Proverbs 13:1-6--The Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 13:1-6
English Standard Version
13 A wise son hears his father's instruction,
    but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
    but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
    he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
    while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
5 The righteous hates falsehood,
    but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
    but sin overthrows the wicked.

---

Wisdom is worth repeating, and we'll find that is true here in the book of Proverbs.  Much what we heard Solomon say before, we'll hear him say again, maybe several times.  This should not surprise us, because think of how many times you say the same words of warning, rebuke, or advice to your children.  How many times until they get it?  Don't they sometimes get to the point where they say, "You always say that" or they can finish what you are about to say (often before they start actually applying that truth to their lives.  They know the words but have yet to make the application.  I think that's where we're at with Solomon and his son that he's trying to give advice to.  Once again, Solomon warns his son about listening to the instruction of his parents (in the past Solomon has included both father and mother, but he specifically is telling his son to make sure to listen to his words this time).  Solomon says that scoffers are the ones that refuse to listen to rebuke, and that should be something undesirable for Solomon's son.  He should know that good things don't come to those who scoff at wisdom, instruction, and rebuke.

Solomon reminds his son that he's going to have to eat his words sooner or later.  They will either be something that returns to him as something sweeter and more abundant like planting fruit seeds and harvesting ripe fruit, or they will be words that bring violence and treachery back upon his head.  Solomon then says that the man who guards his mouth (is careful about the words he speaks) guards and preserves his own life.  The foolish man who constantly "speaks his mind" comes to ruin because there are consequences for what we say, even if we live in a country where the government allows us to speak freely.

Solomon then gives his son his own version of "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time."  The slothful person lacks desire and ambition.  This is relatable if you've ever had clinical depression, and you feel "blah" and don't have any desire to do anything.  Such a person accomplishes nothing because they don't set out with any kind of goal.  That's one of the things that helps people in a depressed state to feel better is to help them start setting small achievable goals that they can work on and accomplish, and helping them celebrate what they did achieve, even if they didn't get everything done in one day that they wanted to achieve.  A person who can think ahead, plans, and properly allocates time and other resources towards the tasks that are important and/or urgent is richly supplied according to Solomon.  That person is in a mindset where they are able to think about things ahead of time and they are more ready for times of prosperity and times that are lean.

A righteous man hates lying.  He hates it when he lies, he hates it when others lie to him, and he hates it when others lie to themselves and others around them.  Lying is the native tongue of the devil and those who belong to him.  This is one of those things about hate the sin and love the sinner, but those who identify with their sin and call themselves a liar and say they can't help but lie because that's just their identify are telling you that they are on a path bound for the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels (see Revelation 21:8).  There is no such thing as a small, white lie that doesn't hurt anyone.  That is also a lie.  Be careful when lies disguise themselves in half-truths and when people lie by omission as well.  God hates all forms of dishonesty.  The wicked person doesn't care about such things and acts in ways that are shameful and bring disgrace not only upon himself but upon his family and community and ultimately against the name of God Himself (either because he calls himself by God's Name though he obviously doesn't know God, or because God allows him to go unpunished and people use this as a reason to further slander God.)

Righteousness (right living) is a defense for those who are blameless (live in such a way that no one can legitimately say anything bad about them).  We've talked about this before and how reputation and character are intertwined.  If you live and work around the same people for long enough, they should know that you are a Christian and that there are things that you won't compromise on (they might know for instance not to ask you to skip church on Sunday, or they know not to tell you dirty jokes, etc).  You'll even have people who aren't Christians but know your reputation defend you against attacks and say, "Don't you know this guy isn't like that and doesn't want anything to do with that?  Haven't you been paying any attention and watching and listening?" It's amazing to see this happen, because sometimes you think your words aren't getting through to some people but even if they don't agree with you, they respect your convictions if you live by them.  The person with no convictions is usually not respected though.  They will run headlong into sin, and they will often not have one person among their friends that will try to stop them because they want to surround themselves with friends who are just like them.  Be careful about who you hang out with as friends because you will become more and more like them.  Do you want your friends to encourage you to be righteous, or to encourage you to be wicked?  It's your choice.