Proverbs 12:7 ESV The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+12%3A7&version=ESV] The house of the righteous is a remarkably resilient institution when considered under the lens of world history and a remarkably fragile one when considered under the lens of most men’s lifetimes. After all,…
Proverbs 12:6 ESV The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+12%3A6&version=ESV] Why do we worry about people’s character when we’re listening to them? You’re probably giving me a funny look right about now, I know, but we need to be able to answer…
Proverbs 12:5 ESV The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+12%3A5&version=ESV] How much does somebody’s character matter when you’re considering their advice? Intelligence and knowledge don’t correlate well with moral character (though wisdom does), but the idea that since somebody is smart, he must be worth listening…
Even prior to the stress of 2020 and 2021’s new normal, we have seen a growing number of suicides. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/) the rate per 100,000 individuals has risen from about 12 in 2010 to 14 in 2018 with a slight dip in 2019 and 2020. So many…
Proverbs 12:4 ESV An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+12%3A4&version=ESV] Choosing who you marry is a big deal. Even modern culture recognizes that much, and modern culture has relaxed the bonds of marriage till they’re a mere mockery of their…
Proverbs 12:3 ESV No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+12%3A3&version=ESV] The Bible repeatedly emphasizes man’s need for a strong foundation. In Matthew 7, for example, we read of the man who builds upon stone and the man who builds upon sand, and in 1 Timothy…
Proverbs 12:2 ESV A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of evil devices he condemns. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2012&version=ESV] Good things for good people seems like an over-simplified, Sunday school moral, and when we put it that way, it is. The righteous, those who hold faith in God and seek to follow his…
Proverbs 12:1 ESV Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2012&version=ESV] Discipline and reproof are an essential part of any parent’s arsenal. When a kid throws a tantrum over not getting ice cream (incidentally launching his brussel sprouts in a parabolic arc towards the floor), his mother and father…
Proverbs 11:31 ESV If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A31&version=ESV] God’s justice doesn’t always seem to work. From out finite, mortal perspectives, it seems like a rickety old coffee machine which only works when you kick it a few times and turn the dials juuuust…
Proverbs 11:30 ESV The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+11%3A30&version=ESV] The good deeds of a man are a blessing upon that man and upon those around him (Gen. 22:18; 18:18-33). As this verse says, the fruit- the results- of the righteous man’s life is…