Pro 13:1 A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
Pro 13:2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.
Pro 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Pro 13:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
Pro 13:5 A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.
The Bible makes it clear that there is a drastic contrast between God and man. God is holy, just, righteous, light, peace, love, etc.
Without God, man is depraved, pagan, unjust, wicked, evil, without hope, etc. It is an amazing fact that a holy and just God would reach out to wicked humanity. We know the reason for this. It is because God created man and He loves man. Without God’s intervention, no man is seeking after God and no man could ever be saved. God is not a Calvinist, nor the Father of Calvinism. The devil is the father of that evil theology.
Our society teaches that it is smart to be mouthy and disrespectful. A wise son hears his father’s instruction. The public school system has done much to encourage foolishness. The teachers are trained in a woke college setting where black is white and white is black. Most teachers do not know the Lord and do not want to know the Lord. They think they are too smart to listen to God.
I Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The wise father will keep his son from being brainwashed by an ungodly system. Thus he can help his son to be wise. The wise son will listen to his wise father’s instructions. The scorner ignores rebuke. If a son is wise and listens to instruction, he will appreciate rebuke. He will avoid much rebuke because he listens to wisdom. The scorner may think he is wise. The devil is a liar and he loves to puff people up with pride. If he can make a person think they are smart by being a scorner, he will cheer them on.
In verse 2 we continue the context of verse 1. The wise person will benefit from his wisdom. He reaps the benefits of acting in a wise manner. Society tells us that men like Elon Musk are very wise. He is smart but not wise. The media is reporting he just broke up with another woman. He has married a few times but always divorced them. He has had many women with whom he has been immoral. He has many children who suffer because they have no good family life. He has a sodomite child who does not know where it belongs. That confusion comes in part from the fact that Elon Musk is a transgressor. He has chosen a path of destruction. His money will not buy him heaven. It will not even buy him contentment in this life. That is why he cannot keep a relationship.
In verse 3 we see again the importance of wisdom. The wise son knows when to speak and how to speak. He is not a smart-mouth. He is not looking to undermine truth. The person that loves to talk without thinking leads to destruction. He thinks he is smart, but he is a fool. Our society is engrained in foolishness. It promotes foolishness.
We had an election in Quebec yesterday and the winner is a fool. The party that won desires to encourage greater separation from Canada. He won a minority and will need the help of other parties to govern. Quebec benefits greatly financially from the rest of Canada because it has learned the art of manipulation well. Being able to manipulate others is not a mark of wisdom. Being willing to humbly submit to God is wise.
In verse 4 we learn that the sluggard desires, but has nothing. He is too lazy to go out and work. He has a brain, but chooses not to exercise it in a profitable manner. He would rather hold his hand out and complain about how unfair life is, rather than go out and work and have a positive impact on society.
The diligent person has more than enough to eat. He is not wasteful. He works hard and he also learns how to save.
The righteous man hates lying. That is why a righteous man has no time for men like our P.M. or his government. They are all liars. The mainstream media promotes their lies. New Evangelicalism lacks righteous men. Those who attend those false religions are content to listen to liars every week. It is quite amazing to observe supposedly wise people accept lies as their main venue. They are quick to reject the truth.
The wicked man is odious. He smells bad in regard to his morality and his theology. He will come to shame. He might be acceptable among other loathsome people, but the righteous man will reject him. Jesus often exposed the Pharisees due to their loathsomeness. He put them to shame. They did not want to learn. They hated him and they tried to turn the multitudes against Him. They were largely successful because the people were also loathsome. Man is born a lost sinner. He wants to assume that he is pretty good. That is because the loathsome man uses the wrong measurement for good. He does not want to learn. He wants to assume he is right. That was the nature of the Pharisees.
That is also the nature of our politicians. They want to censor what we can read and hear and believe. They want us to think only what they tell us to. Most people are so blind that they cannot see the danger in that because most people remain lost in sin.
As we have often noted, without the Lord man cannot see real value. Jesus told Nicodemus:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus could not see who Jesus truly was, at that time, because he was steeped in Pharisaism. He needed to accept God’s way of changing his mind and thinking. He did not do that in that passage, but he did later.
It is always wise to hear instruction and to submit to truth in one’s life. That begins with salvation. Without that, man continues to dig his hole deeper and deeper.
Judas refused wisdom. He was a thief and he chose to betray Jesus rather than humbly submit to Him. After he realized he had made a mistake, he went back to those who encouraged him to be wrong, and tried to find relief from fellow loathsome people. They did not care about him and he threw the dirty money down and went out and hanged himself. Not a wise solution, but the result of being ashamed and rejecting the only way of fixing the mess.
Be sure you listen to wise counsel. There is no reward for being a fool.
Pastor Bartel