Proverbs 28:27

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:27, “He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.” Everything that we have God gives to us. God is a giver. His greatest gift was His Son to die on the cross for us. I hope you are thankful for what God has given you. But God wants us to learn to be generous and compassionate. “God loveth a cheerful giver.” In these Western nations in which we live, there are many programs to help those who are in need. But the governmental programs never solve all the problems. They do not solve the problem when someone refuses to work. They do not solve the problem when a young person decides to start using drugs and then their productive capabilities become ruined. There are abuses in all the forms of government that make the problems of poverty worse. Socialism and communism make the problem worse because they take away initiative and opportunity. Capitalism sometimes makes the problem worse because of the greed of man wherein a few individuals keep the majority of the profits to themselves and become super rich instead of properly sharing the wealth with others, to help others, or to spread the gospel and establish churches.

Open your eyes and you can see the need all around you: “he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.” If you turn away from those in need that God brings your way, the Lord will not be happy with you. Here in the Old Testament it says that you will have “many a curse.”

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:28, “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.” Wickedness and sin are like a cancer on society. Sin ruins people, and sin ruins nations. Good people will know how to stay away from the wickedness. The servants of God will learn how to “hide” themselves. You can learn to stay away from wickedness, if you are smart. One thing that gets some young people into trouble is that they do not learn what to stay away from and when to stay away from it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” You only get so many chances to learn in life. Guess who decides if you learn or not: you do. If you harden yourself against the truth, you will be sealing your own destiny, and it will not be good. Once you enter the destruction that is hell fire, there will be no escape and there will be no remedy. Jesus is the remedy. Turn to Him now while you have the chance.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” This is a verse that tells us the importance of having good leaders. A good leader is a “righteous” person. A righteous person is someone who believes in God and follows God. Everyone would benefit from such a leader. We have leaders who sell their influence. That is one reason that there are so many rich politicians. We have leaders who do not love our constitution and do not understand or appreciate what our founders sought to establish. We have leaders who do not tell the truth about their socialist agenda, and who do things that harm our country’s future. Such leaders will cause us to “mourn” when we think of what the wicked leaders have done compared to what could have been.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:3, “Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.” Having children is always a blessing when they are young. But what they do with their lives later will cause joy or sorrow depending on one thing: how wise they are. Wisdom comes from God. Just like all other human beings, children will be fine if they turn to the Lord Jesus and start following Him.

