The Proverbs 31 Project: Commenting March 17th on Proverbs 17:5-8

                                     March 17th?     Read Proverbs 17!

[Please note: The first two paragraphs below are repeated each day for new readers. My amateur comments are offered below each of today's verses from Proverbs.]

Have you ever noticed that, like most months have 31 days, the Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters? Fascinating right? Well, it is at least interesting, and coincidentally beneficial to those who would like to read a portion of thought-provoking scripture every day of the month. You might like to read the calendar coordinated chapter from Proverbs every day this month (I've included the whole chapter below!) and then see if my comments on a few of its verses line up with your own observations. My plan is to go through the year, writing my response to about one seventh of each chapter's verses every day, during each of the 7 months that have 31 days.  Clear as mud? That's what I thought.

I hope you check it out every day, and leave a comment once in a while. Especially if I say something really off base and need to be corrected, because, as we will learn this month on the 27th, Proverbs 27:5 says

                                "Better is open rebuke than hidden love." 

                                    Today's inspired verses, 5-8, are highlighted in red

                                          (and my questionable comments are in blue).

Proverbs 17

1 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
than a house full of feasting, with strife.

2 A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the LORD tests the heart.

4 A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;
whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.


5) Who mocks the poor, except the wicked?  And in which category would you prefer to be associated?  Me too.  I'd rather be poor.


Gloating over another's disaster is despicable.  I am glad for this promise from God.  But remember; like any other evil we deserve to be punished for, ALL of the punishment we should have coming, Jesus Christ is willing to bear!  His death on the cross (and He did die on that cross) was an act of substitution.  He died, so that we might live.


6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
and parents are the pride of their children.


6) WOW!  How appropriate is this?  My daughter just gave birth to a special little girl two days ago!  Wait a minute...what's this part about "the aged"?  Hmmm.


I work at being a man that my kids could be proud of.  I always want to be a good example for them, and bring some type of blessing to their tables.


7 Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!


7) The first part makes me kind of squirm.  


But the second part makes me shiver with dread!  Who can abide a lying ruler?


8 A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it;
they think success will come at every turn.


8) I would like to see the budget of a briber.
  
Utilities:           $150.00
Mortgage:       $735.00
Groceries:       $450.00
Bribery:          $1200.00


Where do they get all that cash?  And how do they carry it around and not get robbed?  (And which pocket do they keep it in?)


Remember the scene in TITANIC where that rich snob guy tried to bribe his way into a lifeboat?  He was shocked to find that cash was finally useless.  As it will be for all of us one day.

9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,
but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

10 A rebuke impresses a discerning person
more than a hundred lashes a fool.

11 Evildoers foster rebellion against God;
the messenger of death will be sent against them.

12 Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs
than a fool bent on folly.

13 Evil will never leave the house
of one who pays back evil for good.

14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—
the LORD detests them both.

16 Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
when they are not able to understand it?

17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

18 One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
and puts up security for a neighbor.

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

23 The wicked accept bribes in secret
to pervert the course of justice.

24 A discerning person keeps wisdom in view,
but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son brings grief to his father
and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

26 If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good,
surely to flog honest officials is not right.

27 The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

28 Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
and discerning if they hold their tongues.