Proverbs 12:11 

¹¹He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread, But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding. 

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Proverbs assist us in that process, directing us in the way of wisdom and teaching us what it is to imitate our Lord’s character. Today our passage contrasts the faithful worker with the idle dreamer.

On the one hand is the faithful worker. “He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread…” Scripture reminds us that “all hard work brings a profit but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Pr 14:23). So the wise man is a faithful worker. He sets himself diligently to his labor knowing that it is God Himself who has called him to it. Work is a gift from God, given to us as human beings prior to our fall into sin. While toil is a result of the fall, work itself is part of our design. Hence, God calls us to labor and blesses us with bread as the fruit of our labor. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you…” (2 Thes 3:7-8). Our calling is to support ourselves with our work.

How perverse, therefore, the one who is an idle dreamer; who follows frivolous schemes rather than setting himself to faithful work. Solomon is not forbidding ingenuity and risk here. Rather, he is forbidding idle dreams – the man who lives in his parent’s basement and mooches off them while failing to develop his vocational skills; the college student who takes on tens of thousands of dollars in college debt to study feminist studies and then wonders why she can’t find a job; the young man who thinks society owes him a job, owes him a car, owes him a house but who has no marketable skills. He who follows frivolity is void of understanding. He doesn’t understand that it is the one who is excellent in his work who “will stand before kings” (Pr 22:29). Like the fool in “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” he sings of the place “Where they hung the jerk That invented work.” But God invented work and the one who fights against work, who wants to eat without labor, is a fool.

So what of you? Are you committed to work? Do you give thanks that God has placed you in this world that you might love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength – and that loving Him with your mind and strength involves using the gifts that He has given you to bless your neighbor by developing the latent potential of the world? Do you work with your mind and hands? Do you rejoice that he’s given you another problem to solve, another job to do, another meal to fix, another nose to wipe? Or do you want the fruit of labor without the labor? I fear that we often desire that, do we not? We are often, like the Cretans in Paul’s day, liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons. 

So reminded of our calling to work with our hands that we might have bread to eat, let us confess that we are often lazy, that we want the fruit of labor without the labor. And as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sin to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletins.

Proverbs 12:10 

¹⁰A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. 

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Proverbs assist us in that process, directing us in the way of wisdom and teaching us what it is to imitate our Lord’s character. Today our passage contrasts the conduct of the righteous and the wicked. While a righteous man has care even for the life of his animal, the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

So who is the righteous man? The righteous man is the one who, aware of his own sinfulness, confesses his sin to God, trusts in the forgiving mercy of God in Christ, and then lives in the fear of God, endeavoring to conform his life to God’s holy character as revealed in His moral law. The righteous man thus acknowledges that there is a moral law to which he is accountable. Unlike Adam who strove to be a law unto himself and rebelled against his Creator, the righteous man submits to God’s law. He strives to be humble, recognizing his propensity to sin and treating others the way he would want to be treated. Hence, the righteous man cares even for the life of his animal. He knows his place in God’s hierarchy, knows that he has been created to rule the earth, but he rules in such a way as to honor even the lesser creatures whom God has likewise created. And if the righteous man cares for the life of his animal, how much more will he honor other humans who like him are made in the image and likeness of God?

The wicked man, however, believes that there is no God – or at least he acts like there is no God. He imagines that there is no heaven; no transcendent moral law to which he is accountable; no God who sees and hears his plans and deeds; no God who will judge him for his deeds. He believes, like the atheist Richard Dawkins, that “The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference” (MSYW, 68). Hence, he has no basis for distinguishing kindness and cruelty. He bemoans the rise of suicide and self-harm among today’s youth but threatens surgeons who refuse to perform sex-change operations on perfectly healthy bodies. He declares that legitimate sexual encounters must be consentual but uses force to compel bakers and flower arrangers to praise his perversities. He objects to the racial profiling of pre-Civil Rights America but insists that every white person must repent of his whiteness. The tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The wicked man has no basis for distinguishing kindness and cruelty and so he often practices cruelty in the name of kindness.

So what of you? Have you acknowledged that you are created by God and accountable to your Creator? Have you striven to submit yourself to His moral law revealed in your own conscience and in the Bible? If so, then are you respecting others who are made in the image of God and even caring for the lives of your animals? Children, are you caring for your pets? Or have you instead pretended that you are a law unto yourself? Pretended that there is no God who will judge you and hold you accountable? Practiced cruelty in the name of kindness?

Reminded that we are all called to submit to the Lord of all, the Creator of heaven and earth, whose law stands over us all and defines good and evil, let us confess to the Lord that we have often failed to care for the life of our animals and, even more so, failed to honor the image of God in our fellow man. And as we confess our sin to the Lord, let us kneel as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

Proverbs 12:8–9 

⁸A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised. ⁹Better is the one who is slighted [despised] but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread. 

Paul writes in Romans 8:29 that God has predestined His people to be conformed to the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Proverbs assist us in that process, directing us in the way of wisdom and teaching us what it is to imitate our Lord’s character. Today our passage contrasts the man who is commended with the man who is despised.

On the one hand, a man will be commended according to his wisdom. Normally, people commend those who act wisely – those who offer good counsel, who guide their affairs with discretion, who demonstrate competence in their field, who show loyalty to their family and friends. The degree of wisdom the person manifests determines the extent to which he is commended. So Pharaoh exalted Joseph to be second in charge in Egypt; the Queen of Sheba extolled Solomon as the greatest of monarchs; Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel to be the chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon; and even Jesus’ enemies declared, “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:46) A man will be commended according to his wisdom.

