Proverbs 13:20 ESV A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A20&version=ESV] The wealthiest people on earth, at least in modern times, tend to be incredibly sinful. Whether it’s Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos or George Soros or Xi Jinping or any…
Proverbs 13:19 ESV Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A21&version=ESV] To those who have read this blog series before, the theme of this verse will not be unfamiliar. The world is canted towards virtue; God’s creation despises vice. These two truths, sides of the same coin as they are, run…
Proverbs 13:20 ESV Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A20&version=ESV] We judge people for the company they keep not just because it speaks to their current moral tastes but because we know that it will have an impact on how their morals develop in the…
Proverbs 13:19 ESV A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul, but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A19&version=ESV] Proverbs has much to say about fools. It would be easy to assume that when the Bible says ‘fool’, it means ‘stupid’, but that’s not quite accurate. Foolishness, Biblically understood, is…
Proverbs 13:18 ESV Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A18&version=ESV] I don’t like being told I’m wrong. I want to be right, if only because it makes everybody else look at me with approbation, and when somebody tries to tell me I’m not, I don’t…
Proverbs 13:17 ESV A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A17&version=ESV] “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news,” declares Isaiah 52:7, and we can all understand the sentiment. When someone comes to tell us good news, we are glad to see them,…
Proverbs 13:16 ESV Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A16&version=ESV] We’ve all been a bit to quick to the trigger at times. We’ve spoken before thinking, acted before considering, agreed before understanding. Sometimes it works out. Often it doesn’t. This proverb points out the dichotomy between the foolish…
Proverbs 13:15 ESV Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A15&version=ESV] Stories are the fundamental way people understand reality. Math and numbers may describe reality, but for the human mind, stories define reality. In other words, math is setting; stories are setting, plot, character, and theme combined. Thus,…
Proverbs 13:14 ESV The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A14&version=ESV] Dramatic Bible verses are hardly uncommon, but this one should grab our attention: what are these ‘snares of death’? They could be literal, theological, eternal, or any other of a…
Proverbs 13:13 ESV Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+13%3A13&version=ESV] We don’t like listening to authority. Well, we do, but only when it tells us things we like. Unfortunately, because man is sinful, the only authority he tends to like is that which…