Proverbs 14:11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.
14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.
15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
Human life is very fragile. Our very breath is in the hand of the Lord. He can take a life any time He pleases. The wicked seem to prosper for a time. Asaph looked at the wicked and he saw their prosperity and he stated:
Psalm 73:2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.
He had taken his eyes off of that which was real and important and had momentarily allowed the devil to encourage him to be jealous and envious of the wicked.
In our text God reminds us that no matter how good things seem to be going for the wicked, they shall be overthrown. No wicked person will be in heaven. Sadly often when the father is wicked, he leads his family in wickedness. The whole house is overthrown. By the grace of God, sometimes a family member humbles himself and turns to God in repentance and is saved.
The upright have a tabernacle. The upright do not place their hope in this world and this life. They understand this is temporary. They put their trust in the true God and their home is in heaven, not here. They will flourish because they have their priorities in their proper place. The upright do not value material things like the lost do. They need money and a house and a vehicle, and clothing and a few other things, but they do not live for those things. That is why they can flourish.
In verse 12 we see a proverb that is often ignored. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man. We have powerful minds. We also have vivid imaginations. We can trick ourselves into believing almost anything. When we rationalize our plans independently of God, we run into problems. The danger is in the fact that faulty planning leads to death.
Saved people can make foolish plans. God can forgive them for their foolish plans. However, there are often consequences to that foolish planning. David acted foolishly with Bathsheba. He then figured he could fix his sin by calling Urijah home to spend some time with his wife. When that failed, he reasoned that it was legitimate to have Urijah killed in battle. Nathan was sent by God to confront David regarding his sin. Both he and Bathsheba grieved the loss of their son. However, worse than that, God told him that his children would do publicly what he had tried to do secretly.
We need to be reminded that our foolish choices can have detrimental effects on our children. If we love them, we do not want to put a stumblingblock in their way.
In verse 13 we see that sometimes people try to hide their sorrow with laughter. I am going for hip surgery in less than a month. The physiotherapist suggested keeping a positive mind in recovery. They even suggested reading a joke book to try to have a better mindset regarding the pain and the limitations immediately after surgery.
I would not waste my time reading a joke book. I can read God’s Word and I can find comfort and hope there regardless of what is happening in my life. The important fact is to make use of the relationship I have with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God says that the end of that facade of laughter is heaviness. You have not addressed the real issue and painting some whitewash over it will not help. The problem is still there and has not been properly dealt with.
The backslider in heart is focused on self, rather than God. He will reap what he sows. He will come up empty. By contrast the good man will also reap what he sows. He sows unto righteousness because he trusts in the Lord, not himself. He receives the blessings of real peace and contentment.
The simple person believes every word. He does not check things with the Word of God. The New Evangelical crowd fits this description. They accept the lies they hear from the pulpit. There may be somethings they question, but when they do, they simply rely on their own foolish imagination. They have no sound foundation on which to build. They have no absolute truth by which to live.
The prudent man considers his path carefully. Someone may suggest a certain path, but he considers it in the light of God’s Word. That is what we have talked about with regard of the use of clowns and face-painting for deceiving children to attend a “Gospel” event. Which Gospel are we presenting? The world may suggest you can get a far bigger crowd if you just compromise a little. The question is: what are you feeding that crowd? You cannot give them the truth when you have already deceived them with falsehoods. You might take the Bible and try to teach a Bible lesson, but you have already spoiled it with the deceptive means used to draw the crowd.
Follow the life of Jesus and show me one time when He used deception to accomplish His purposes. He spoke in parables, but they never distracted from the purity of the message. The apostles also never used deception to draw a crowd.
The prudent man weighs things in accordance with God’s sure Word. The opinions of man are of no consequence. Be sure you are building your life on truth. Be sure you are helping your children to do the same.
Pastor Bartel