This is the summary word for being carnal, being worldly in every aspect of life; when you are a person who like and love to always have his or her own way in doing things, not having the thought of allowing God to lead! We saw last week that although our divine Shepherd seeks to lead us in the paths that are right, we are so stubborn and self-centred that we often neglect to follow as He leads instead we prefer to do things our own way, which is why we always end up in disappointments and frustrations in life. We prefer our own way even though it may lead us straight into trouble and entanglement. When challenged about this issue of doing things our own way, many of us, of course, strongly deny it despite the fact that it is obvious. Yet in actual fact, comparatively there are still few of God’s people who follow continually in God’s path and in His leadings. It is always funny when we say: ‘I want to do God’s will and be led by His Spirit in all that I do’ –and then we promptly proceed to follow our own self-determined desires; then who are we in reality? We sing beautiful hymns, choruses and sing spiritual songs and praises that contain such words as: ‘The Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow’ –then after which we turn around and take the path that we think is best for us; again I ask, who are we? This is an issue that we must come to grips with right now, for unless we learn how to give up our self-centredness, we will fall into diverse serious trouble –no matter how loving and concerned is our Shepherd because it is true that He is our Shepherd but He leads us and rules us not as robots but as human beings that have their own free will. I recognize that this is a difficult issue for many Christians, for society, reinforced by the media, teaches us self-interest and self actualization as the primary motivating force in life –‘every man for himself or herself and the devil take the hindmost’. Actually, if self-interest is primary, then the result is self-destruction, for the self-centred soon become the self-disrupted. Little did we know and realize that our trying to achieve many of these human designed principles like the pursuit of self-interest and self actualization, in doing so that we are making ourselves God, whereas we are not God and cannot be God, so the universe won’t back our way of life because the universe is created to back God’s way of life. Do you now see where human problems stem from? We human beings have so inherited disorderliness through our sins that we fail to realize that the garden earth is the Lord’s and the fullness there of… and according to our sermon last week, the universe around us is orderly because it obeys God and follows the Will of its Creator-it is a garden; so when we obey ourselves, rather than God, then we are a wild patch of disorderliness within that garden of orderliness, which is why whenever we act according to our will and desire we become like the ones we referred to last week –‘…so lonely, lonely like a wild patch within a garden’. So for any individual not to be a ‘wild patch within the garden’ earth of God, he or she must form the habit of actually and realistically allowing God to lead while he or she follows! This is the only way of life that will not lead to destruction or loneliness in living life on earth.

Now let us read Proverbs 14:1-15; 1 EVERY WISE woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. 2 He who walks in uprightness reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, but he who is contrary and devious in his ways despises Him. 3 In the fool's own mouth is a rod [to shame] his pride, but the wise men's lips preserve them. 4 Where no oxen are, the grain crib is empty, but much increase [of crops] comes by the strength of the ox. 5 A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness breathes out falsehoods. 6 A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands. 7 Go from the presence of a foolish and self-confident man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips. 8 The Wisdom [godly Wisdom, which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of [self-confident] fools is to deceive. 9 Fools make a mock of sin and sin mocks the fools [who are its victims; a sin offering made by them only mocks them, bringing them disappointment and disfavor], but among the upright there is the favor of God. [Prov. 10:23.] 10 The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. 11 The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tent of the upright shall flourish. 12 There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death. 13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of mirth is heaviness and grief. 14 The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights]. 15 The simpleton believes every word he hears, but the prudent man looks and considers well where he is going.

