Proverbs 15:27 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live.
28 The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat.
Greed is a terrible thing. Many a family has been destroyed by greed. The father is too busy working and the wife and children are without the husband and father too much. Those who take jobs as long-distance truckers run into that problem. Not all of those families break up, but the man certainly brings trouble into his home if he is not there for them. Some couples cannot get along unless the husband/father is gone for a long period of time.
The solution to that is to get right with the Lord. When a couple knows the Lord and walks humbly with Him, they will be able to love one another as they ought to.
There is a danger in expecting gifts. Some people love to get gifts. They will try to be in places where they can get a free gift. The text warns against that. It is fine if the boss wants to reward his employees with a gift at year end, or for a birthday. However, it is not good to be one who is looking for freebies all the time.
The heart of the righteous person functions differently than that of the wicked. The righteous person is careful in the answer he gives. He is not ashamed to speak the truth. However, he seeks God’s counsel in how to respond to each situation. The contrast in our text is that the wicked person poureth out evil things. The wicked person is quick to shoot off his mouth. He will curse and swear and boast. That sounds like the president of the U.S.
Our P.M. is not as pushy in his character, but he too pours out evil things. He talks of how all his “deals” are so good for our country. He acts so secretly that no one actually knows what kind of “deals” he is making. We will find out too late that he has been benefiting himself and costing us far more than we can ever recover from. His current push to join the EU is a bad plan. The EU has an open border policy. Many of the EU nations are being overrun by Muslims. The economies of the EU are also in bad shape. Just this morning I read that the government in Polland is being attacked by the judicial branch. The E.U. is very unstable as are all governments of today. Without the Lord it is impossible to have a stable government.
Of course the root problem there is the same as here. There is a great lack of interest in knowing the true God. All solutions are of a humanistic angle.
In verse 29 we are reminded again that the LORD is not with the wicked. He will use the wicked for His glory. He did that with the Pharaohs in the days of Joseph and Moses. He did that with Nebuchadnezzar and with Cyrus. He did that with Herod and with Pilate. None of them were blessed in their wickedness. Nebuchadnezzar learned some important lessons and he did come to acknowledge the true God. God works in the heart of the lost to show them the importance of knowing Him. Seldom do we find one of them that humbles himself in repentance, putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
You notice here again that the LORD hears the prayer of the righteous. So many lost people assume they can pray to God. They also claim they get answers to their prayers. The Bible does not support that theory. The fact is that God hears the prayer of the righteous. The righteous does not follow the “name it and claim it” philosophy. The righteous does not pray to Mary or some other dead person. The righteous person receives his righteousness in putting his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 30 we see again how important it is to watch what we see. The light of the eyes speaks of seeing things from God’s perspective. As a young person, I worked for our neighbour. He was a good farmer, but he also suffered greatly from arthritis in the knees. He was in much pain and he did not see much hope in life. He was not saved and was not interested in hearing about the Lord. He said he had seen some professing Christians and the testimony they had turned him off to God. As far as I know he died a lost man.
The saved person will face challenges as well. However, he sees things from a different perspective. He does not dwell on the things he cannot change. He looks at the hope he has in Christ.
A good report is a delight. We see that it will affect the inner being of man. We have noted before that a negative person can face many health issues. There are many bad things happening in our world. They are real and they are of concern. However, the saved person can see the light as well. His hope is in the Lord.
As we have already mentioned, our P.M. is not acting wisely in trying to join the E.U. The Bible warns us that the world is working toward a “one world” system. That system will eventually be led by the antichrist. Things are gradually moving in that direction now. The lost person blindly follows that without realizing the danger. Apparently our P.M. is enjoying great support from the general population. There are far more fools than wise people in this country. They do not see it but that is the fact.
The saved person sees what is happening and tries to warn others. As he is warning, he is also pointing people to the Light. Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. He provides eternal life for those who will turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. That is the only hope for man.
When a person has that hope, they can have hope in spite of all the evil things going on in our world. Just a few days ago a wealthy family in the Toronto area suffered a home invasion. Three people were shot and one was hit with a hammer. They had security and there were many cameras. The criminals broke in and demanded treasures. I do not know what they got away with.
That family was not safe even though they were wealthy. The police have no hope to offer them or anyone else. They might catch the criminals, but if they do, it is highly unlikely they will face proper punishment.
There is a man in Alberta who tried to stop a grooming meeting where sodomites were teaching children that being a sodomite is healthy and normal. Too many foolish parents brought their children to that meeting. One man tried to stop that and he was arrested and he has been tried and found guilty. The legal system has lost its way. Real criminals get off with little penalty, but someone who is trying to stop the moral depravity gets treated much more harshly. That is our wicked world.
We see this, but those who are saved can see that this life is short. The world system is corrupt but there is a better way and a better place for those who are saved.
Knowing the Lord and being a part of a true local church will be a big help in weathering the storms of life.
Be sure you know the true God and that you are walking humbly with Him.
Pastor Bartel