Proverbs Study Group

Reverence.  Relationship.  Results!

Hallerin Hilton Hill

Chapter 21

Honesty

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Wisdom:  highly developed skill and insight applied at the right time to produce the right results for all the right reasons.

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Wisdom:  trusting God enough to believe him more than you believe yourself.  Trusting God enough to act on his word.

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Wisdom:  knowing God, surrendering to God.

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Honest: adj. free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere…morally correct or virtuous.

“Those who are not honest with themselves are like thieves whose lives are blighted by fear.”  Proverbs 21:7

“It is easy to rationalize your actions; look for the truth buried beneath your excuses.”  Proverbs 21:2

“Like a farmer irrigating his fields, let truth direct the desires of your heart.”
Proverbs 21:1

Be Honest With Yourself

If you’re not honest with yourself, you’re not honest.

Honesty isn’t merely an “outward” commitment.  Honesty is first an inward commitment.

Being honest with yourself is not just about admitting how you really feel and how your really are.  Proverbs doesn’t just call on you to tell your “truth”.  You have to tell your “truth” in relation to and with respect to THE truth.

What is the impact of not being honest with yourself?

You live in fear.  Thieves are typically paranoid.  They live in fear of being found out.

When you are less than true to yourself…when you lie to yourself when you rationalize so that you can do things that are diametrically opposed to God’s will, you live with the fear of being found out.

Rational Lies

We do a sales job on ourselves when we want to do something that if we really looked deeply into our true intent we put together these wonderfully rational arguments.  We get eloquent about what we want to do, why we want to do it, and why we deserve to do it.

The trouble is we know we’re lying.

Why do we lie to ourselves?

Have you ever rationalized your wrong?

Truth As An Engine Not An Option

Being honest with yourself only has a payoff when you that honesty leads you to a desire to know and implement truth.

Truth should be the motor of your car not the cup holder.  Truth isn’t just nice it’s necessary.  We have to let truth direct our desires.

Do you know what THE truth is?

Have you spent enough time searching for and installing the truth you should be living by?

Conclusion

You must be honest with yourself.  You must stop rationalizing wrong.  You must learn truth and then let truth direct your desires.

http://proverbsforlife.com/proverbs-resources-and-downloads/

Lie: n. an intentionally false statement

“Bearing false witness cannot be excused; lying invites its own consequences.”
Proverbs 19:5 (Shapiro)

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”
Proverbs 19:5 (KJV)

“A false witness stands self-condemned; liars are trapped by their own lies.”
Proverbs 19:9 (Shapiro)

“A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.”
Proverbs 19:9 (KJV)

There is no excuse for lying.  There is no escape for liars.

These passages are hard.  There is no soft peddling.  This is in your face.  You lie you die.  You will not, cannot escape punishment.

Why do you think God takes such a strong, punitive position on liars and lying?

Adam and Eve lost their perfect home.  Satan lied to them.  They believed the lie.  That lie quickly began to manifest in their lives.  They hid themselves from the very God who was their source.  One lie separated them from God.  After one lie they went from running to God to running from God.

One lie fixed them so they couldn’t see God as their friend any more. Sin entered humanity through one lie.  Now billions of people suffer the wicked consequences of sin.  The root of all our suffering goes back to Adam and Eve believing a lie.  Just one lie.

All the Bible is concerned with God seeking man…seeking to undo the damage done by the first lie.

Some points to ponder.

1. Lying separates you from God. If wisdom is about being with God then why do things that leave you without God.
2. Liars are punished. God often doesn’t have to hand down or render punishment.  When lies are uncovered they unleash their own punishment.  Punishment is not always external.  The consequences can be just as violent when they are internal.  No one has to see you punished for the punishment to be real.  Living with a lie destroys the spirit it gives depression a clean anchor point on which to take hold.
3. Liars don’t escape. You don’t get away with lies.  God knowing is worse than anyone else knowing.  We don’t respect God’s soverign power.  Don’t let people we know find out.  But God, he won’t do anything.  Wrong!  Just like God told Adam and Eve he is saying to us we will surely die.  What is death?  Death is separation from God.  That is what the devil wants more than anything else.  Satan wants us disconnected.

