A Tale of Two Ladies--Character--Proverbs 10-30

 

"Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright." Proverbs 20:11

As King Solomon is compiling his collection of "sayings", under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, one of his goals is for his son to be a good person.  He wanted him to display character, virtue.  Samuel was a prophet who was likely known to King Solomon, as he crowned his father, King David.  1 Samuel 2:26 says of Samuel--"Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man."  Samuel, even as a child, was known for his character.  

Character is an important theme in Proverbs, mentioned around 260 times!!! Proverbs 12:4 in the KJV says "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband..." In the ESV the word for virtuous is excellent; and in the CSB it's translated noble character.  These character traits are good, and come from pursuing a good God. King David prayed before the congregation in 1 Chronicles 29:17, acknowledging that God tests the heart and finds pleasure in uprightness.  God wants His children to be good people.  And I don't mean the "I am worthy", "I am enough" mantra of our self-driven society.  We want others to admire our character only to point them to the goodness of God.  

We've talked a little about perseverance versus laziness in past days.  These are virtues that speak of where our heart lies.  Proverbs 24:30-34 tells of a diligent man who walks by the home of a lazy man.  It's overgrown and in disrepair.  But he learned his lesson by seeing the negative--laziness gets you talked about and not in a good way.  The lazy man craves a better life, but gets nothing because he has no discipline and no boundaries.  (Proverbs 13:4) The SOUL of the diligent is richly supplied.  (Think kingdom riches more than earthly riches).  God's formula for work and rest is best--"Take care, and keep your soul diligently..." Deuteronomy 4:9 and "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.."  Anything else is arrogance. 

And speaking of arrogance--humility and pride are opposing character traits talked about heavily in our collected sayings.  "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." (11:2) "Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished." (16:5) In Luke 14:7-9, Jesus Himself reiterates the humiliation of the proud in the presence of the humble "Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, 'Come up here,'  than to be put lower in the presence of a noble." Pride ignores instructions, humility is teachable.  1 Peter 5 says to clothe ourselves, all of us, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

Integrity is the characteristic I most associate with virtue.  It means a soundness of moral character.  Proverbs 10:9 "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out." "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them."  Proverbs 11:3 "Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool."  Proverbs 19:1  When I did a study on Proverbs 2 years ago, we had to draw a picture of what these verses looked like.  I drew it as one who lacks integrity walking a crooked path of paranoia.  (I'll share it at the end.  It's just lovely.  😆)  We definitely see a breakdown of integrity in our society today.  Leaders losing credibility; falls from grace; speaking out of both sides of our mouth.  Lack of integrity leads to paranoia and inability to walk in harmony with others.  (Romans 12:16)

I was going to talk about the virtue of self-control, which included verses on gluttony.  As I'm writing this, I'm sitting here with a tummy ache brought on by too many leftover beignets.  So I'll leave you with a few verses on that subject that I would be glad for you to read back to me to encourage me.  Proverbs 25:28; Proverbs 25:16; Proverbs 23:20-21.  Self-control is a fruit of the spirit.  We exhibit it when we intentionally pursue God and seek to walk in His footsteps.  

Our character matters.  We should be known as people of virtue.  Samuel was a  prophet whose mother made a vow to God--give her a son and she would return him to His service.  He was raised by a priest and grew in stature and favor with God and man.  His character mattered.  It brought him favor with those he lived around, and it pointed others to God.  Jesus, one of King Solomon's "sons", of the line of King David, "increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who call us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 1:3-8  Jesus knew we can't get off of the path of Lady Folly on our own.  So He has granted to us all things pertaining to life and godliness.  To know Him and to reflect Him. 

"Character is quiet, but it's impact is loud."  Jenni Hamm