Observe What Happens To Others

Proverbs 23:17-35

“Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.  For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.  Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.” (Proverbs 23:17-19)

In our present world, it often seems that the only way to get ahead is by cheating or being dishonest.  In fact there was a popular saying for a while that if you weren’t cheating, you weren’t trying.  Solomon warns not to fall into the trap of envying their apparent success.  Instead we should stay focused on obeying god because one day this world will change and God will reward those who have obeyed him, and punish those who have not.  We need to be wise and maintain a proper attitude.

“Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.” (Proverbs 23:20-21)

Don’t hang around with the wine drinkers and party crowd because they will eventually lose everything they have.  A love for sleeping in and taking life easy leaves a person with nothing but rags to wear.

“Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.  Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.  The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him.  Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.” (Proverbs 23:22-25)

Children are commanded to respect and obey their parents.  The respect should continue even as both parents and children age.   They can still learn from them and benefit from the relationship.  as the child matures and makes good decisions, the parents will be blessed and glad for his ongoing success. 

 

“My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.  For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.  She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.” (Proverbs 23:26-28)

One of the easiest ways of learning is to observe what other people do and what the results are.  It isn’t hard to see that messing around with prostitution is like walking along the edge of a deep ditch which can give way without warning, injuring or burying one.  Messing around with somebody other than your mate is like messing around at the very edge of a deep narrow pit.  If the edge gives way, there may be no way to get out.  They are like a predator looking for something to kill, and they encourage others to do wrong, bringing God’s judgment on themselves.

“Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?  They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine.  Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.  Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.

Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast.  They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.” (Proverbs 23:29-35)

People who drink are more likely to be depressed and sad than other people, because they drink to get away from their problems instead of dealing with them.   Blaming other people, they get into fights and many times their reasoning makes no sense because alcohol affects their thinking ability.  They hurt themselves and don’t remember what happened, and their eyes are bloodshot because of the effect of alcohol on the blood system. 

When the juice turns to alcohol, fizzing and bubbling, and changing color, it may look and taste very pleasant, but it is like a poisonous snake.  It is a poison that damages both the nervous system and the digestive system when consumed in large quantities.  It affects the person’s judgment and moral standards, and leads to him saying and doing things he normally wouldn’t, even if they are obviously dangerous.  Solomon uses the example of a person deciding to just go to sleep while floating in the ocean or climbing to the top of a mast and trying to balance there.  Proud that they didn’t even feel the pain, they go back and do it again to show they are not afraid as soon as they recover enough to do it.

Albert Einstein is credited with saying that doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.  A person is foolish to think they can drink and escape the consequences.   The results are readily visible in the lives of people around us.  The same is true of sexual promiscuity.  Just look at the effects.