Proverbs 27

Proverbs 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. 2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. 3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool's provocation is heavier than both. 4 Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? 5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. 7 One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet. 8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home. 9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. 10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. 11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him who reproaches me. 12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it. 13 Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. 14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing. 15 A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; 16 to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one's right hand. 17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. 18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his master will be honored. 19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. 20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man. 21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise. 22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him.

23 Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, 24 for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? 25 When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, 26 the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. 27 There will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.

Devotional

Introduction

Last year, I lost a close friend of mine. When she passed away, it was incredibly heartbreaking for me and all my friends at school. The night I found out, I, of course talked with my parents, but I knew that I wanted to talk to my Youth Leader at the time (shout-out to you if you are reading this). I learnt that sometimes, you need to talk to friends and other trusted-people in order to cope with hard things in life.

Proverbs 27 addresses the importance of friendship in our lives in order to continue to walk the Christian faith. Christians are not perfectly wise, nor perfect on this earth, simply because we are saved by the blood of Christ. We struggle with sin just as much. We are burdened by grief, weakened in blindness, challenged by foolishness.

Proverbs 27 tells us to seek out friends that encourage, that rebuke and that can offer counsel. We should not be afraid to look to those with wisdom or experience to help us grow as Christians. If that was unhelpful, I don't think God would have provided that opportunity for us.

Study

1) Seek out friends that build each other up (vs.2,21)

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." (vs.2)

"The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise." (vs.21)

The warning in verse 2 is for self-praise. It is very easy for us to be proud and commend ourselves. But this is dangerous. It does both these things: it puts our value over God and above our neighbour. The Bible say that we are to love both people. And love in the Bible isn't selfish, its selfless.

So, instead, the solution is for us to offer praise for others. As friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, we can encourage and build one another up. In Gill's exposition of the entire Bible, he says this:

"to be commended by others...is to his credit and reputation, but nothing more hurtful to it is self-commendation."

It actually benefits us more to be praised by others and to praise others is to benefit them. When they are honouring God, they are giving God the glory - encourage them! You see, the Christian life is incredibly difficult, but if we thought less of ourselves and more of others, we might see what love is. And we might see much more joy for our friends.

But always remember, that whilst encouraging our friends is always good, we are to give God the glory in everything. Perhaps make it sound a little like this:

"I love how you serve in church...praise God that he has given you such gifts"

In this, we encourage them in what they do, and remind them who they do it for. Verse 22 warns us that such praise can test us, can see what we let our encouragement do - honour ourselves or honour God. Let's make it a little easier for others and even remind them to give God the glory!

2) Seek out friends who can counsel you (vs.9-10)

"Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend, and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away." (vs.9-10)

As in my introduction, sometimes your counsel lies in a friend and not a family member - and this is actually okay. I suppose what we should think is who might offer the wisest counsel. Indeed, I turned to my Youth Leader because I know I would be soothed in my period of mourning, as well as encouraged and built up. My Mom and Dad would have done the exact same.

But there is something about turning to a friend instead. Someone who doesn't always know everything about you, or who comes from a different circumstance, who might see things from a different perspective, can be really helpful during times of trial in your life. Perhaps if you come from a non-Christian home, there will literally be more biblical advice offered.

Remember, Solomon is speaking to his own son - his family member - and he is encouraging him to talk to friends. Solomon knows the guidance a friend can offer. He calls their counsel "sweetness" (vs.9).

Let's seek out friends to whom we can turn for wise, godly counsel when we go through rough periods in our lives.

3) Seek out friends that rebuke in love (vs.5-6,17,22)

"Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy." (vs.5-6)

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." (vs.17)

"Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him." (vs.22)

I have a few friends in my life who are probably better than me at rebuking when it is needed. I am, by nature, one who might notice wrong, but doesn't always tell my friends. But it is actually loving to rebuke in love. It hurts, when friends point out a fault, even when there is not judgement. However, it actually inspires me to change and encourages me to work harder.

If I am not stubborn or hard-hearted to their advice, like the fool in verse 22, I can actually grow. All the same, if their advice is not given in love, it can make me bitter and resentful. There needs to be kindness by the rebuker, and openness by the receiver. It really requires a balance of the two.

Because rebuke from a friend is done with the other person's interests in mind. If there is a character flaw, it might need to be corrected. It might make the perpetrator (for lack of a better word) more likeable in relationships. It might help the perpetrator to love their friend better.

As well as this, rebuke is not only better than the "kisses of the enemy" which are useless, but "hidden love" - a love that does exist, but is not shown. This love may still care for someone, but it does not show itself in the relationship. It is somewhat useless for the other person. As friends, verse 17 says that we can actually sharpen one another. It is not always a "kind" process, in that we may be humbled or hurt, but it is the kind of hurt that actually strengthens our faith and makes us godlier people.

Conclusion

Relationships are necessary, basically, for survival. Emotionally and physically, we need relationships to both exist as a human race, and to be mentally stable. For the Christian walk - in our spiritual lives - friendships are so important. Indeed, God is our strength, and there may be periods in your life where you may feel friendless or alone. And God should be relied upon in any stage of our lives.

But the good news is, for most of us, we have a support network of people who can build us up, who can counsel us, who can rebuke us. As Christians, you probably find a really good support in the church you attend.

What's even better about Christian friendships is that they not only improve our lives now, they actually point to our lives to come, where we will worship God and glorify him forever. To say that I have friends who will do that alongside me is a real joy in my life, accompanied with an eternal joy I will have with my Saviour forever.