Today’s passage: Proverbs 11
Helpful thoughts:
- Dishonest scales would be used in business or trade. The scales would be unbalanced in a way that made it look like things were fair when they weren’t. It was a way to scam people and take advantage.
- The lie is that if I make more money my life will be better, but “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath.”
- No one is entirely blameless. These terms should be held as that which characterizes a person.
- Verse 14 is a great bit of wisdom for any church.
- There needs to be a direction, a vision that is rooted in biblical wisdom and God’s will.
- There needs to be more than one person who is responsible for that counsel.
Questions to consider:
- How does verse 9 compare/contrast with the second greatest command to “love your neighbor as yourself?” How should we use our mouths when we disagree with people? Is there a difference between debating and berating? Where do we see this happening around us (And maybe even within the church) today?
- Knowing that Solomon was a very wealthy man, what does he seem to value more than riches? What does he see as the greater reward in life? Even better than Solomon, what does the Lord Himself even delight in (Verse 20)?
- Which proverb(s) stuck out the most to you and why? How can you put it into practice today?
Prayer:
Father, as we see in this chapter of Proverbs today, we can either be a ring in a pig’s snout or a tree of life that wins souls through our conduct and our words. God please work in our hearts and life to be trees of life to all those around us. We thank you that we can be a delight to you! To know that you watch us and are delighted when we walk with you and heed wisdom is such a great encouragement. Please continue to renew our minds in these truths so that we will increasingly value the riches of righteousness more than the empty temporary riches of this world.