Combo-breaker! I missed having my quiet times three days in a row. Normally, when some thing like this happens I get depressed and stop writing for long periods of time. Not going to do that this time. I’ll just have to pick myself up and keep on trucking. I’m not going to do something silly and try to catch up all at once.
Trying to catch up back fires on me and I do even less.
Thank you for your patience.
1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
2 you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—
and give your neighbor no rest!
4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
Be wise and avoid signing your name on a contract. If I am responsible for someone else’s loan or repayment that is unwise. If you accidentally cosigned something
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
Strategically plan and work wisely. Do your due diligence and think about the smartest way to do something.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
I experienced this scripture first hand. A few years ago I saved up $20,000 dollars and took a break from working to figure out what kind of online business I wanted to start. I didn’t have a plan and just wasted that opportunity. I played a lot of videos games, surfed the web, and a lot of sleeping. I became very broke soon after. Learn from the Bible, or me, and try to avoid learning personally.
12 A troublemaker and a villain,
who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
13 who winks maliciously with his eye,
signals with his feet
and motions with his fingers,
14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart—
he always stirs up conflict.
15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;
he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
Be a good-maker and a hero, someone who speaks with love, encourages with your eyes, do actions that bring joy to others, and always promote peace. You will be blessed and protected.
16 There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
God loves seven things
- humble eyes
- a tongue that speaks truth
- hands that promote love
- a heart that creates encouragement
- feet that bring good
- someone who speaks truth
- a person who promotes peace
20 My son, keep your father’s command
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
21 Bind them always on your heart;
fasten them around your neck.
22 When you walk, they will guide you;
when you sleep, they will watch over you;
when you awake, they will speak to you.
Remember your dad’s commands and your mom’s teachings. Use symbols and signs to remind you. They will guide me and protect me.
23 For this command is a lamp,
this teaching is a light,
and correction and instruction
are the way to life,
24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,
from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.
25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty
or let her captivate you with her eyes.
This will protect you. Love your wife. Hard to the the opposite (with encouragement) with some of these scriptures, not sure what the opposite of lusting after beauty is… love her ugliness?
26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,
but another man’s wife preys on your very life.
Almost seems like this scripture promotes prostitution. I’m going to take it as a its better not to lust at all, but the consequences of sleeping with another man’s life will destroy your life.
27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap
without his clothes being burned?
28 Can a man walk on hot coals
without his feet being scorched?
29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;
no one who touches her will go unpunished.
Seriously love your own wife and not other peoples’ wives. This must be a serious issue, as its mentioned several times in Proverbs.
30 People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.
31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,
though it costs him all the wealth of his house.
Thieves if you are caught you must pay sevenfold. I think governments should use this as a default punishment for theft.
32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense;
whoever does so destroys himself.
33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,
and his shame will never be wiped away.
34 For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,
and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.
35 He will not accept any compensation;
he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.
Love your own wife. The consequences of adultery are terrible.
Practical usage: Strategically plan what I want to do with my life and love my wife.