Who you should never lie to

1. Don’t lie to God. That’s stupid.  You can’t lie to God because He is all-knowing.  When you attempt to lie to God you simply insult God.  You suggest with your lies that He’s not as powerful as His word says he is and that you’re smart enough to take on the Master of the Universe.  David was a man after God’s own heart because he “kept it real” with God.
2. Don’t lie to yourself. Self-deception leads to devastation.  When you don’t speak truth to yourself, when you don’t receive truth you can’t grow.
3. Don’t lie to others. Truth builds integrity.  You don’t have to speak your whole mind, your “truth” on everything but you should tell the truth.  There is no need to deceive others

The Antidote

“The key to life is attention to truth; the godly die in peace and their mistakes are forgotten.”
Proverbs 19:23 (Shapiro)

“The fear of the Lord tendeth to life; and he who hath it shall abide satisfied.”
Proverbs 19:23 (KJV)

Truth brings life.  Jesus is the way, the TRUTH, and the life.  God’s word is true.  If you yield to the truth, truth will purge and refine you, truth will set you free so you can live.

When you seek truth when you speak truth when you honor truth it gives you life.  Truth breeds integrity.  As your integrity grows your power and peace grow.

Think about this

Are there areas of your life where you lie?  Why do you do that?

Is truth important to you?  How do you feel when you discover that you’ve been lied to?

Laziness

“Laziness leads to neglect; idle minds receive no nourishment.”
Proverbs 19:15 (Shapiro)

“Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.”
Proverbs 19:15 (NIV)

“Doing what needs to be done is a boon to the soul; ignoring responsibility is the way of death.”
Proverbs 19:16 (Shapiro)

“He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.”
Proverbs 19:16 (NIV)

“You may be holding food in your hand, but you will starve unless you put it in your mouth.”
Proverbs 19:24 (Shapiro)

“Some people are so lazy they wont even lift a finger to feed themselves.”
Proverbs 19:24 (NIV)

Laziness is a curse.  Life isn’t going to come to you.  You must engage life.  You must own it.  You must take 100% responsibility for you life and how you respond to life.

When you get active it make you feel good.  Taking positive, proactive action pushed depression back.

Where is the laziness in your life?

What action could you take today that would get the ball rolling in an important area of your life around an important issue?

Bonus Verse

“Patience is a sign of intelligence; honor comes to those who do not take offense.”
Proverbs 19:11 (Shapiro)

http://proverbsforlife.com/proverbs-resources-and-downloads/

3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart.

How many things that came easy were truly appreciated? If you win that championship ball game, you can bet there are drills, sweat, practice, more practice, blood, and plenty of mental anguish behind it. But in the end, it’s all worth it. And in the case of the ball game, it’s about more than you; the team, the coach, the fans, and the organization all share in the victory. In fact, in every area of life, anything worth anything is about more than just you. Your family, friends, people you help (and people you don’t), all have a “part” of you.

Ultimately, God knows your heart. He knows if you do what you do is for yourself - or if you do it to serve others. Now, don’t think that somehow we aren’t supposed to enjoy the blessing in winning, serving, and loving.

God wants us to enjoy the victory.

The hug from a loved one.

The satisfaction of helping a brother or sister.

The point is this:

God knows our heart. If we are God centered, learning from His Word, talking (and listening!) in prayer, and meditating on His love and truth, our motives will be centered around Him. He will call us to action. He will ask us to be more like Him by loving, sacrificing, serving, creating, etc. And while it’s not easy to be obedient, the rewards are great.

We need to keep the big picture in mind. Specifically, it’s not about us. But we get to enjoy the blessings when we are willing to step out and do it His way.

Look at verse 24

“A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” NIV

“The wise find wisdom everywhere; the ignorant look for it somewhere else.” Shapiro

How often I look for the latest and greatest thing. I need the next plan because the old one didn’t work. I need more organization, more resources, better planning, better cooperation to make MY thing work better. It never does. What I really need is more of HIS way, right here, right now. Fact is, it is here, right now!

BOTTOM LINE

Just as heat will refine silver and gold, God will put us in the hot seat to reveal our hearts and to refine us.  While it’s not easy, the reward of doing it His way and living to love others is great beyond words.

Amy C. Edmondson, in her book A Fuller Explanation, describes the concepts of R. Buckminister Fuller’s Synergectic Geometry:

Thinking isolates events: “understanding” then connects them. “Understanding is structure,” Fuller declares, for it means establishing the relationships between events.

Physicians and surgeons learn to think structurally about the human body. A surgeon considers not just a diseased organ but also the health and viability of  the entire body.

The Path of Least Resistance - Robert Fritz

From this “secular” view of understanding, what can we understand about God’s view of understanding? (Can you understand that?)

Proverbs 16

16 How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

22 Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, but folly brings punishment to fools.

33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.

These verses, and many more, direct us toward action. Not physical action but mental action.

Get Wisdom

Choose Understanding

Give Heed (to instruction)

Even ol’ Bucky Fuller was onto something. If we are to have wisdom and understanding, we have to think. We have to get things in the proper order. Studying the Proverbs will certainly get our lives in order if we will mentally and spiritually do what God commands. This will lead to our taking the proper physical actions. Look deeper at the lesson and resulting action from Proverbs 16.

