The world constantly and consistently contradicts the truths of God. For instance, it has convinced mankind that it is manly to start a fight and cowardly to cease from strife. As is almost always the case, the world’s natural way of thinking stands in stark contrast to true scriptural teachings. According to scripture, “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife.” This reveals that the most honourable of men are those who through God-given wisdom are able to bring strife to a peaceable resolution without the need for war. A fool, however, continues to meddle until a fight breaks out. The Bible clearly states the dangers of meddling, yet a fool chooses to ignore the scriptural warning to his own hurt.
Meddling in the problems of others is a dangerous practice resulting in unforeseen outcomes. The Bible uses two comparisons to help convey the danger involved with meddling. Proverbs 17:14 compares meddling to the letting out of previously restrained water. The idea is that meddling with the problems belonging to others is like personally opening the gates once restraining a large body of water. The second comparison is found in Proverbs 26:17. The Bible says, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” When someone does this, the dog turns upon the individual. Both of these warnings demonstrate the grievous dangers involved in unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of others.
Sometimes the Bible conveys some disheartening truths including man’s inability to love the Lord during difficult times. Regrettably, believers are easily offended and sometimes even scattered from the Lord because of a lack of resolve. The Lord prophesied in Zechariah 13:7 concerning His followers’ reaction to His rejection. Though the Lord knows the future, consider how this rejection must have grieved Him when it actually transpired. At a time when any faithful disciple should have been loyal to his Master, those closest to the Lord were instead scattered. The One that fed them when they were hungry (Mark 6:35-44), healed family members when ill (Mark 1:29-31), calmed the troubled waters during the storms (Mark 4:37-41), and taught them many wonderful truths was now the cause of their offence.
True loyalty never wavers without sound justification. The book of Revelation reveals that believers in Smyrna were going to face various difficulties such as imprisonment, trials, and perhaps even martyrdom. In the midst of these calamities, the Lord admonished them to be “faithful unto death.” God’s people have always had their loyalty to the Lord tested. If loyalty occurred naturally, everyone would exhibit loyalty. True loyalty is not something a believer possesses in the absence of adversity. Rather, adversity provides the means for loyalty to excel. In fact, it was in the face of the adversity of crucifixion that the Lord Jesus Christ exemplified His loyalty to both mankind and the Father. In doing so, He set forth an example that every believer ought to willingly follow and exemplify.
The book of Proverbs frequently incorporates the tools of comparison and contrast for the purpose of teaching specific truths. In today’s passage, a liberal soul is likened to one who waters. The passage also mentions that being made fat is likened to being watered. In other words, a liberal reaps the benefits of his own liberality. Proverbs chapter 3 also sets forth the principle of sowing and reaping as man is told to “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10). When a man with a sincere heart liberally cares for the Lord and His people, the Lord will return his liberality back to him.
Hypocrites desperately desire the praise of men, yet they are unwilling to put forth the right efforts to obtain any legitimate praise. Instead, they choose to elevate themselves by demeaning others. The actions of the Pharisee found in Luke 18:11-13 best illustrate this truth. While the Pharisee was hypocritically thanking the Lord that he was not wicked like the publican, the publican was busy confessing to God how wicked he was. In order to exalt himself, the Pharisee determined to belittle his neighbour thinking that this comparison made him look better. This practice of exalting oneself while demeaning others is as old as man himself. People today choose to inflate their own pride or position by undermining others.
The enemies of God and of His people have always sought to conquer those weak in the faith by destroying their faith. Even now, false teachers seek to deceive the hearts of the simple – those who lack knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 9:4, 13). According to the scripture, these teachers do so “by good words and fair speeches.” It is not some raving, ranting lunatic that is most dangerous; it is the sweet talking, kind, loving, liar. In order to gain a following, a teacher must only appeal to others by sounding intelligent and offering “fair speeches” sprinkled with truth. If he can present things new to his audience, whether factual or not, the simple will become enamoured with his abilities and follow his teachings. This is why the Bible warns believers to have no fellowship with those who teach things contrary to the scripture. Any world religious leader who speaks softly and kindly yet fails to proclaim the true gospel probably lives more like a devil in private. The Bible calls these people wolves in sheep’s clothing.
The book of Proverbs offers many profound truths and sometimes conveys these truths through the implementation of comparisons and contrasts. Today’s proverb is a case in point. The Lord uses this structure to assist man’s venturing from the familiar to that which is unfamiliar. Those concepts recognizable to mankind can be used to help convey and explain deeper truths known only to the Lord. For instance, man easily understands what is meant by saying that a stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the Lord wants man to comprehend the heaviness of a fool’s wrath. Man knows that wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, but God wants man to realize that envy is crueler and more outrageous than both wrath and anger. During times of anger and wrath, merciful moments might be displayed; however, envy relentlessly pursues its victim without mercy.
Physically speaking, the life of the flesh involves a sound heart (Proverbs 14:30) and blood (Leviticus 17:11). Without these, a man will not long survive. In like manner, much emphasis is also placed upon the importance of sound bone structure. A man who has problems with his bone density and strength finds his quality of life greatly hindered. According to the Bible, we can draw a parallel between bone strength and spirituality. The Bible says that envy is the rottenness of the bones. As bone strength declines, the individual becomes prone to falls and injury. In like manner, as a person allows envy to take root within his heart, he becomes unstable and prone to falling and personal injury. Those who refuse to repent of envy will ultimately lead themselves into an untimely spiritual death.
Envy is a heart problem that if caught early should never outwardly manifest itself to others. However, failure to recognize the existence of envy in one’s life and repent swiftly will yield to much greater future problems. Solomon’s first admonition to his son was that he not envy the oppressor. This warning was followed by a second admonition against choosing the oppressor’s ways. If a man envies the wicked, he will eventually be convinced to travel the direction that he once only envied. Long before an individual outwardly turns from righteousness to worldliness, he does so within his unrestrained thoughts. Failure to repent of these thoughts eventually yields to the unholy actions once deemed unacceptable.
