Proverbs Chapter 22

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PROVERBS CHAPTER 22 Reputation 22:1 A good name is a honorable reputation and is to be valued and appreciated far above having physical wealth. Riches are useless if in gaining them one ruins his or her character. Sadly, many people seem willing to sacrifice their reputation for instant gratification, but how can you be happy if you know that others don’t respect you? “Today people who go broke in one city move to another, unmarried mothers leave town to have their babies…Everyone is given so much leniency to start over that one wonders how important ‘good names’ really are” (Alden pp. 159-160). Sadly, even the above quote is out-ofdate, for how many unmarried mothers leave town to have their babies anymore? Our own times may well be summed up by the statement found on a popular bumper-sticker, “Does character matter… YET?” “Not the power we wield, but the love in which we are held, is our proper joy” (Kidner p. 146). Envy isn’t the same thing as respect!

Made At The Same Plant 22:2 “We might have expected line 2 to read ‘all go to one place’, in the manner of Ecclesiastes. But it is a more significant bond that we all come from one hand” (Kidner p. 146). This means that God is concerned about everyone (2 Peter 3:9). Since God cares for all, regardless of their social or financial status, we must do the same. “The central idea is that those who are well off must never forget that they, no less than the impoverished, are contingent beings who wholly depend on God for life and livelihood” (Garrett p. 186). The verse also may imply that the rich and poor are also inseparable in this life. Without wealthy individuals, the day laborer wouldn’t have a place of employment. But without cheap labor, many wealthy people could never bring their product to market and thus make a profit.

Staying Out Of Trouble

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