16 Mental action, God’s command- get wisdom and understanding

20 Spiritual action - heed instruction Trust God

22 Results in LIFE

33 And no matter what happens, God Is In Charge

Why do I tend to forget this simple concept? I know the answer.

If I am not in The Word, in prayer, and meditation I start to do it my way. Not wise.

If I seek Him first, in prayer and the Bible, and in life itself, I know I have purpose.

When studying Proverbs, or anything for that matter, how often do we think in terms of, “How is this going to help me? How can I use this? What can this do to improve my situation?”

Me, me, me.

Now, this isn’t necessarily all bad. Look at the number of verses in chapter 15 alone that are directed at “Self”. Then compare that to the verses that focus on “Others” or our relationship with others (and what is a relationship other than our mixing of self with others).

What’s the point?

Even in studying the wisdom of Proverbs and God’s word we can have the wrong motive; if it’s just for us, it is misdirected and selfish. If we read the chapter (the whole book, the whole Bible) as a unified whole, we see it is about more than just us. Take a look at these verses…

11 Death and Destruction  lie open before the LORD- how much more the hearts of men!

17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

29 (Shapiro) Selfishness separates you from God; selflessness awakens you to Him

Bottom Line

God sees us as we really are, looking deep into our hearts. Love is the foundation of what is good; it’s His love that saves us. The love we have for Him and each other makes life worth living. Examine your heart to be certain your motives go beyond just self-improvement. Our focus is God, and we are to love Him, and others with our thoughts, words, and action. Seek FIRST…

v. 33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

26 He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress,   and for his children it will be a refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Remember this?
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Shapiro
Fear of God may keep you from error;
faith in God protects not only you but those you love

Faith is the source of life,
Diverting you from the snares of death.

As we read Proverbs 9:26-27 we are reminded of the great protection we receive from our loving, gracious heavenly father. Without His hand upon us and his careful eye watching over us we would be doomed. Quite literally. So why do we “fear” him? It’s not the threat of doom but the reality of doom that He saves us from. With this in mind, we can begin to see how God has the ultimate power; to save us (thorough the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus) or condemn us to a forever of punishment (which we rightly deserve). This fear, or awe of God’s power, or respect for his ultimate authority, is the foundation of wisdom. It keeps us secure and is even life itself.

OK, so this sounds like last week’s Sunday School lesson. While it’s all true, how do we bring it down to street level? Simple. If we don’t respect the power God has over our lives, we will screw up. Life won’t even feel like life as we stumble around in our self-made prisons of fear and ignorance.

On the other hand, if we trust Him (think about that word, trust) we have security. No matter what is going on around us. We have God’s protection, a fountain of life in a secure fortress.

Phillipians 4:12
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

See, it doesn’t matter what we have (and try to hold onto) but who has us (holding on because He loves us). To fear Him is to trust Him.

The Kicker

The fear of God doesn’t affect just you. It touches all of the people around you, especially the ones you love. The way wisdom and understanding affect your being and your behavior will extend to those you touch. Think about it.

http://proverbsforlife.com/proverbs-resources-and-downloads/

…speech of those who are honest

…those who do what is right

…tongue of wise people

…honest witness tells the truth

…people who tell the truth

Truthful words last forever…

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Proverbs addresses truth many times over and raises up the virtue of those who are truthful. Conversely, untruth - lies - bring about a different result in life.

…a dishonest witness tells lies

…lies last for only a moment

…lies in the hearts of those who plan evil

The Lord hates those whose lips tell lies…

Generally, we think of ourselves as honest people, right? But when we dig a little deeper, a bit under the surface, are we really? The question becomes, “Are we honest with ourselves?”

20 There are lies in the hearts of those who plan evil.
But there is joy for those who work to bring peace.

Shapiro

Plot evil and your heart drowns in deceit

Counsel peace and you are filled with joy.

OK, so we don’t think of ourselves as evil but if we examine our hearts what distress will we find there? What ache comes from a lie, of our own or somebody else’s, that needs healing? What secret are we keeping that needs to be aired so healing can begin?

As a community of believers, we are here to minister to each other. That ministry begins with honesty - with ourselves and each other. That’s when the counseling of peace begins and hearts begin to be restored. I’ve seen it. It is happening now.

Bottom Line

Look closely at verse 20. See who has peace? It is the one who counsels! He’s the one who gets to the truth of the matter, usually just by listening and offering support. He must have truth in his heart in order to do so. And the one who is ministered to discovers his own way to truth and is able to pass the blessing along. The joy of honesty is born from the love of our brothers and is contagious. But it doesn’t stop there. We are charged with taking it to the world.