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This is the second part of a series of the thirty most important principles of the wisdom of King Solomon in Proverbs. We discussed last time at length how that after spending twenty-something chapters of general advice, Solomon put a special emphasis on thirty proverbs that are found in Proverbs 22:17-24:22. As we learned last week, the scriptures promise that to learn these thirty sayings and live according to them will:

1. Cause our life to be more pleasant (Prov 22:18).

2. Be fitted in our lips, or already be there when we need them (Prov 22:18).

3. Cause us to trust in the Lord more than anything else (Prov 22:19).

4. Help us to know the words of truth (Prov 22:21).

5. Make us able to answer others with truth when they ask our opinion (Prov 22:21).

Because of this, we have labeled this mini-series "Thirty Ways to Being Wise." It's obvious that we want all of these promised results in our lives, but before we move on to the next ten principles, let me remind you of the importance of what we are doing.

In the scripture, seeking and getting wisdom is a command. In our other text, in Proverbs 4, we were commanded to "get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not" and we are told that:

It might be pointed out that Wisdom is not the same as learning or "book smarts." Have you ever known someone who had straight "A's" in school but didn't know to come in out of the rain? There are some Christians that are so smart that they are dumb. They can quote you chapter and verse and carry on in long dialogues about the Bible, but consistently act and respond in a way that contradicts the very Word that they claim to know so much about. A Biblical definition of Wisdom is this: "the ability to apply the Word of God to your everyday life." We must know the Word of God and memorize it, but we must understand it to the point that we are able to apply it to everyday situations that arise in our life. When we have that, we have gained wisdom. And when you gain wisdom, our text in Proverbs 4 says that Wisdom will:

1. Preserve you and protect you. (Proverbs 4:6)

2. Promote you in life. (Proverbs 4:8-9)

3. Give you a longer life. (Proverbs 4:10)

4. Help you choose right paths (Proverbs 4:11)

5. Help you not to stumble as you begin to run in life (Proverbs 4:12)

The teacher of the wisdom that we are studying was King Solomon, and the scriptures say that in his day, many people would travel great distances just to hear him speak these words of wisdom that you and I can read and learn anytime! One queen, the Queen of Sheba, came all the way from the heart of Africa just to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And in our other text, Jesus referred to this when He said:

The point that Jesus was making was that people traveled long distances for hundreds and hundreds of miles to hear Solomon speak what would become the Word of God and yet Jesus -- the Living Word -- had come to the people of Israel and they would not listen to Him! They would be judged by the actions of those in Solomon's time who thirsted and made great sacrifice to learn what was being handed to them.

We, of course, have a "more sure word of prophecy," the written Word of God, and everything that Solomon said that people sacrificed great amounts of energy and money to hear we have sitting on our coffee tables. So while taking the time to study these Proverbs and apply them to our lives may not be as fun a listening to preaching, actually it is just as important, because we will one day be judged on how well we applied these words of wisdom to our life! Especially since you didn't have to travel hundreds of miles on camelbacks to hear them!

With all of that in mind, let's cover the middle ten principles of Solomon's Thirty.

In the Hebrew, the word for "instruction" refers to "a systematic ordering of principles." The phrase "words of knowledge" refers to individual words as in "from various different sources." So Solomon is saying that to learn something, you ought to listen to it presented in a detailed, ordered, and thorough manner. And also to use as many sources as you can about the subject and learn from many various views.

To apply it to where we live today, I've known many people with many questions and yet only wanted a short answer and did not want to bother with learning thoroughly what they were asking about. In teaching Bible Studies, I've learned that those that seem to be hungry and have all sorts of questions and yet will discipline themselves and structure in their life to make a weekly Bible Study on the subject priority, really are not seeking wisdom, but rather attention. I've had people ask me question after question about salvation and yet when I tried to teach them a Bible Study on it for a few weeks that covered it thoroughly and presented it in an orderly fashion, they wouldn't show up, or would come a few times but then didn't make it priority. They wanted attention and they wanted to figure it out for themselves, but they did not want to really understand. And such people are not wise.

The best way to learn the Bible is not by hit and miss questions but by a systematic covering of everything and by someone presenting things orderly and thoroughly. There are things you don't know, and since you don't know them, you will not think to ask them.

The other point here is that we must take many sources and not just one. Some people only want to study one part of the Bible, let's say the New Testament Gospels and don't want to understand anything else. But we cannot just study one part or our favorite part of scripture because truth will be "here a little and there a little." So God has given us many different authors and styles from which to draw in scripture and we must make use of them all. The Old Testament is just as important as the New Testament. Prophetic portions are just as important as the Parables.

And we are commanded to "apply . . . thine ears." If you are going to learn something, you are going to have to be quiet enough to listen to an answer! I've known many people who ask a question and before you can even begin to answer it, they are already talking again. Such people will live their lives devoid of wisdom! To get wisdom, you must "apply thine ears" not "thy mouth!"

