Proverbs 12:27

The Bible says in Proverbs 12:27, “The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.” This is another verse about the practical aspect of life. You are either slothful or you are diligent. In order to obtain material things, you must work for them. Not only that, but the more that you work for things, the more that you will appreciate them. Your substance will be more precious to you when you have worked for it. That is one of the problems with give-away programs. Such programs take away an important part of life: the feeling of pride and satisfaction that you have earned what you have.

The Bible says in Proverbs 12:28, “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Death comes from sin. God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die if they took and ate of the forbidden fruit. And so the Bible says, “The wages of sin of death.” Thankfully, that same verse says in Romans 6:23, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You can have the righteousness of Christ by believing on Him, and then as you follow Him, you are living the true life the way that it was meant to be lived. There is no death in such a path. It is all life. It is eternal life because Jesus gives eternal life. And it is life the way that life was meant to be: a human being walking this earth in fellowship with God.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:1, “A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” To hear means to want to hear, to listen to, and to obey. There are two types of children: those who receive the teachings of the father, and those who reject it. Your Father in heaven has instructions to give to you. What is your attitude towards Him? God’s goal for you is to save you, and then give you a constantly improving life. In order to do that, you must have an ear that is tuned to the Spirit.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:2, “A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.” There will be consequences to the words that you use. Use good words, and good will come your way. Those who are on the road of sin because they have not turned to the Lord Jesus end with violence. Why is there so much violence: because there are so many people who have not yet turned to the Lord Jesus to trust in Him for salvation and to follow Him.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:3, “He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.” The previous verse was about speaking good words, but this verse is about not speaking at all. Usually, the less that you speak, the better off you are. The New Testament tells Christians to be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.” Loose lips sink ships. One way of being careful what you say is to say less.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:4, “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” Once again we are told the importance of being diligent in one’s affairs and in one’s work instead of being lazy. I heard someone say once, “Serving God is ten percent inspiration, and ninety percent perspiration.” This verse certainly gives credence to such a statement.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:5, “A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.” If you want to serve God, you must learn to love what He loves, and hate what He hates. God hates lying. Do not vote for a liar, and do not support a liar. And make sure that you always tell the truth. The truth always comes out anyway. It will definitely come out at the judgment. The word that is translated “loathsome” is the basic Hebrew word “to stink.” He stinks with sin. The answer to that is to be cleansed from sin through the cleansing power of the blood of Christ.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:6, “Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.” When you ask yourself the question, “What do I do now?” Here is the answer: always do the right thing. Do right until the stars fall. Then everything will be aligned properly. Why do sinners have such trouble and sorrow and woe? It is because of their sins. It is not because of bad luck, or because others did them wrong, or because they are cursed. It is because of their own sins that they chose to do. You will be ruined by your own sins. It is your wickedness that overthrows you. Repent of your sins and turn to Jesus while you have time.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:7, “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” This is another way of saying that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It is better to be a generous person and have nothing than to be a greedy miser and have many things. It is not wrong to be rich, but it is wrong to be rich and not to be generous with your riches. If you are rich without being generous, then you do not understand the purpose of riches. What kind of riches can a poor person have: the riches of being able to enjoy the simple things of life, the riches of self-respect and of being able to look in the mirror and knowing that you did what you could to help others. You did not hold back. Also, you will not be able to take any riches when you leave this earth. The rich man and the poor man will leave the earth with the same amount of money: none. But they might have vastly different records of who helped others with what they had.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:8, “The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.” This verse actually tells us a couple of disadvantages that you have if you are rich. If you are rich, you tend to think of solving life’s problems with money. That is not good because we are supposed to solve our problems by trusting in the Lord. The poor cannot respond to rebuke because the poor know that they must stay humble and keep themselves in a low estate. That is an advantage for the poor. We should be humble and have a low opinion of ourselves. It is a sin to be high-minded, but being rich does not help you to have the right view of yourself.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:9, “The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.” It is not if you are rich or poor that counts, but if you are righteous or wicked. Jesus made this clear when He told the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man went to hell, but the poor man went to heaven. When it says, “the lamp of the wicked shall be put out,” it is emphasizing the fact that their days are numbered. The judgment is coming. They will not get away with anything. One of the benefits of turning to Jesus is that your life counts for something. Your life is meaningful. Your life has an influence for good on the rest of the world. That is a reason to rejoice.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:10, “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” This is an important verse on the subject of how to have peace between people instead of contention. We are all sinners. We all fail. We all have weaknesses. In their interactions with one another people get offended. A proud person will not forget or forgive any perceived insult or any offense. But we have already said that the offenses will happen because of human nature. Do not take things too personally. Be humble. If you are not like that, contention will come as surely as night follows day. You are a wise person if you understand this principle of life and can act upon it in your own life and your responses to others.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:11, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished, but he that gathereth by labor shall increase.” Being rich is not a sin. What you do with your riches is one issue: if you are a Christian, you should use riches for the spread of the gospel and for God’s glory. According to this verse, something else is important about riches: how they were obtained. When riches are obtained because of work, then that perfectly aligns with God’s will. It is God’s will for some people to be rich. That is not all good, because riches are a responsibility and opportunity. Rich people will stand before God one day and give an account of what they did with the things that God put into their hands, and so will the rest of us.

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:12, “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” It is important to know what brings happiness and what does not, so that you can make plans and decisions that lead to happiness. If having your hopes deferred brings sorrow, make sure your hopes are set on the correct thing. If you are surrendered to the Lord, always asking for His will, then whatever happens, you know is His will. Of course, you must have faith in the Lord. That is one of the many benefits of being a Christian. You never lose hope. You know that God has a purpose in all things. Your desires mesh with God’s will. When your greatest desire is to have God’s will done, your hopes can never be dashed. No wonder that Jesus told us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 13:13, “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.” God has given the world His Word: His Truth. What a great plan that God put into effect. God chose certain individuals to put His Word down in writing so that the Word would be preserved to all generations. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” That means “God-breathed.” It is no wonder that Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Word shall not pass away.” Just as God used people to give His written Word, God used other people over the centuries to preserve His written Word. When you hold the Bible in your hands, you are holding the truth without error in your hands: the precious Word of God. Love the Word. Value the Word. Make it your priority to read it, to learn it, to memorize important verses, to live by it, and to listen to sermons from preachers and teachers of the Word. Some people do not love the Word. They despise it. That is why they fight against it to keep it out of the schools and to keep it out of the public square. But there is a warning to those who “despiseth the Word.” They shall be destroyed. That is very similar to the warning given in the book of Revelation. It says in Revelation 22:18-19, “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

We should fear God’s commandments. That is because there will be punishment for those who disobey. God does not give commandments for nothing. They may not be important to you, but His commandments are important to Him. When God said, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay,” what is He repaying for? He is repaying for breaking His commandments. But if we obey His commandments, then instead of being punished, we will be rewarded. Here is a commandment: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” You can choose to believe, and you can choose to trust in Jesus because you need Him. You need His forgiveness because you have not always obeyed His commandments.

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