What lesson can we learn from Proverbs 14? Where there is no work being accomplished, there is no mess or disorder to deal with. If you have work being done, it will bring a good measure of mess and work with them. Yet, the mess that is brought is worth it. Proverbs 14:1: EVERY WISE woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands. a. The wise woman builds her house: Wisdom builds. It looks at what is and wisely considers how to make it better. Many homes have been made by a godly, wise woman who looks after the home and builds it. i. “By her prudent and industrious management she increases property in the family, furniture in the house, and food and raiment for her household. This is the true building of a house. The thriftless wife acts differently, and the opposite is the result.” (Clarke) note that thrift is the quality and practice of being careful with money and not wasting things. Thrift goes with enterprise. So the opposite of thrift is thriftless! b. The foolish pulls it down: Folly tears down. Instead of supporting and building what is, folly shows its destructive nature. The woman of a home has tremendous power to make it a better or worse place. This is one principle that women should know. i. With her hands: “As the husband is as the head from whom all the sinews (strength or enablement) do flow, so she is as the hands into which they (sinews) flow, and enable them to do their office or work or duties.” (Trapp) ii. “Note the foolish woman—her idleness, waste, love of pleasure, lack of all forethought and care…. We see her house torn down in confusion. It would have been a sad result if this had been done by an enemy. But it is the doing, or rather undoing, of her own hands.” So she is the enemy of herself! (Bridges) incidentally there are many women like that, and they are first to cry out laying blames on the innocent. Let us be very careful and learn from God’s word. The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” How does a wise woman build her house, even in a society where men overtly hold the reins of power as in ancient Israel? 1) Like Ruth and Mary she bears children, knowing that salvation comes from the offspring of women (Genesis 3:15, Ruth 4:11, Luke 1:38, I Timothy 2:15). There is something wrong with those who disdainfully refer to mothers as “breeders.” Women are both birth givers and managers of what they have given birth to. 2) Like Abigail, a wise woman decisively protects her household from imminent danger, even against the wishes of her foolish husband (I Samuel 25). Do you hear that! 3) Like Lydia, a wise woman builds her house by working diligently with her own hands; she is successful at business (Acts 16, see Proverbs 31). But today many houses have folded up simply because the man cannot bring in anything, which is wrong biblically. 4) Like Leah and Rachel, who despite mutual rivalry and disappointments with husband Jacob, stood with him against their father Laban, knowing that for their new family they had left father and mother (Genesis 31, Psalm 45). Do you hear that! Our gross problem is our lack of God’s word. That is what is meant to guide us in living our life on earth. How does a foolish woman pull down her own house? By carelessly, or spitefully, adopting destructive habits that alienate and impoverish her family. She commits adultery with another man -- or woman. She spends money the family does not have recklessly, or invests the family fortune foolishly in what she does not understand. She mocks, undercuts, and derides her man, robbing him of confidence and courage. She demands her own way, even with tears and threats, until she gets what she wants. She whispers to her children that she, not their father, really loves them, whiles she subtly, or not so subtly, undercuts his authority thinking she is doing the man. We have just discussed the issue using woman but on a larger perspective, whether it be family, or Church, or workplace, or country, people (not just women) can build or can pull down. Tearing down a house with one’s own hands requires hard, often angry work, but it is easy to get started: just do what comes naturally into the mind, that is, put your own whims and desires first, and when they are thwarted, destroy-everything starts and come somersaulting simply because you are being too selfish about the issue! Every husband, like every Church and workplace, has faults or weaknesses, so in the name of justice a wife can always justify pulling down her house because she feels one way or the other without being prudent. Building also is hard. It requires daily work, love, and patience with the imperfections or weaknesses of others. The wife who takes the teardown path will bring suffering on herself as well as others, because when a house is torn down everyone loses, is it not? But in the prosperity of her household, a wife will find her prosperity, just like the exiled Jews found in Babylon’s prosperity their own. This is a very subtle principle that many people do not know, that when you join in the prosperity of the very place where you are, prosperity will come your way if by any means you leave that place! “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands,” not just by doing nothing when she should be working, but by tearing things apart with her own hands, feet, and tongue. Notice here that we have being told that it is not only with the hand that we can tear down. Proverbs 14:2: He who walks in uprightness reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, but he who is contrary and devious in his ways despises Him. a. He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD: One who is upright through their heritage, past habits, and general course of life still has the decision to walk in their