Proverbs 24: cynics desecrate beauty

 in Proverbs 24 we read:

Intelligence Outranks Muscle

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24 1-2 Don’t envy bad people;

    don’t even want to be around them.

All they think about is causing a disturbance;

    all they talk about is making trouble.

> Be careful who you choose as companion.

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3-4 It takes wisdom to build a house,

    and understanding to set it on a firm foundation;

It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms

    with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.

> It takes wisdom (and money) to build a house beginning with its foundation. It takes wisdom (and the Lord's blessing) to choose a spouse.

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5-6 It’s better to be wise than strong;

    intelligence outranks muscle any day.

Strategic planning is the key to warfare;

    to win, you need a lot of good counsel.

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19-20 Don’t bother your head with braggarts

    or wish you could succeed like the wicked.

Those people have no future at all;

    they’re headed down a dead-end street.

> It's better to be wise than rich, strong, wicked, etc. The wisdom is a gift from the Lord.

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7 Wise conversation is way over the head of fools;

    in a serious discussion they haven’t a clue.

> it is interesting to listen to the conversation from leaders of a company. Are they wise?

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8-9 The person who’s always cooking up some evil

    soon gets a reputation as prince of rogues.

Fools incubate sin;

    cynics desecrate beauty.

> Cynics are unhappy people that can't find wisdom or beauty outside themselves.

Rescue the Perishing

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10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis,

    there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

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15-16 Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;

    don’t try to get the best of them.

No matter how many times you trip them up,

    God-loyal people don’t stay down long;

Soon they’re up on their feet,

    while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

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17-18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;

    don’t gloat over his collapse.

God might see, and become very provoked,

    and then take pity on his plight.

> Jesus finished the sermon of mount with a parable about two men: one who listened and practicced his words. He was prepared for the bad days. Another man listened but didn't practicced his words. He was not prepared for the bad days.

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11-12 Rescue the perishing;

    don’t hesitate to step in and help.

If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,”

    will that get you off the hook?

Someone is watching you closely, you know—

    Someone not impressed with weak excuses.

> How should I rescue the perishing? A very obejctive way is to spread the gospel.

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13-14 Eat honey, dear child—it’s good for you—

    and delicacies that melt in your mouth.

Likewise knowledge,

    and wisdom for your soul—

Get that and your future’s secured,

    your hope is on solid rock.

> Love to get wisdom; love to learn.

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21-22 Fear God, dear child—respect your leaders;

    don’t be defiant or mutinous.

Without warning your life can turn upside down,

    and who knows how or when it might happen?

> Fear God is related to fear the consequences of being far from the Lord.

More Sayings of the Wise

An Honest Answer

23 It’s wrong, very wrong,

    to go along with injustice.

24-25 Whoever whitewashes the wicked

    gets a black mark in the history books,

But whoever exposes the wicked

    will be thanked and rewarded.

> Some read the Bible and understant that we are not to confront the wicked. This proverbs says the opposite: exposes (condemn) the wicked and you will be rewarded.

26 An honest answer

    is like a warm hug.

> Although an honest answer may harm some, it like a warm hug. An honest answer shows respect and love.

27 First plant your fields;

    then build your barn.

> There is an order to follow when doing things.

28-29 Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs—

    no slander or gossip, please.

Don’t say to anyone, “I’ll get back at you for what you did to me.

    I’ll make you pay for what you did!”

> Take care of your mouth: don't gossip and even don't promise to harm someone.

30-34 One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,

    and then passed the vineyard of a slob;

They were overgrown with weeds,

    thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.

I took a long look and pondered what I saw;

    the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:

“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

    with poverty as your permanent houseguest!”

> Don't be lazy: do what you have to do; otherwise you may end up very poor.