On the other hand, he who is of a perverse heart will be despised. Normally, people despise those of a perverse heart – those who seek their own advantage, who boast in their own achievements, who over promise and under deliver, who demonstrate incompetence in their field. The degree of perversity the person manifests determines the extent to which he is despised. So Jacob despised Esau who sold his birthright for a pot of stew; Abigail despised Nabal who foolishly insulted the kindness of David; Jeroboam and the Israelites despised Rehoboam for listening to the counsel of his young friends; and our Lord Jesus despised the deeds of the Nicolatians, a heretical movement in the early church (cf. Rev 2:6; 3:15). He who is of a perverse heart will be despised.

In our day, there are many who complain about this dynamic of being commended or despised. Shouldn’t we just be nice? But Proverbs reminds us that such categories are inescapable. After all, should we commend or despise those who aren’t nice? It is not whether we commend some people but which people we commend; it is not whether we despise some people but which people we despise. Hence, when people argue that we shouldn’t despise anyone, they are trying to deceive us – and, according to Solomon, should be despised.

So what of you? Do you want to be commended? I hope you do. So are you striving for wisdom so that you can earn such commendation? It will not come just because you are who you are. It will only come as you manifest wisdom in your actions. So notice our second Proverb:  “Better is the one who is [despised] but has a servant, Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.” Normally, it is the wise man who is commended and the man of perverse heart who is despised. But it is better to be wise and have people despise you than to think lots of yourself when in reality you are a worthless chump.

So are you striving to become a wiser man or woman? Striving to become a better husband, a better wife, a better father, a better mother, a better son, a better daughter, a better neighbor, a better friend? Are you striving to gain more skill in your vocation? Striving to become a better teacher, a better plumber, a better accountant, a better electrician, a better housewife, a better manager, a better officer, a better nurse, a better engineer? Luke tells us that Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” (Lk 2:40). Is that true of you? If not, then don’t be surpised if others despise you and lightly esteem you. It’s your own fault.

Reminded that we are to pursue wisdom in order that we may be commended and not despised, let us acknowledge that we often think much of ourselves while lacking substance and skill. And as we confess our sin, let us kneel as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

Proverbs 12:2–3 

²A good man obtains favor from the Lord, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. ³A man is not established by wickedness, But the root of the righteous cannot be moved. 

The Proverbs direct us in the way of wisdom and teach us what it is to imitate the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Last week Solomon contrasted those who love instruction with those who hate correction. This week he contrasts a “good” or “righteous” man with a “wicked” man. 

Now, on one level, the Scriptures tell us that “there is none righteous, no, not one… There is none who does good, no, not one” (Rom 3:10b, 12b). We have all turned aside and by nature both our actions and our motives are corrupt. Apart from God’s grace, we all have, in Solomon’s words, wicked intentions. The two greatest commandments are to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Hence, we are to do everything we do – changing diapers, building houses, fixing cars, teaching children, managing investments, running electrical wire – we are to do everything we do with good intentions – out of love for God and neighbor. 

However, by nature, we none of us live that way. We worship idols and love ourselves more than our neighbors. We justify lying or cheating or stealing; we break our vows, mistreat our children, and dishonor our parents; we do shoddy work, use foul language, and commit adultery because we do not live from love of God and neighbor. Hence, we endure God’s condemnation in this life and the next – our conscience afflicts us, our bodies betray us, God’s moral law condemns us, and Jesus Christ will judge us when we die and appear before His judgment seat. A man is not established by wickedness.

Nevertheless, the Scriptures also teach that when God saves us and delivers us from our natural corruption through faith in Jesus, when He turns us from the worship of idols to the worship of His Name, He begins to transform our character. As we have been emphasizing recently, we become like what we worship. And so, because the God we worship is a good God who upholds righteousness, those who worship Him become good men who likewise uphold righteousness. 

As we learn to live this way, as we learn to become good men who uphold righteousness, we obtain favor from the Lord (12:2). God is pleased with us. So Paul prayed for the Colossians that they “may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). As we learn to fulfill the two greatest commandments – to live out of love for God and neighbor – we please God. And because we trust in the Lord and walk in obedience to His Word, Solomon insists that we cannot be moved. Even if we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we are blessed (cf. 1 Pet 4:16). And when we die and enter into the presence of our Lord, He will say to us, “Well done thou good and faithful servant… Enter into the joy of your Master” (Mt 25:21). The root of the righteous cannot be moved. 

This contrast between the good man and the wicked man recalls Psalm 1. The good man is like a tree planted by streams of water whose leaf does not wither and in whatever he does he prospers. He meditates on God’s law and lives out of love for Him. His roots absorb water from the everlasting fountain of God’s grace and so he flourishes even in times of drought or trial. But the wicked are not so. They are like the chaff which the wind drives away; therefore, the wicked shall not stand in the day of judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

So what of you? Are you sinking your roots deep in our Triune God and in His word so that you can stand firm in prosperity and trial? Are you being intentional about living out of love for God and your neighbor? Or have your loves become disordered? Are you loving self more than your neighbor and loving your neighbor more than God? 

Reminded that we are to be good men who live righteously out of love for God and neighbor, not wicked men with wicked intentions whose loves are disordered, let us confess that our intentions are often corrupt and that we need God to forgive us and transform into His image, into the image of our good God who upholds righteousness