Do Not Sell the Truth

Proverbs 23:19-35

19 Hear, my son, and be wise;
And guide your heart in the way.

20 Do not mix with winebibbers,
Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.

22 Listen to your father who begot you,
And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it,
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,
And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad,
And let her who bore you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,
And let your eyes observe my ways.

27 For a harlot is a deep pit,
And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 She also lies in wait as for a victim,
And increases the unfaithful among men.

29 Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions?
Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?

30 Those who linger long at the wine,
Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it swirls around smoothly;

32 At the last it bites like a serpent,
And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your heart will utter perverse things.

34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying:
35 "They have struck me, but I was not hurt;
They have beaten me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"

We are to buy the truth and not sell it; this means that we treasure the truths of God we acquire from Him so highly that we could never part with them, not even to buy something else as a replacement or substitute.  Wisdom, instruction, and understanding are also not to be sold off like truth either, for they are begotten out of the truth of God according to His word.  If we are to be wise, then we will listen to our Father as Solomon pleaded for the readers to listen to their godly earthly fathers.  The goal is to aim the direction of our lives toward these things and not to part with them at any cost, not to waste our lives as drunkards or gluttons in satisfying our carnal drives and passions.  The righteous and wise child is a joy to the parents.  We are much more to give our hearts to our Heavenly Father so His eyes can observe the ways we go in pleasing Him as we were made to do (Ephesians 2:10).  This means we avoid passions of the flesh and steer clear of the seduction of sexual gratification outside of the marriage covenant between a man and a woman.  Any other relations are immorality and lead to destruction.  Who wants to be such a victim and become unfaithful to our Father in shame and disgrace when we meet Him face to face?   Likewise, sorrow drowns the one always looking to get drunk (not just alcoholics), for all that results from that lifestyle are arguments, complaints, and physical suffering.  Dwelling on and lingering in the wine instead of a single glass end up losing focus while staring into that snake which bites back like a poisonous viper, causing vision to be lost and perversion to come out of the heart in speech unbecoming to a God follower.  Our Father is not pleased with anything like these things which entrap and destroy us.  He offers knowledge and understanding of them in His word to make us wise in skillfully applying these guiding truths to our lives instead of selling them off for the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).  These sensual things drown a man in sorrow as much as pursuing material wealth (1 Timothy 6:9) and numb him to the goodness of God’s grace of wisdom, leading to addictive paths toward destruction.  We have been called to much better things in being taught by God and following His way instead as wisdom lived to treasure and truth to stand firmly upon in the storms and temptations of life waiting to ensnare the ignorant or rebellious.  Thanks be to God for His triumphant victory (1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14) and indescribable gift of grace and understanding of His word (2 Corinthians 9:15)!  Let us never part with this truth, but treasure it as a pearl of infinite price.  Amen and amen.  Let it be so!