Licentiousness, Laziness, Lies, and Deception vs. Wisdom

Proverbs 20:1-15

1 Wine is a mocker,
Strong drink is a brawler,
And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.

2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

3 It is honorable for a man to stop striving,
Since any fool can start a quarrel.

4 The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.

6 Most men will proclaim each his own goodness,
But who can find a faithful man?

7 The righteous man walks in his integrity;
His children are blessed after him.

8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
Scatters all evil with his eyes.

9 Who can say, "I have made my heart clean,
I am pure from my sin"?

10 Diverse weights and diverse measures,
They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

11 Even a child is known by his deeds,
Whether what he does is pure and right.

12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The LORD has made them both.

13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.

14 "It is good for nothing," cries the buyer;
But when he has gone his way, then he boasts.

15 There is gold and a multitude of rubies,
But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.

Licentiousness, laziness, lies, and deception are contrasted with knowledge, understanding, righteousness, and wisdom here.  The licentious live for drunkenness and other debauchery, led astray by the numbing effects and causing fighting as well instead of avoiding the thief of discretion and sound thinking of the sober man or woman by godly knowledge and understanding.  These also pick brawls with the authorities put over them by God and provoke an angry response at their own expense, as well as sinning against God and themselves.  Because any fool can pick a fight or start an argument, wisdom calls us to stop the striving before things go that far.  As for laziness, by putting things off when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient, the consequences mean having to beg from others what was not worked for by that inaction.  Wisdom understands that if a man does not work, he will not have food to eat either (2 Thessalonians 3:10).  Begging when the time to harvest comes is no guarantee to get sustenance from others, though some might give a little to them.  To gain understanding the heart must be revealed, and that entails good questions from a counselor to pry these loose and show the one needing help what they need to know to gain a heart of wisdom and understanding for change in these ungodly ways.  Yes, most will boast of their goodness instead as they remain truly unfaithful to themselves and God, yet integrity guides the righteous who pursue godliness and holiness with increasing knowledge and understanding of wisdom that they may bless others (Luke 7:35).  By living in the wisdom of holiness a man may be like the king here who needs only look at someone to bring conviction by revealing evil and good, much like Solomon did in judgment with his God-given wisdom.  Of course, nobody is entirely righteous, no not one of us (Romans 3:23).  We are never completely pure and without sin, only forgiven to escape our due wrath from God.  We cannot make our own hearts clean; we need to follow wisely with understanding for God’s sanctifying work in us as we live by trust in His working and through our responsive obedience (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13).  As for lies and deception, fair dealing with others is required, not misrepresenting or selling at unfair prices for our own gain.  These are literally abominations to God; He is fair to us, and expects the same from us to one another.  God watches and knows our deeds, good or bad, and holds us accountable.  He has given us ears to hear and eyes to see by design.  Therefore, we avoid the laziness of oversleeping, we abstain from pretending to buy something as if it is worthless and then brag to others what a great deal we got by that deceit, and we instead value the integrity of knowing that knowledge lived in word and deed is more precious than all the material wealth we could acquire (Job 28:12-13, 28, Matthew 6:19-20).  Amen.