The absolute worst thing that a parent can do is just let their children do whatever they desire and refuse to discipline them. The scripture teaches that folly is bound into the heart of a child, and must be disciplined out. The scripture also teaches us to

To "train" is an active term. You must do something to "train up a child." If you just let a child do as it wants, then two things will probably result: 1. Your child will never be all that it was meant to be in life or in the Kingdom of God. 2. Your child will grow up to hate you. The little things in your kid's nature that could be easily removed by consistent discipline when they are young are not so easily changed when they are older. For this reason, the Bible says:

To discipline a child takes time and effort and sacrifice on the parent's part. But the scriptures say that if you do not discipline your children, then you hate them, because you do not love them enough to correct things now that will cause them great pain later. You need to train your children to be nice to others, to respect authority and adults, to not backtalk, and to do as you say. You've got to train them to do so. You are setting them up either for success or failure in life.

And the scripture commands us to "spank our children" as a form of discipline. It also commands us to use something other than our hand. The term the "rod" is used five times in relation to raising children. The term refers to "a reed" which was used to "beat" which means "to strike or punish." The Bible is not talking about child abuse or physically abusing a child. But it is talking about spanking a child with a wooden object or belt on the rear end. This is most effective when they are younger and should be a last resort, but if you will start when they are small, it can be very effective in "training up a child in the way that they should go." And the scripture says that if you spank your child, you will not kill him, but you will in fact save his soul from hell! There is a correlation between discipline and salvation. If you want your children to be saved, then you'd better teach them to learn to have self-control and to make wise choices when they are young! And spanking is a very effective tool that is commanded by scripture! If you want your child to be saved, then you must discipline them effectively.

This is one of the reasons that you must discipline your children, because nothing will bring true joy in your life like hearing your child make wise decisions and live for God. It's the same for God and a Pastor. John wrote:

If you want to please God and your pastor, then "walk in truth." God is not interested in a one time response to His love and mercy, but to see you walk daily in the truth of His Word. That's what brings God the greatest joy. And that's why after you are "born again" He leaves you on earth to live. You've been given a chance to bring Him great joy by living according to His will.

Envy is a trick of the devil to get your focus off of God. When you envy someone, you watch them intently, and eventually what you continually watch and admire, you will emulate and become like. Who are your idols and role models for life? Who do you study their life habits and learn about continually? Is it an actor or rock star? An athletic hero? Or is it a man or woman of scripture? Or a man or woman of God? Whomever you admire and study, is who you will eventually begin to copy.

Solomon tells us to be "in the fear of the Lord all the day long." Living for God is not just putting your focus on Him at church time, but we should live our entire life with Him and His will in view! We shouldn't be enamored with the ungodly examples of Hollywood or media celebrities. We shouldn't be modeling our lives after some other cult hero or musician. But rather we should be modeling it after Jesus Christ. Most of you will agree with that, but in practical everyday things, how much time do you spend thinking, learning, and looking at Jesus as opposed to those other people? Whichever one you focus on the most will be the one whom you will emulate!

"Winebibbers, riotous eaters of flesh, drunkards, and gluttons" all refer to people who have the habit of being self-indulgent, or in other words, always doing whatever they feel like doing. Thrown into this mix, Solomon adds "drowsiness" which will "clothe a man with rags." And we are commanded to avoid such people, since who we hang out is who we will emulate.

The point of all of this is your daily habits. You will only become what your daily habits allow you to become. It has been said that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" and it is important to understand that we will not become what we say we want to do, but rather what we allow to become a daily habit. Our habits create our situations and luck or lack thereof more than we would care to admit. Human are creatures of habit.

It applies in the spirit world also. Everybody wants a close relationship with the Lord, but those who will get it will be those who will make it a daily habit to read the Word of God, pray, and be faithful to the house and things of God. Everyone wants to have a better marriage, but those who will have it will be those who make quality time with their spouse and family, prayer for their family, guarding their mouth, and refusing to return hurt for a hurt priority and a daily habit. We need to make Godly things a habit with us. It should be a habit to dress modestly, to talk right, to live right, to pray, to worship, to attend services, to treat our neighbor fairly, to be friendly, to forgive . . . Make those things a habit. And if they are not, experts say that if you will make yourself do something for 15 days, then it will become a new habit. Start a new habit today. Don't hang out with people with bad habits or learn their bad habits, but establish Godly habits!

The first of the Ten Commandments with a promise is the fifth, which is:

Notice that the command is to "honor" your parents and not to "obey" them. Children who are at home with their parents should, of course, obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1), but when you leave home, you enter a new phase of the parental relationship. To "honor" means "to treat with respect" and " to appreciate." Honor is a matter of attitude. Even if someone's father is ungodly, he can still honor him for his position though he may not endorse his lifestyle. Speak respectfully to your parents. Show them appreciation. Even if as an adult, you cannot obey them because of their contrariness to scripture.

