Proverbs 10:19

When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)

It say in Ecclesiastes, "The more the words, the less the meaning" (6:11a). As a teacher, I have found that the more succinct an explanation for something is the better the chance is that people will retain it. I think there are times when we are almost ‘obligated’ or ‘compelled’ by our emotions to say something in a situation. This may be right. However, the problem is when we lose control of our tongues in the process. If we want to impact a highly tense situation, the best way is to speak clearly and succinctly the brief point that we want to make. Don’t labour the point or it will just turn into a fight and you will sin with your tongue by tearing the person down instead of building them up.

Proverbs 10:18

He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)

We know from the previous proverb that we can be led astray by the actions of others, but we can also be led astray by their words as this proverb focuses on. Someone may give us a very genuinely sounding ‘caution’ about so and so, but what is in their heart? He or she may seemingly innocently share a ‘story’ with you about so and so, but what is in their heart? WHY did they share that story with you? WHY did they really caution you about so and so? Is it unforgiveness because unforgiveness is the devil’s domain and not God’s? It is not God’s will for you to foolishly repeat such ‘stories’ or ‘cautions’ because all you may be doing is carrying forth the power of that ‘devil inspired’ unforgiveness. These types of things destroy the unity within extended families and damage the work environment you have to be in everyday and ‘put you off’ some people who could actually add something to your life.

Proverbs 10:17

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. (Proverbs 10:17)

The saying, "no man is an island" is true. Whether we will acknowledge it or not, we are continually influencing our family and friends by the way we behave and respond to pressure. We are a continual force on this earth for either the flesh or the spirit. Don’t kid yourself! Everyone is influenced by what you do and how you behave. Let us be careful to take stock of who we are in our everyday life to those closest to us and ensure that we are shining the love of God into their lives and setting an example for how to respond under pressure as a disciple of Christ.

Proverbs 10:16

The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment. (Proverbs 10:16).

Solomon said in the previous proverb that "the wealth of the rich is their fortified city", but in the next proverb he elaborates further. A ‘wealthy income’ is not always a blessing. Solomon also says, "better to be poor than a liar" (19:22b). If we are using our income to serve our sinful lusts, we are better off without it. To repent of using our income to bring us punishment instead of life, we should put things in place to protect ourselves from temptation. I know a man who has an automatic payment into a savings account that he can’t access because he has a gambling problem. This is wisdom. He is not a believer, but he sees temptation coming and ‘runs for the hills’ to get away from it. Can we not learn from him?

Proverbs 10:15

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. (Proverbs 10:15)

Solomon said in the previous proverb that the wise ‘store up’. When it comes to money, the poor usually do not choose to ‘store up’. Solomon says in another proverb, "He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich" (21:17). Often, the poor spend inappropriate amounts of money on take away junk food, expensive cosmetics and ‘fun’ activities. It is not God’s will for our focus in life to be living for pleasure. It is His will for us to give to those in need. Sponsor an orphan, give to your local church, etc… If you stop focusing on yourself and begin focusing on others with your money, you will gain very valuable skills for moving out of being poor. No fortified city cannot be toppled. Proper management of money will benefit us in many ways, but there is so much more to life than money.

Proverbs 10:14

Wise men store up knowledge, But with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand. (Proverbs 10:14)

Once again, there are two types of people. They are the wise and the foolish. We have to ask ourselves. Which one are we? Do we approach life to learn or are we carried along by our negative emotional responses to people? When we are going through our day responding negatively to people, we are in trouble. Firstly, this shows that we have a wrong way of thinking about people and the world that is negative and opposed to God’s way, which is love. Secondly, it shows that we are not approaching life to learn and love. Ruin is at hand if we do not stop being negative and touchy with all those around us. However, if we approach life to learn and seek to be better equipped to love people better, we will grow and grow and grow until our light shines like a great beacon to those around us.

Proverbs 10:13

Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment. (Proverbs 10:13)

This proverb contains two camps or two sides just as the Kingdom of God simply has those who are in the kingdom and those who are not. There are no in betweens. Those outside of Christ are simply waiting to be punished for their sins, while those inside are seeking to persuade people to the truth, so they may be saved. There are some who can only be persuaded from certain sins by certain punishments while there are others who are far more interested in moving forward in their eternal life. They want to grow and build for the life that God has given them which will never end. Focus on eternity today and building your reward in it rather than joining the sinful who are simply awaiting punishment.

