Proverbs 22

Bible Passage:  Proverbs 22

For the past ten days or so, I’ve been spending a wonderful time in the house of God, immersed in His Word and surrounded by His other beloved children. It really is a wonderful opportunity that not everyone has the privilege of having and I believe it to be His special grace that I do.

Having said that, it must be said in all fairness that spending 24/7 with a large group of (mostly) hyper teens is definitely not an easy task. However, they really have taught me a lot about myself and touched me in many unexpected ways so thank God for this time and thank God for them 🙂

One of the things I find myself telling them pretty often (which is also a good lesson for myself) is that they need to be more *aware* as they grow older. Today’s chapter has several teachings which I’d see as teachings concerning awareness. Let’s see what we should be aware of.

Aware of Self

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;

He who guards his soul will be far from them. ( Prov 22:5)

He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow,

And the rod of his anger will fail. (Prov 22:8)

He who loves purity of heart

And has grace on his lips,

The king will be his friend. (Prov 22:11)

The wise king tells us the dangers of not being aware of oneself as well as the advantages being a self-aware person brings.

A person who is not aware of himself or herself does not see her own faults and imperfections. These are the people who think they are always correct or simply do not see anything wrong with what they are doing. They walk in the way of the perverse and because of this, encounter much thorns and snares. The person who uses the Word of God (wisdom) as a mirror to look at themselves are the ones who see themselves clearly. Together with an effort to improve and “guard” oneself, these are the people who leave the snares and thorns far away.

A person aware of himself or herself is also one watchful of his behaviour and all the issues of life that spring from it (Prov 4:23). As a result, they are the people who are well-liked by others and begets good from good.

Aware of Others

The rich and the poor have this in common,

The Lord is the maker of them all. (Prov 22:2)

Make no friendship with an angry man,

And with a furious man do not go,

Lest you learn his ways

And set a snare for your soul. (Prov 22:24-25)

Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,

One of those who is surety for debts;

Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,

One of those who is surety for debts; (Prov 22:26-27)

Basically, we are told here to be aware of the people around us.

While there are different types of people, rich and poor, smart and uh…not-so-smart :), strong and poor and so on, the wise king reminds us that the Lord “is the maker of them all”. All are the image of God and all will return to dust one day. What do have to boast about then? Or why should we feel inferior then?

However, it does not mean that because all men are created by God, we trust everyone and make friends with all. Clearly, there are some people that we should not make friends with. There are also people we know cannot be trusted.

Therefore, while we are aware of man being created in the image of God and thus deserving of basic respect, we also learn not to draw near to those who have chosen not to live up to this image.

Aware of God

The rich and the poor have this in common,

The Lord is the maker of them all. (Prov 22:2)

By humility and the fear of the Lord

Are riches and honor and life. (Prov 22:4)

Do not rob the poor because he is poor,

Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;

For the Lord will plead their cause,

And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. (Prov 22:22-23)

Most importantly, a person has to be aware of God. Who is He to us? What does He expect of us?

Clearly in verse two, our relationship with God is that of Creator and created. As the created, it is not natural, fitting and expected that we honour the One who gave us life and seek to do His will?

Sadly, there are many people today who are not aware of God; thinking that they are the masters of their own lives. Let us not be like them but rather be humble before God and fear Him. Let us also remember that God sees everything and finally He is the final judge who pleads the cause of the downtrodden in this world. Since God is the fair judge who sees all and rewards as well as punishes accordingly, should we not live our lives to please Him also?

May we always be aware of Him in our lives so that we can draw closer day by day to Him 🙂 as well as learn to please Him more and more everyday.