This commandment is particularly true when your parents grow older. There is a tendency for people who had good parents to rise above the level, spiritually or successfully, that their parents attained. Sometimes there is a tendency for such a child to begin to "look down" on their parents because they did not achieve what the child had achieved. The scripture commands the child to continue to honor their father and mother and respect them and appreciate them, because it was often their sacrifice and their training that allowed you to reach the level that you did. You should still honor them even if they didn't grow spiritually as far as you did.

Of course, there is a spiritual parallel here as well. You should honor your spiritual father, who is God, and your spiritual mother, who is the church into which you were born into. The way you do this is to buy four things: truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Truth is the ability to see exactly what the Word of God commands. Wisdom is the ability to apply that Word to your everyday life. Instruction is the ability to receive and learn from others who are more spiritually mature, and understanding is the ability to understand and comprehend the width and breadth of what is being taught. All four must be bought, that is they have a cost! All four come only through diligent study and obedience to the Word of God. There are no shortcuts to these four essential things. But if you get them, then you will have honored your spiritual father and mother.

Solomon, who is giving instruction to his son, speaks about immoral women, but the same would apply to immoral men since sexual immorality of either gender is a sin against God and yourselves. He says that getting involved with such a person is like falling in a "deep ditch" or a "narrow pit," both of which are hard to get out and hard to be rescued. She "lieth in wait as for a prey." and plans her seductions. She "increaseth the transgressors among men." In other words, there are men who would have never fallen if she had not thrown herself at them and actively pursued them.

We live in an age where girls are just as actively pursuing boys as boys are of them. It is a good idea for girls not to call boys because such a policy keeps girls from being like this immoral woman in Proverbs. Call me old school, but I think the boy should call the girl. Girls today are very forward and that is not necessarily a good thing.

We also live in an age where sexual promiscuity is considered normal. It may be normal, but it is not right. It is not only a sin against God, but sexual activity outside of marriage paves the way for a lifetime of sorrow, pain, conflict, and that's not even counting God's judgment of the sin. The Bible warns about sexual immorality many, many times. The following is just one example:

Guard yourselves against forward sexually immoral people, because their house is the way to hell!

The scriptures over and over again forbid the drinking of fermented beverages. We have covered this thoroughly in past teachings (see God's View of Alcoholic Beverages) but let's look at this passage a little more closely.

Solomon says that drinking alcoholic beverages is like being bitten by a deadly snake. Death may not come instantly, but things will gradually get worse and worse. The negative effects of drinking is presented in two categories, the first immediate effects, and then the long term effects.

The immediate negative effects of drinking alcoholic beverages are that you will have:

1. Woes; always be in trouble.

2. Sorrows; always in need and want.

3. Contentions; always in fights and arguments.

4. Babblings; constant complaining.

5. Wounds without cause; additional hurts than is normal.

6. Blood-shot and weary eyes.

The long term deadly affects of drinking alcoholic beverages are:

1. Moral impurity (thine eyes shall behold strange women)

2. Loss of Godly inhibitions (thine heart shall utter perverse things)

3. Loss of physical control, leading to increased danger (thou shalt be as he that lieth

down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast)

4. Being victimized by violence (they have stricken me . . . they have beaten me)

5. Loss of awareness (I was sick and I felt it not)

6. Addiction (I will seek it yet again)

The wise person will totally abstain from alcoholic beverages. You can't control it but rather it will control you! And the best way to not drink them is to "look not." The alcoholic distributors know that you must visually see others drinking their product and having a good time in order to desire it. That's why they spend so much time and money in advertisement. But the scriptures command the wise to not only not drink such beverages, but not even to "look" upon them.

Here we go again! Solomon again repeats a commandment, which obviously means that this is very important! It really is extremely vital to not look up to and pattern yourself after evil men and women, because you will end up copying their ways.

Here we are given additional information as to why we must avoid being envious of such people. "Their heart studieth destruction" means that they continually dwell on things that will hurt and cheat others. "Their lips talk of mischief" means that their lips speak of perverse and immoral things. In short, we should even "desire to be with" such people because their goals are nowhere near the same as what a child of God's should be and to be wise, we must guard our friends carefully!

In order to be envious of someone, they must have at first achieved a bit of success in some area or another. Beware making successful men who do not have truth, your pattern for living!

Wicked people tear down and destroy, but wise people build. Wise people make a dream or goal happen much as you would build a house. They plan, count the cost, gather the materials, lay a foundation, erect the structure, and then furnish the inside.

Remember that to be wise, you must build up others and build up your dreams. Wicked people are always cutting others down and are never uplifting. Wisdom should bring an attitude of building. I had a teacher that always referred to people as either "basement people" or "balcony people." Basement people are people that just being around them causes everyone to sink to their level. Balcony people are people that just being around them inspires everyone to rise to their level. You are either one or the other, but which is it? When you leave a room or a setting, are people uplifted because of your presence or have your actions and conversation pulled people further down? Remember the wicked tear down, but the wise build up!

Why not make these wise principles your habits today!? Get Wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding! But your success in God depends upon how well you let these wise principles sink in and change you. The Queen of Sheba traveled a long way to learn them, and here you can have them for free in a convenient setting! Learn them well!