At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

They that forsake the law praise the wicked: But such as keep the law contend with them.

Proverbs 28:4

One of the reasons we sometimes find ourselves in shooting wars, where all the questions about pacifism naturally arise, is because we have previously acquiesced in another more subtle form of pacifism. That is the kind of pacifism that does not want to dispute, or challenge, or debate. We in our complacency want to think that “debates settle nothing,” which is not true at all. We sometimes think we are being peacemakers when we are only being lazy.

Notice what this proverb says. There is a group of people that forsakes the law of God, and as a result of this forsaking, they praise the wicked. This sets the stage for a conflict, which happens because those who keep the law contend with them. It is likely that the righteous contend with both groups—those who forsake the law and consequently praise the wicked, and also the wicked. The verb contend means to oppose, to strive against, to challenge in court, or even to wage war.

There are many manifestations of wickedness on display in our generation, and it appears to many Christians that these manifestations have grown to the point where opposition would be fruitless. But David could have said that about Goliath, but in faith he did not. He could have reacted to Goliath the same way the rest of the Israelite army did—but he refused. So the first point to make is that just because the wickedness has grown to a great size is no reason for refusing to face it.

But a lesson should be drawn from all of this. Most of the rampant evils we are looking at today would have been much easier to defeat had we just contended with them as soon as the law was initially forsaken. Small weeds are easier to uproot than large ones. So we don’t want to be like that fellow who only drinks when he is alone, or with somebody. We don’t want to be those Christians who refuse to engage because the wickedness is “too small,” and then later refuse to engage because it has grown “too big.”  

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: But much increase is by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs 14:14

Another way to state this is to say that profit is messy. Profit is of necessity messy. A good way to keep your workshop clean is by never going in there. A good way to keep your desk in great shape is by never sitting down at it.

Returning to the proverb, do you want a clean barn or a productive barn? If you want a productive barn, then you want one that will be routinely and regularly and constantly in need of a cleaning.

Work is hard. Work is heavy. Work leaves bits of things on the floor that need to be swept up at the end of the day. An elegant table requires a messy kitchen.

Now of course, as sinners, we have a propensity to quote the wrong proverb to ourselves. As C.S. Lewis once put it, when confronted with a flood we break out the fire extinguishers. We crowd to the side of the boat that is about to go under. What this means is that the lazy farmer who needs to shovel out his barn a lot more frequently than he does, is the farmer who is likely to know about this particular proverb. A cross-stitch sampler of it may even be hanging over his mantle. But he still needs to clean out the barn.

There are disorderly places that are not the sign of productivity, and have descended to nothing more than being a fire hazard. To the proprietors of all such, the exhortation would be to remember that there is a ditch on bothsides of the road. If the fastidious need to learn how productive the right kind of messiness can be, then theyneed to learn how productive the right kind regular maintenance can be.

So you should clean up your workspace regularly. But you should do this because you mess it up regularly.

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: But a fool layeth open his folly.

Proverbs 13:16

This proverb supplies us with a good example of how one half of the verse illuminates the other half. We are told that a prudent man deals with knowledge. That sounds good, but what does it mean precisely? We find out by looking at the contrast. The fool lays his folly open. He is open and vocal about the stupid thing he is just about to do.

The prudent man, the godly man, keeps his cards close to his chest. He does not say everything he is thinking. He does not share his plans with everybody. He does not announce on Facebook that he is going to go here and there, and do business, and make money (Jas. 4:14).

It is better, as our proverb goes, to keep your mouth shut and have people think you are a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.

Some Christians might struggle with an aspect of this. It doesn’t seem honest or transparent to them. Shouldn’t Christians be open and vulnerable? No. They shouldn’t. The prudent man is cagey and canny. 

There are things a man should share with his wife, and with no one else. There are things he should say to his family, and no one else. There are views that a man should tell his closest friends, and no one else. And then there are the things he should be willing to say to anyone.

This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is when you say A to one person and not A to another. I am talking about saying A to one person, A and B to another, and A, B, and C to a third. And to have some notion of which group you are with before you start talking. A prudent man understands the importance of security clearances.

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children:
And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

Proverbs 13:22

Before getting into a discussion of this particular proverb, we need to remind ourselves again about the nature of proverbs. Proverbs are not axioms in geometry, where you might say something like “triangles have three sides, yea, four sides only are to be found in a rectangle.” Proverbs are generally true, and true enough to steer by them in day-to-day decisions. A bird in the hand really is worth two in the bush. But there are exceptions here and there.

That said, we have two related but distinct statements made here. The first is that a good man leaves an inheritance for his grandchildren. It is an obligation of parents to seek to lay up material wealth for their children and grandchildren. I emphasized the word material here because there is a Gnostic streak in many devout evangelicals, an impulse that wants to rush straight to making this proverb a limited spiritual truth. We are taught in Scripture to be wary of material wealth, but not in the way that is common in our circles. “Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Cor. 12:14). So if parents have sacrificed material wealth for the sake of Christ and the gospel, they may be content that they are in fact leaving a spiritual inheritance for their grandchildren. But if they are frittering away their substance in an undisciplined manner, and calling it “spiritual,” it is time for them to reevaluate.

The proverb also pushes in the opposite direction. It is not fitting for sinners successfully to store up treasure for up-and-coming sinners. The wicked can appear to thrive for a time (Ps. 37:35), but read on to the next verse (v. 36). When the just come into wealth that was first collected by the unrighteous, the just ought not to have any qualms about it. It is the way it ought to be.  

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes:
But he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise

Proverbs 12:15

One of the most striking differences between a wise man and a fool has to do with their relationship to information outside their own views and opinions. The wise man checks and cross-checks himself. One of the ways he does this is through listening to counsel—and counsel comes from elsewhere. Counsel comes from outside the self.

This is why a wise man seeks counsel, and seeks it from multiple sources. “Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety” (Prov. 11:14). Now of course it is possible for someone to follow the externals of this proverb mindlessly, and not be seeking for true wisdom. Some foolish people go from counselor to counselor until they get the advice they wanted all along. And others think that is a matter of collecting multiple views and taking an average. But that doesn’t work either. A man with a watch knows what time it is, and a man with three watches is never sure.

No, a wise man seeks outside counsel, and he weighs and evaluates the options. He checks and he cross-checks. But the main thing he is guarding against is the temptation to be a fool, the one who is simply right in his own eyes. The fool’s views are right simply because they are his. So if one friend says one thing and another friend says another, you don’t split the difference. You think it through. But the main thing you are doing is guarding your own heart.

The fool doesn’t need to go check anything. He knows how he feels already. What’s to check? This is the sin of subjectivism. This is the folly of using the thing that needs to be measured as the measuring rod itself.

“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12).

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