Proverbs 10:12

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12)

Love and hate involve forgiveness. We love because we forgive, and we hate because we refuse to forgive. Forgiveness and unforgiveness are in the heart. We cannot see them. They are invisible friends or foes that are working all around us. When someone is trying to get us to like someone else or forgive someone else, they are a ‘friend’. They are not repeating ‘matters’, so you will join them in their dislike club of so and so. When someone is giving you the reasons why you should not like so and so, it is likely your foe unforgiveness that is operating in their heart. We should be careful to not promote dislike for anyone because we are very likely operating in an unacceptable spirit of unforgiveness. Sure, there are plenty of wolves out there that we need to be careful of, but this does not involve operating with a mouth fuelled by an unforgiving spirit.

Proverbs 10:11

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:11)

Plenty of people have things to say. However, at each extreme, one brings us life and the other end ultimately incites violence. People may not want to punch us when we lose control of our tongue in a given situation, but which camp are we in at that time. Are we in the camp whose tongue brings life or the camp whose tongue brings death? Every moment of everyday our tongues are basically either feeding others according to their needs or selfishly taking out our frustrations on others. Don’t kid yourself. People don’t need a piece of your mind. What they need is a piece of an honest, loving heart that is trying to lead them away from doing the things the wrong way to doing things the right way.

Proverbs 10:10

He who winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin. (Proverbs 10:10)

Here we have grief and ruin with both active and passive participants. The ‘active’ chattering fool comes to ruin, but the ‘passive’ victim of malicious winking experiences grief. We need to keep our eyes open to both. A chattering fool is so preoccupied with his or her own opinions that they are often easy prey for those who would take advantage of them. When we stop talking and start listening, we will begin to discern people’s motives for their involvement in our lives. Then, we can hold on to those who will bring us joy and let go of those who will cause us grief through their deception.

Proverbs 10:9

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9)

What we want is to walk securely. We don’t want our whole world to suddenly come crashing down all around us. Yet, if we do secret things in the dark, this is exactly the risk that we are taking. To walk with God is not only about God. It is also about you. God’s way will protect you from the saying, ‘be sure, your sins will find you out’.

Proverbs 10:8

The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. (Proverbs 10:8)

When we think we know everything and don’t need to listen to other people, we are usually headed for trouble. Are we a ‘talker’? If we are, we need to seriously ask ourselves if we can learn from this proverb. The wise listen, accept, acknowledge and adjust. The fool just keeps talking. This also applies to all of our relationships. Do we listen to our spouse, children, family, friends, co-workers, etc…? If we don’t listen, we are going to miss out on so many things we could learn from them, and our relationships in life will be far less satisfying as a result. This also applies to God’s Word. Do we regularly read it in order to ponder, learn and adjust our lives accordingly? If you don’t, you really are missing out on becoming the ‘ultimate you’.

Proverbs 10:7

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. (Proverbs 10:7)

While it is very important to not have a ‘fear of man’, we should realise that the way others see us and feel about us is relevant. They can see what we can’t. We might focus on only our good points or even only our bad points, but others don’t. If people don’t like your personality, there are likely issues there that you need to address.

Proverbs 10:6

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:6)

Controlling the tongue is a lot easier said than done. We must be careful that we do not lose control of our tongue when we are angry. The ‘wicked’ use their tongues in such a way that it actually incites violence in the other person, and violence is the final result to what they have said. He who lives by the sword dies by the sword. What we actually want is for people to be ‘nice’ to us and bless us. Paul said, "For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?". Let’s take the ‘right’ tongue into our households and lives and reap the wonderful benefits of those around us making us ‘glad’.

Proverbs 10:5

He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son. (Proverbs 10:5)

Laziness is not only about whether we eventually do the things we need to or not. It is also about whether we do the things that we need to do within the appropriate time frame or not. ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ to use an expression. I think a lot of these habits are established in our teenage years. We are actually helping our children if we teach them to take responsibility for certain chores and do them in a timely manner.

Proverbs 10:4

Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. (Proverbs 10:4)

We need to ask ourselves, "what are we actually doing at work or home". Most of us tell ourselves that we are doing enough, but are we. Are we working hard at work, or just clocking in the hours? If we don’t have enough money, there is likely a problem there that needs to be addressed. All of us can come up with great excuses for why we can’t make the money we need. However, God is capable of opening doors to those who already have the momentum of working hard.