Chapter 6

Chapter 6 moves away from the topic of the wayward woman, but not for the whole chapter. There’s more at the end, a significant amount.

Because we’ve already done so much on this issue, though (and because there’s more to come tomorrow night), we’re going to skip over that for this chapter. We’ll have a look at some other issues, beginning with . .

Debt. Debt is a massive problem today – it’s at the very core of the financial system, and most of your money now exists merely as a debt somewhere. The average Australian has a credit card debt in excess of $3000! Solomon is using hyperbole to make a point here. He’s not directly saying that all debt is bad; but he IS saying that a person who enters debt impulsively is by definition doing something unwise. His recommendation? That you do whatever it takes to free yourself from this debt.

Laziness. Solomon’s advice is well-known; in the Old KJV, it says “Go to the ant, O sluggard!” The Message translates it as “You lazy fool.” Laziness is not God’s plan for us. We are intended to be diligent workers, and to earn our keep. This can backfire, because we get so caught up in the “protestant work ethic” (as it’s often called) that we forget that in many situations, such as in the case of Salvation, we are in fact called to relax and let God take care of it. For our everyday needs, however, God intends that we work. He can and will step in if need be, but for the most part He wants us to do our bit.

Bad company. In this case the warning is implicit – Solomon doesn’t directly say “don’t hang around with these people,” but it’s sure implied. He warns you of the attitude shown by the “riff-raff” (Don’t you just love how the Message puts it?), and while he gives no instructions, it’s nevertheless clear that he intends you to do two things:
1) Avoid these people
2) Choose not to live the way they do.

What God hates. I remember this passage coming back to haunt me over and over again as a child. My grandmothers both used to know this passage (Granny Whitefield slightly better than Grandma Hughes), and whenever I got proud it was “Six things the Lord hates – A proud look!”

We’re unaccustomed to thinking about what God hates – He is LOVE! But He does hate certain things:
• Pride
• Dishonesty
• Murder
• Conspiracy
• Willingness to do wrong
• Perjury
• Disloyalty to family.

There is much one could say about all of these things. However, let’s keep it simple. Proverbs is about Wisdom, and right away there are a lot of areas where God’s wisdom can help us to live our lives well.

God isn’t JUST interested in us being saved so that we can join him when we die. He wants that, of course; He gave His Son so that we could. But He wants more than that. He wants us to live eternally, but He also wants us to THRIVE here on Earth. He wants us to live lives of blessing, being blessed and blessing others. He has created a world full of wealth and resources so that we can live blessed, prosperous and happy lives.

Now, where some Christians go wrong is forgetting that this is a fallen world. And the sin in the world doesn’t just affect the “bad” people, it also affects the “good” people. Or to put it another way, sin doesn’t just affect the sinner, it affects others around the sinner. And for that reason, God doesn’t promise for us to be free from poverty, diseases or misfortune. If such things affect you, it does NOT mean that you were in some way deficient!

But by applying wisdom, we CAN experience a life that is not so fraught with difficulties. We can escape from some of life’s snares, and we can avoid some of the traps.