Notice the last part of Proverbs 29:3: “he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.” The Bible tells us clearly what the proper relationships between men and women should be: “a man should leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife.” Any departure from this important spiritual and social principle will be disastrous for individuals and for society as a whole. There are many negative things that will happen to someone who follows an openly sinful type of lifestyle such as keeping “company with harlots:” Diseases, a waste of life, a bad influence on others, missing out on God’s will, never learning the true meaning of love. Here is a practical consequence: spending “his substance.” Harlots are after money, perhaps to support an expensive drug habit. They do not care about you. They want your money, and anything they can get from you through any means.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:4, “The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.” This is another Bible verse that emphasizes the importance of having good leaders. If a country falls apart, one of the main reasons will be poor leadership. People in authority made the wrong decisions. They spent money that they did not have, they started wars that were too expensive or they could not win, they lied instead of telling the truth, they supported immorality instead of goodness and morality, and they failed to punish evil-doers. In other words they have no “judgment.” They could not discern what was the best course of action. They were blinded by their own lust for power and money. That is why the second part of verse four says “he that receiveth gifts” overthrows the land. That is one of the biggest problems we have in most capitals of the world. Politicians get elected and are given a government salary. Years later they are multi-millionaires. How did that happen? They are selling their influence and it corrupts their own decision-making ability for fairness and goodness. It will be wonderful when Jesus is King over the whole earth. The corruption will end. This will happen right after the Second Coming.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:5, “A man that flattereth his neighbor spreadeth a net for his feet.” Proverbs has mentioned the evil of flattery elsewhere. God wants us to tell the truth. Either say nothing or tell the truth. Flattery is a lie. Flattery is when you say things that you know are not true. People need to hear the truth. That is what will help them. A lie will always cause problems. Flattery is part of the lying that the world is constantly involved with. One reason that people use flattery is that they are afraid of others. Another reason that people use flattery is that they are trying to trick someone and trip them up. He that flatters his neighbor spreads “a net for his feet.” Beware of the person who flatters you. They do not have good intentions toward you.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:6, “In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice.” This verse is about the consequences of sin compared to the consequences of believing and following Jesus. Why is there a “snare” in the transgression of an evil man? For one thing an evil man becomes trapped by his own sins. Their evil deeds become habits, and the habits become addiction. They are addicted to lying, they are addicted to drinking, they are addicted to immorality, they are addicted to drugs. The only answer for them is to repent and turn to Jesus. Look at the contrast for those who have repented and turned to Jesus: “the righteous doth sing and rejoice.” Our sins are forgiven through faith in Jesus. All the promises of the Bible from God are ours to enjoy and experience. We have a home in heaven. We know that God loves us, and there is a purpose to all things. We have every reason to sing and rejoice when we think on these things. Christians should be the happiest people in the world.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:7, “The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.” There are many differences between those who know Jesus and follow Him and those who do not. This verse tells us one of those differences. Christians are compassionate. As a matter of fact, Christians are the most caring, giving, and compassionate people in the world. One reason that wicked people are so wicked is that they think only of themselves, and therefore, the wicked have no room and no heart for anyone else.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:8, “Scornful men bring a city into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.” This verse is about the importance of having the right attitude. When a person is scornful, they use derision or contempt when talking about others. All human beings should be treated with a certain amount of honor and respect simply because they are human beings. Those who use scorn and who deride others will only make things worse. We see a lot of that taking place among many who are involved in the political environment. The Bible warns that scornful talk will bring a city or a nation “into a snare.” The wrong use of words and the wrong attitude toward people will bring harm: “but wise men turn away wrath.” On the other hand if you are wise, your words will diffuse a difficult situation including when others are angry. Words can be powerful. Words can create animosity and disputes or words can create peace and good-will. May God give us the wisdom to have the right kind of words.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:9, “If a wise man contend with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest.” There are limits to what was said about verse eight because it partly depends upon who is listening to your words. You might have wise words by the grace of God, but if you are speaking to a fool, they will not hear you. With some people, it does not matter what approach you use with them, whether anger or laughter, nothing will be accomplished. There will not be peace or rest.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:10, “The bloodthirsty hate the upright, but the just seek his soul.” What is your attitude toward the people of God? Your attitude towards God’s children will tell a lot about you. Once you find out that someone is a true believer, make sure that you love them because God’s love is fixed upon them. You should love your brothers and sisters in Christ even if you do not agree with them on every subject. You are not perfect yet either. Notice who hates God’s children: “the bloodthirsty.” That is why some Christians and Jews experience terrible persecution. The devil hates the people of God, be it those who are God’s people through faith in Christ, or those who trace family lineage back to faithful Abraham. Those who hate God’s people are “bloodthirsty.” They will murder. That describes the terrorists perfectly.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:11, “A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in til afterwards.” This verse is about knowing what to say and when to say it. Some people talk too much. Loose lips sink ships. In the heat of the moment some people say things that they will regret later. A wise person talks less than a foolish person. A wise person refrains from saying things that the emotions of the moment push them to say. We all need forgiveness from the Lord for what we have said that we should not have said. And we all need wisdom to know what to say and when to say it.

The Bible says in Proverbs 29:12, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.” In our generation there is a lot of lying going on. King Solomon knew it was a problem in his day too. Leaders do not know everything. Sometimes they rely upon the advice of others. But if those others lie to the leaders, and the leaders believe the lies, it will have bad results. The leader makes the decisions and sets the agenda. Once a leader goes in a certain direction, many people are going to follow that direction. If the direction is wrong, the people who follow will be doing wrong. There are a couple of conclusions to make here: we need a lot of honest people in our land so that when the leader chooses his counselors, the chance increases that the leader will get honest and true advice. We also need leaders who are very smart, who know how to get opinions from more than one view on a matter, and who have wisdom from God in their own decision-making. Our leaders need to seek wisdom from God just like everyone else. James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not: and it shall be given him.”

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