III.
The Topic of Laziness
A.
The Lazy Person (Sluggard’s) Character (Continued)
2.
He will not finish things. () If he catches game, it goes bad on him due to his laziness. () When he sits at the dinner table, his meal goes cold on him.
3.
He will not face things. (; ) He creates excuses to avoid work and is conceited.
a.
() He habitually shirks work.
b.
() He is too lazy to remove thorny weeds from his path.
4.
() He is the last to see his true character. He rationalizes:
a.
() He has no idea he is lazy; he’s not a shirker but a “realist.”
b.
() He’s not self-indulgent but “not at his best in the morning.”
c.
() He’s not indolent (wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy) but simply objects to being hurried.
d.
() He’s not slothful (lazy) but simply sticks to his guns.
5.
The consequences of these characteristics:
a.
(; ) He is restless with unsatisfied desire.
b.
() He is helpless in the tangle of his affairs.
c.
(; ) He is useless — expensively and exasperatingly — to anyone who employs him. Have you ever known one like this?
B.
The Lazy Person’s Lesson
a.
() The ant shames him twice over.
1
() An ant needs no overseer, whereas the lazy person must be prodded to get any work out of him.
2
() An ant is wise about preparing for the future, but the lazy person lives only for the present.
a.
() He will suddenly wake up and discover that he is impoverished.
b.
() Through shirking hard work, he will be qualified for drudgery.
c.
Through procrastination, the disorder of his life becomes irreversible. Any procrastinators here today? Postponing something repeatedly? Now, after this charcoal supplementary slide, we’ll move over to another deposit in our Proverbs diamond mine.
IV.
The Topic of the Friend
1.
In Proverbs, the Hebrew word (réa) rendered “friend” also means “neighbor.” Depending on the context, the word may mean an individual who is as distant as “the other fellow,” to your closest friend. Amít is another Hebrew word translated in English as “neighbor.” “Neighbor” for Hebrews was a person in the same clan, tribe, or ethnic group.
1.
He is to be a man of peace
a.
(; ) He never starts or spreads any strife.
b.
(; ) He is kind and generous to his enemies.
c.
() He realizes if he can’t say anything good about anyone, he must be silent.
d.
() He helps a person who has failed, with no contempt for him.
e.
() He keeps his distance from people who are hot-tempered.
f.
(; ) He is able to decline an unwise transaction as promptly as he can accept a proper claim for his attention. What is one unwise transaction? (Cosigning for a bad loan) What is one proper claim? (Helping the needy.)
g.
() He chooses his neighbor friends with care.
1.
(; ) Constancy (being faithful and dependable) is a feature. () Fair-weather friends are many in Proverbs, but the good friend sticks closer than a blood-brother () and shows love “at all times.” () He also is loyal to old family friends.
2.
() Candor (open and honest, being frank) is a feature. He tells it like it is. When what he says causes an emotional wound in his friend, the wound is faithful to God’s Word.
a.
() Any thanks for this hurt is likely to be delayed. A friend who wounds a friend with candor must be prepared to be patient.
3.
Counsel is a feature. A friendship should have two elements:
a.
() The cheering effect of fellowship.
b.
() The healthy give and take of personalities or views.
4.
Tact is a feature. It is the sense of what is appropriate to each situation. Its lack is illustrated by:
a.
() Overstaying one’s welcome.
b.
(; ) Being hearty at the wrong time, when it is unwelcome or cruel.
c.
() Not knowing when a joke has gone far enough.
D.
The Vulnerability of Friendship
1.
(; ) The strongest term in the Hebrew language for “friend” (alúph [al {pal} -UFF) usually occurs in situations of estrangement, as if to remind us that the closest friendship needs guarding. Now we move to a huge deposit in the diamond mine.
V.
The Topic of Words
1.
Penetration power. Words can penetrate:
a.
(; ) One’s feelings (“like the thrusts of a sword” — resulting in a “broken spirit”.
b.
() One’s attitude. A mere rumor can penetrate and wound a positive attitude.
c.
() One’s self-esteem. It can be ruinously inflated by insincere flattery.
d.
(; ) One’s beliefs and convictions. Such words either tear down or build up a person
2.
Spreading power. Words can spread.
a.
( ) Words influence other minds either for good or evil. Which would you prefer: a rash-speaking sword thrust or a pleasant-words honeycomb?
B.
The Power of Words for Evil Now we enter a soft carbon area replete with graphite.
1.
() A scoundrel’s speech is like a “scorching fire.”
2.
() “A perverse man [willful sinner] spreads strife.”
3.
(; ) Words can be delivered with silent underhanded facial signals.
C.
The Power of Words for Good
1.
() A good man finds his words bearing fruit both to benefit himself and the hearer of his words.
2.
A good man’s words are like “a fountain of life” () and “a tree of life” (). This means, “they convey wisdom.”
1.
([optional reading] ) They must be backed up by actions.
2.
([optional reading all verses in this ¶] ) They cannot alter facts. Words, in the end, have no chance against facts that they disguise. Words can deny () and make excuses (), but they make no impression on the final Judge.
3.
([optional reading] ) They cannot compel response. To scold someone, even if he understands the scolding words, does not compel him to change his behavior
a.
() They will be honest.
b.
(; ) They will be few.
c.
(; ) They will be calm.
d.
(; ) They will be tactful.
a.
() Knowledge precedes them. Ponder before speaking.
b.
(; ) Character is their source. ( cf. ) What a man says springs from within.