uprightness. Doing this demonstrates that they do fear the LORD. i. The first line of this proverb communicates the New Testament attitude towards Christian obedience. Our call is to be what we are. Lord Jesus has made us new creatures in Christ; He has made us upright. Our duty is to walk in that uprightness. Do we do that? b. He who is perverse in his ways despises Him: The disobedient man shows that he really despises God and His authority. They say, we will not have this Man to reign over us (Luke 19:14). This displays the sinfulness of sin; it is often not only weakness, it is deep-seated rebellion against God. God gave His Only Beloved Son to save man in uprightness but man rejected God’s choice, refused to abide in that uprightness and went to choose for himself, we often like doing our own and it is always leading us to ruins because it is rebellion against God. Proverbs 14:3: In the fool's own mouth is a rod [to shame] his pride, but the wise men's lips preserve them. a. In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride: The fool deserves the rod of correction (Proverbs 10:13). In the word picture used here, the rod of correction is made of the fool’s pride, and it comes from his own mouth. i. “The fool’s pride finds a rod in his mouth that lashes himself—he is his own worst enemy—and others.” (Waltke) ii. “Here it is a rod of pride. Sometimes it strikes against God and sometimes against men…. Were this iron rod to rule the earth, who could tolerate it?” (Bridges) b. The lips of the wise will preserve them: The mouth of a fool brings punishment to the fool, but the wise man or woman is rescued (preserved) by their own wise words. The fool uses words anyhow and is not mindful of anything because he has said in his mind there is no God! Proverbs 14:4: Where no oxen are, the grain crib is empty, but much increase [of crops] comes by the strength of the ox. a. Where no oxen are, the trough is clean: Where there is no work being accomplished, there is no mess or disorder to deal with. If you have oxen, they will bring a good measure of mess and work with them. b. But much increase comes by the strength of an ox: Yet, the mess an ox brings is worth it. There is much good (increase) that comes from the impressive strength of an ox. Those who insist that there never be mess or disorder will miss the increase that comes from good things that can be a bit messy. i. This is an important principle when it comes to Church life and Christian Community. There are some who, out of good intentions, are obsessed with making sure there is never any kind of “mess” to address among believers. Each and every expression of spiritual life must be hyper-regulated and suspiciously watched with the expectation of grave error. Not only is this an offense against Christian liberty, but it also creates an environment where, spiritually speaking, there is little increase – because no one will tolerate any mess in the trough. ii. “Orderliness can reach the point of sterility. This proverb is not a plea for slovenliness, physical or moral, but for the readiness to accept upheaval, and a mess to clear up, as the price of growth. Slovenliness is the fact of being careless, untidy or dirty in appearance or habits. It has many applications to personal, institutional and spiritual life, and could well be inscribed in the minute-books of religious bodies, to foster a farmer’s outlook, rather than a curator’s.” (Kidner) Curator is a keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection. iii. Adam Clarke used this proverb to describe seven reasons why oxen were superior to horses as farm animals, concluding: “In all large farms oxen are greatly to be preferred to horses. Have but patience with this most patient animal, and you will soon find that there is much increase by the strength and labor of the ox.” Proverbs 14:5: A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness breathes out falsehoods. a. A faithful witness does not lie: This simple and straightforward statement has much spiritual instruction in it. Lord Jesus called His followers to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). One of the primary responsibilities of a witness is to simply tell the truth and to not lie. When we have a genuine faith and experience in the person and work of Lord Jesus Christ, we can give simple, true witness to Him. Are you a true witness? b. A false witness will utter lies: Again, this simple statement points to a great spiritual truth. We should never be a false witness for Lord Jesus Christ and utter lies about who He is and what He has done in our life. i. Will utter lies: “Is or will be a false witness, when occasion requires it. Having debauched his conscience by daily lying, he is thereby prepared and disposed to false witness-bearing.” (Poole) Proverbs 14:6: A scoffer seeks Wisdom in vain [for his very attitude blinds and deafens him to it], but knowledge is easy to him who [being teachable] understands. a. A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it: When someone seeks wisdom and does not find it, it is evidence that they are likely a scoffer – someone whose pursuit of wisdom and the truth is cynical and superficial. Who is a scoffer, one who mocks or makes fun of someone or something, often of religious or moral values. We need courage when facing scoffers! i. “Such may seek wisdom; but he never can find it, because he does not seek it where it is to be found; neither in the teaching of God’s Spirit, nor in the revelation of His will.” (Clarke) b. Knowledge is easy to him who understands: Lord Jesus promised, Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). This is a promise to the sincere seeker, the one who understands. Which are you, a scoffer or one that understands?

