5A man who flatters his neighborSpreads a net for his feet.-Proverbs 29:5It can be often difficult to see the trap laid for us when we fall for flattery. Flattery, as highlighted many times throughout the Proverbs, is a snare laid in wait for its victim. False teachers use flattery to enter into influential positions. Nations have been overthrown by tools of flattery. This becomes an issue when we...

4The king establishes the land by justice,But he who receives bribes overthrows it.-Proverbs 29:4As with many of the passages concerning kings, consider this in the concept of who or what rules over your life. This is one of the most beautiful things that I have studied in all of Scripture. If Christ is King over your life, do you not see how you have been established by justice?9 If we confess ou...

3Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice,But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.-Proverbs 29:3It is an important matter for the believer to love wisdom. What would the alternate option be? Would it not be to love foolishness? This is the way of the world. The live their lives by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We, however, live by the grace of God an...

    2      When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;    But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.-Proverbs 29:2We have all experienced this to some degree. Most of us, I am certain, have experienced this an individuals as well. When we are walking well with the Lord, we rejoice and we are excited for what the Lord is doing. But if we have stumbled in darkness and slipped into s...

    He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck,    Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.-Proverbs 29:1The stiff-necked people are those endowed with pride. They are stubborn and relentless in going their own way. Scripture compares such people to a stiff-necked donkey. They are stubborn in every way and only follow their own path. Even with correction and rebuke, they refuse to h...

    28      When the wicked arise, men hide themselves;    But when they perish, the righteous increase.-Proverbs 28:28There is a common theme found in Scripture of the wicked rising up and men hiding away. But when wickedness has been dealt with, righteousness increases. We can easily interpret this for our individual lives. When wickedness rules in an individual's life, you see men become boys a...

    27      He who gives to the poor will not lack,    But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.-Proverbs 28:27There is no shortage of blessing promised to the generous. This once again comes down to the concept behind what good stewardship is. The best steward is the one who does what the master wants with his money. In our case, we should seek to know what the Lord wants for us to do with...

    26      He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,    But whoever walks wisely will be delivered.-Proverbs 28:26We are currently teaching an entirely different message throughout our culture and the church has unfortunately bought it. The world says to trust your heart. It tells you to go wherever your heart leads you. If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't right. According to the word of ...

    25      He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife,    But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered.-Proverbs 28:25Pride is a poison that eats up an individual. Self focus and self seeking are dangerous games to play with. It removes our ability to see things from the perspective of the Lord and prevents us from loving Him with everything in us and from loving our neighbor as ourselves. If ...

    24      Whoever robs his father or his mother,    And says, “It is no transgression,”    The same is companion to a destroyer.-Proverbs 28:24It is well established that we are to honor our father and mother. In fact, Paul will go on to say in 1 Timothy 5 that whoever does not provide for their father and mother is worse than an unbeliever. That is just about not providing for those who have ra...

23He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterwardThan he who flatters with the tongue.-Proverbs 28:23Many have been secure in their sin simply because of the fact that far too many choose the option of flattery over rebuke. We say that it is loving, simply because we are talking nice. What I have found is that we either know how to act kind or we know how to tell the truth. What we miss is the...

22A man with an evil eye hastens after riches,And does not consider that poverty will come upon him.-Proverbs 28:22Accompanying the lesson of patience is a lesson about intent. It is from the depths of our heart that we act in the ways we do. It is not a righteous man who hastens after riches, but a man with an evil eye. The reality of the lesson that comes from reaping what you sow is that those ...

21To show partiality is not good,Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.-Proverbs 28:21It is an important distinction to make that partiality is not distinguishing between people, but rather showing favor to another for the sake of personal gain. To be partial to an individual on the basis of wealth or status is foolishness and is in direct opposition to the Lord. If this is an issue y...

20A faithful man will abound with blessings,But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.-Proverbs 28:20The underlying issue that sits beneath the surface of this passage is patience. We are called to be a patient people as believers in the Lord. We can often find ourselves trying to fast track things in life. We want to grow up too fast. We want to make more money and we want it now. We w...

19He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,But he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough!-Proverbs 28:19Tilling is defined as preparing and cultivating land for crops. Let us consider the spiritual implications of this verse. The grounds of hearts are important to prepare to receive the word of God. Consider Jesus' parable of the sower in Matthew 13. The conditions of the grounds is...