Proverbs 17:6-10

Proverbs 17:6-10
English Standard Version
​6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
    and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
    still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
    wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
    but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
    than a hundred blows into a fool.

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Solomon realizes the great "wealth" that there is in being a parent or grandparent and that it is a crown of glory that everyone should respect and honor.  It is one of the most important jobs in the world, if not the most important job in the world, as discipleship starts in the home and children look to their parents and grandparents for role models and to learn lessons about character and virtue that the world cannot and should not teach them.  God cares very much for children and says that He will harshly judge anyone who leads one of them to stumble and fall.

A foolish person is more likely to use course words, vulgarity, cursing, and the like than refined words.  That's not to say that there aren't highly intelligent fools, but as a rule of thumb Solomon is saying you can learn a lot about whether a person is wise or foolish by the words that they and their group of friends they associate with use.  Just as you shouldn't expect refined speech from a fool, you also shouldn't expect lies and deceit from kings, princes, and those in authority.  They should rule with honesty and integrity.

On the subject of honesty and integrity, The LORD hates those who give or receive bribes to pervert justice.  The person giving the bribe thinks it is a magic charm that will magically make things turn in their favor so they get the outcome they desire (as if they can manipulate the hand of God).  They think that if they can just bribe the right people, they can make everything in their lives go great without the need to even be concerned with the LORD or His sovereignty.

We are to forgive in the same way that we wish to be forgiven, and we are to forgive out of a heart of love.  There should be no ledger that we keep of offenses that have an haven't been forgiven.  We are to keep short accounts and to forgive others completely and quickly, even if they don't receive that forgiveness or ask for it.  Forgiveness is something we do because we are in a right relationship with God and He has forgiven us.  Jesus told us many times in His parables that the one who holds a grudge and won't forgive does so because he or she doesn't really understand forgiveness and is in danger of hell because God will forgive or not forgive that person in the same way and by the same measure that they forgive or don't forgive other people.  These are some of the hardest words to read and teach in the entire Bible because there is the expectation that if we have been forgiven, we must forgive others--especially our brothers and sisters in Christ whom He has already forgiven.  We cannot say that we love God and harbor hate in our hearts for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  The one who holds a grudge ruins even the deepest and best relationships and friendships.

A wise man will learn from rebuke and course-correct so as to learn from his mistakes, but you a fool will refuse to admit his mistakes and learn from them, even with the use of corporal punishment to try to teach him a lesson.  Even children usually learn not to do the things that will earn them some kind of punishment, but the fool seems to have not learned this lesson and continues to make bad decisions and "take the beating" for making them without having the awareness that if they didn't do the foolish thing, then they wouldn't have to suffer the consequences of their foolishness (whether those consequences are natural or imposed consequences).  For example--stop speeding if you don't like having to paying speeding tickets, court fines, and higher insurance prices.  A wiser person would probably learn the first time this happened and not make that same mistake again.