Go from the presence of a foolish and self-confident man, for you will not find knowledge on his lips. a. Go from the presence of a foolish man: Earlier Proverbs (such as Proverbs 13:20) spoke of the danger of foolish friends. Here the encouragement is to avoid the presence of a foolish man altogether, not only a friend. i. “One cannot increase in knowledge by associating with a fool—nothing comes from nothing, as many can affirm.” (Ross) b. When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge: The fool and the wise man can almost always be known by their words. This is a wonderful and often neglected way to discern if someone is wise or a fool. So you can see that God’s word is sufficient to guide us from making foolish decisions and actions but are we embodiments of God’s word? The answer is No! So let us make effort to learn from God’s word! Proverbs 14:8: The Wisdom [godly Wisdom, which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of [self-confident] fools is to deceive. a. The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: The prudent man or woman carefully considers and understands his way. They know the path they are on, their point upon the path, and their progress along the way. They are realistic people! i. The wisdom of the prudent: “It consists not in vain speculations, nor in a curious prying into other men’s matters, nor in cunning arts of deceiving others; but in a diligent study of his own duty, and of the way to true and eternal happiness.” (Poole) b. The folly of fools is deceit: This explains one reason why folly and fools can be popular. Their attraction is based on deceit, in the same way that the bait deceives the fish into ignoring the hook. Proverbs 14:9: Fools make a mock of sin and sin mocks the fools [who are its victims; a sin offering made by them only mocks them, bringing them disappointment and disfavor], but among the upright there is the favor of God. [Prov. 10:23.] a. Fools mock at sin: This is in the nature of fools and their folly. They think sin is a light thing, worthy to be mocked. Their mockery of sin is connected with their lack of the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:29, 8:13). i. “But he that makes a sport of sinning, will find it no sport to suffer the vengeance of an eternal fire.” (Clarke) b. But among the upright there is favor: Those who are upright before God and man find favor among God and men. i. “Fools do wrong and scoff at making reparations, but they find no divine or mutual favor and acceptance.” (Waltke) this attitude of sinners is in an attempt to make light of sin and to attempt to remove the fear of the consequences of sin, which will surely come! Proverbs 14:10: The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. a. The heart knows its own bitterness: There is pain and bitterness enough for every heart. The sense is that though one’s heart knows its own bitterness, it is difficult for anyone else to know the pain and bitterness of another’s heart. It is this bitterness that the sinner tries to hide in his scoffs, so do not follow scoffers way. i. “We may not judge our brethren as though we understood them, and were competent to give a verdict upon them. Do not sit down, like Job’s friends, and condemn the innocent.” (Spurgeon) b. A stranger does not share its joy: What was true regarding the bitterness of life in the first line of this proverb is also often true regarding the joy of life. It can be difficult for someone else to truly share the joy of another’s heart. i. “No less personal is the heart’s joy. It lies deep within. Michal could understand David’s bravery, but not his joy. She knew him as a man of war, not as a man of God.” (Bridges) Michal, daughter of Saul, married to David. In love with David Michal proved her loyalty to her husband over her father when she saved David from her father’s attack on his life. In Midrash, Michal is praised for her loyalty to her husband and her rejection of her father’s authority. ii. Spurgeon listed and described many joys that are personal in nature, and therefore often a stranger does not share them. • The joy of sin forgiven. • The joy of sin conquered. • The joy of restored relationship with God. • The joy of accepted service. • The joy of answered prayer. • The joy of usefulness for God. • The joy of peace in time of trouble. • Highest of all: the joy of communion with God. How many of these joys do you have? It is important to try having as many as you can! God help us. Proverbs 14:11: The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tent of the upright shall flourish. a. The house of the wicked will be overthrown: Whatever is built on a poor foundation cannot stand, especially against the storm of God’s coming judgment. b. The tent of the upright will flourish: The wicked man boasts of his great house and looks down upon his upright neighbor who lives in only a tent. Yet the tent of the upright is more secure than the house of the wicked. i. “The tent is by no means