers. What a shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
Wisdom is not once for all. Just ask the captain of the Exxon Valdez what happens if you stray from the path.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
This has been on full display these last three months as they claim there has been no evidence of election fraud and the lawsuits are frivolous.
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
Yeah! Amen and Amen.
13 A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.
My father taught me the importance of navigating away from the rocks. We had a small boat and I went out with him before school to check our lobster pots. One morning the fog came in and once we dropped the pots back down we couldn’t see five feet in front of the boat. Our lobster pots were in among the rocks so this was quite scary, go the wrong way and we’ll be on the rocks. On the other hand you can’t just sit there because the tide and wind will push you onto the rocks. What to do? We could hear a bell buoy nearby so my dad decided to head towards it with me on the bow watching for rocks with an oar. Still once you get to the bell buoy you are now on the edge of the channel, but which edge? We got up to the buoy and my dad asked for the number, I didn’t realize these things had numbers, but I found it and told him. He then pulled out the map found the number and we were then able to figure out almost where we were. We then headed to the next bell buoy and when we had that number we knew exactly where we were. I never understood before why we needed that map. The Bible is our map, it helps us navigate in the most extreme circumstances.
14 Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
The forefathers of this nation left us all kinds of great assets. The constitution, the bill of rights, a country that goes from sea to shining sea. But if you want a congress that is prudent, that is from the Lord. You look at the corruption, the lies, the hypocrisy overflowing from the Capitol you are seeing that we have lost the Lord’s favor. We have rejected Him and He is rejecting us. The issue is not a phony impeachment or a rigged election. The issue is that God’s people have rejected the Lord.
15 Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.
So many people didn’t want anything to do with the government, didn’t care about the news, let someone else worry about that, they have more important things. They would rather watch football or some Hollywood movie than pay attention to what is going on. While you slept the thieves crept in. Until you deal with your laziness there will be no solution.
16 Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die.
To reject the laws of God is to show contempt for your ways. There are certain rules for a navigator. They know how to tell their location using the North Star and a clock. If your clock doesn’t work you have a real problem which is why Britain didn’t just develop a world class navy they also developed world class clocks. But what if you can’t see the North Star because of clouds? As a result they would have maps of the entire sky. The problem is the stars you can see at night change with the seasons. So not only did they have maps of all the stars, they had copies of these maps for every month. The navigator got a big room on a ship with these maps. You look and all you can see is the ocean in every direction, but a navigator who keeps these maps, these commandments, can see exactly where you are on that big wide open sea. I used to have contempt for that map my dad had, but once I gained an appreciation for it I realized that map could save my life.
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
You want some investment advice? Be kind to the poor.
18 Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death.
No one likes to be mocked, ridiculed and insulted. When people are foolish and are deceived they may do this thinking they are doing the right thing. Even a father could be so offended he decides to let his son follow his foolishness to his death. Wisdom is not wisdom if it does not include faith, hope and love.
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.
Sometimes the only remedy, the only cure is to pay the penalty. We call this tough love. A person who gets into a bar fight, maybe it is better to spend six months in jail than for others to make excuses about how they are really a good person. When you do that you minimize the severity of their crime. This could lead to domestic violence. Every person who has rioted and looted this year must be prosecuted and pay the penalty. It is disgusting to me to hear of Kamala Harris and others bailing them out and letting them take part in more riots.
20 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
Really? I remember as a kid I was a fool. I was completely clueless about what wisdom was, it was a total mystery. Could it really be this simple, listen to advice and accept discipline? Consider Malcolm X, he is counted among the wise today but in his youth he was one of the biggest fools.
21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Denzel Washington said “no one plans to fail, they fail to plan”. But that wasn’t the only thing he said in that speech. He also said that when you go to bed push your slippers way under the bed so in the morning you will have to get on your knees to get them, and while down there pray to God. The Lord’s purpose will prevail, are you aligned with the Lord’s purpose? Pray. Read the word and little by little you will be.
22 What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
A liar is truly a big flashing red light alarm. If you are dating a girl and she is a liar, that is all you need to know, extricate yourself from that relationship as soon as you can. If you are in business with someone and learn they are a liar, remove yourself from that contract as soon as possible. If you learn that the NY Times is a liar, or CNN, or MSNBC, or Facebook, or Twitter, or Google then terminate your relationship with them. It is better to be poor, use a different search engine, use a different source for your news. Everyone wants unfailing love, it is very hard to find, so you will find liars promising that. Don’t fall for it.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
Really, untouched by trouble? There are a lot of scary things happening today and so far I have been “untouched”. That doesn’t mean I have hid in the basement, no I have been on the streets protesting injustice. It doesn’t mean I have been silent, no I speak every day. Hiding in the basement, being silent and avoiding confrontation is not equivalent to “the fear of the Lord”.
24 A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!
We got into this situation with a corrupt government selling us out to foreign nations because we were lazy and we slept. Now it is time to rise and eat. These giants are our food. Slay them.
25 Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge.
When Twitter’s stock price collapses, when the board of directors fires the CEO and other key personnel, when the lawsuits hit their backs like lashes from a whip. Then the simple in other companies will learn prudence. The discerning will gain knowledge from this rebuke. CNN has seen a drop in ratings of 40%, you can be sure others are taking notice.
26 Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace.
Twitter kicked out their biggest and best accounts how idiotic is that. With the investors and advertisers this will bring shame and disgrace. Twitter censored the people who use the service with bogus excuses and prevented the truth from getting out about Biden prior to the election. The main value of Twitter is to disseminate the truth that everyone needs quickly and widely. They violated their entire reason for existence, they insulted their customers and got rid of their biggest and most profitable customers. What a shame and disgrace.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
Wisdom is not once for all. Just ask the captain of the Exxon Valdez what happens if you stray from the path.
28 A corrupt witness mocks at justice, and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
This has been on full display these last three months as they claim there has been no evidence of election fraud and the lawsuits are frivolous.
29 Penalties are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
Yeah! Amen and Amen.