He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
The Effects Of Foolishness: An Attitude of
Self Reliance (1): Proverbs 29:22-24
22) An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in
transgression.
23) A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the
humble in spirit.
24) Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth
cursing, and bewrayeth [it] not.
In
this chapter, Solomon examines the effects of foolishness on the lives of the
foolish and those who are around them….
EXPOSITION:
In
this devotion, we will look at one of the great effects of foolishness… an
attitude of self-reliance instead of a trusting reliance upon the Lord for all
of our needs and desires. Marks of an
attitude of self-reliance….
22) An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in
transgression.
Anger…
1. A man with flaring nostrils provokes threatening
confrontations with others
2. A man who burns with anger overflows with
rebellion and hatred
When
a person relies upon themselves to meet all of their life needs, they
experience a need to control anyone who affects their life. Anger and wrath are instruments of
manipulation that are used in an attempt to control others…
1. The threat of physical harm can be made very
effective when combined with displays of anger.
This leads to submission and control over those who fear harm coming
upon them.
2. Anger produces a spirit of hatred towards
others and rebellion against those in higher authority. Again these result in attempted control of
others…
a.
The hatred of others can result in active opposition to their well-being. It can involve opposing good entering into
their lives or maliciously bringing harm to their lives. In either case, it reveals attempted control
over their personal lives.
b.
The rebellion against higher authorities is basically saying that a person will control
their own life and will not allow others to control it. Again, we can see the idea of self-reliance
clearly in rebellion against authority
“Who [is] a wise man and
endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his
works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter
envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not
from above, but [is] earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil
work. But the wisdom that is
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.” (James 3:13-18)
23) A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the
humble in spirit.
Pride…
1. A person’s arrogance will result in his
humiliation
2. but those who possess a submitted, lowly
attitude will be sustained by the respect of others that he receives.
When
a person relies upon himself to his life needs, to the exclusion of the Lord,
he is clearly displaying an attitude of arrogance. This attitude is proclaiming he believes he
possesses all that is needed to find total care and satisfaction in and of
himself.
As
we all know the Bible stands in direct attitude to this attitude, as it clearly
declares to us that it is only in Christ that we can find true satisfaction and
the meeting of our most important need, salvation from our sins and genuine
peace and joy. But our need of Him goes
much further. It is only through His
temporal blessings upon us that we have the health, strength and talents that
are needed to labor and meet our physical needs of life. That is why NONE of us should believe that we
can “take care of ourselves”. Apart
from the Lord’s constant blessings on our behalf, we would all become destitute
and hopelessly unable to care for our smallest needs.
“The lofty looks of man
shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD
alone shall be exalted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:11)
24) Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth
cursing, and bewrayeth [it] not.
Unlawful
gain and dishonesty…
1. When a person shares in the spoil of a thief,
he brings harm to himself which is display of self-hatred.
2. This person hears the threats of retaliation
from the victims of the robbery will not respond to them. Because of his selfishness he would rather
enjoy the unlawful gain that he received than to be willing to give it back and
reveal the one who stole from them.
Many
times, when a person is relying upon himself for the meeting of his needs, when
in desperate situations, he will stop at nothing to meet his needs. This includes choosing unlawful means of gain,
as well as choosing his own benefit over relieving the injustice that has come
upon others.
“Thy princes [are]
rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth
after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the
widow come unto them.” (Isaiah 1:23)
SUMMARY:
So
far in our study, we have seen that some of the indications of a self-reliant
spirit are:
1.
Anger
2.
Pride
3.
Unlawful gain and dishonesty
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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