used for any kind of dwelling but refers to a nomadic tent. It is a bell tent, supported in the middle by a wooden pole and composed of several dark, goatskin curtains. It was fastened down to pegs with cords.” (Waltke) Proverbs 14:12: There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death. a. There is a way that seems right to a man: Proverbs often speaks of the way, the path of life a man or woman walks upon. Solomon observed that this way often seems right to a man. His path of life seems fine to him, and he wonders why God or anyone else would have a different opinion. i. “The issue then is how deceptive evil is. It might promise and deliver happiness, power, and the good life, but it cannot sustain what it gives.” (Ross) b. But its end is the way of death: Though it seems right, it isn’t right – it leads to death. Wisdom understands that what may seem right to a man isn’t necessarily right; it can in fact be the way of death. i. This proverb reminds us that the way of death is rarely clearly marked. “The safety and destiny of a road are not always as they appear (Matt. 7:13, 14). The deceptive road leads as certainly to death as the plainly marked one.” (Waltke) ii. This makes plain our need for a revelation from God. We can’t entirely trust our own examination and judgment. To really know we are on the way of life (instead of the way of death), we need to fear the LORD and receive His wisdom, especially as revealed in His word. iii. The principle of this proverb is so important that God repeated it Proverbs 14:12 again at Proverbs 16:25.’there is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.’ Proverbs 14:13: Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of mirth is heaviness and grief. a. Even in laughter the heart may sorrow: The person who often laughs is not always happy. The outward expression of laughter may be used to mask great sorrow in the heart. i. “The design of the proverb is to declare the vanity of all worldly joys and comforts, and to teach men moderation in them, and to persuade us to seek for more solid and durable joys.” (Poole) b. The end of mirth may be grief: Laughter and mirth may do more than mask sorrow; they may very well end in grief. We are grateful for laughter and godly mirth, but not if they keep us from the fear of the LORD and the wisdom associated with it. Mirth means amusement, especially as expressed in laughter.

The backslider in heart [from God and from fearing God] shall be filled with [the fruit of] his own ways, and a good man shall be satisfied with [the fruit of] his ways [with the holy thoughts and actions which his heart prompts and in which he delights]. a. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways: Those who decline in their relationship and obedience to God will suffer from it, even if their decline is only in heart. Their own backsliding ways will come upon them. i. The backslider: “The first part of his name is ‘backslider.’ He is not a back runner, nor a back leaper, but a backslider, that is to say he slides back with an easy, effortless motion, softly, quietly, perhaps unsuspected by himself or anybody else.” (Spurgeon) ii. “Every spot does not mean that you have leprosy. Every sin does not indicate that you are a backslider.” (Bridges) iii. “What is implied in being filled with his own ways? Having his soul saturated with folly, sin, and disappointment.” (Clarke) iv. “The story of Judas has been written over and over again in the lives of other traitors. We have heard of Judas as a deacon, and as an elder; we have heard Judas preach, we have read the works of Judas the bishop, and seen Judas the missionary. Judas sometimes continues in his profession for many years, but, sooner or later, the true character of the man is discovered.” (Spurgeon) b. A good man will be satisfied from above: The wise ones who do good enjoy God’s blessing and the satisfaction that comes from Him. i. “Which simply means that whatever may be within a man, in the deepest region of his personality, will sooner or later be wrought out into actual experience and visibility.” (Morgan) Proverbs 14:15: The simpleton believes every word he hears, but the prudent man looks and considers well where he is going. a. The simple believes every word: The man or woman who lacks wisdom (the simple) has little ability to discern truth from falsehood. They believe everyone, especially if they seem sincere. i. “To believe every word of God is faith. To believe every word of man is credulity…. An indiscriminate faith is, therefore, fraught with mischief. The world was ruined by this weakness (Genesis 3:1-6).” (Bridges) Credulity is a tendency to be too ready to believe that something is real or true. Are you such a person? The truth is that we should try to know who we are! b. The prudent considers well his steps: The wise man or woman doesn’t believe everything is as it first appears. While they do think carefully about others, they give even more consideration to their own steps.