Watch what you say. Work hard. Choose your people wisely.
These aren't random fortune cookie lines — they're patterns God wired into reality. Ignore them and you'll feel the consequences. Live by them and things start clicking into place.
Listen or Get Left Behind 👂
It all starts with whether you're willing to hear correction:
A wise person actually listens when their father teaches them something. But someone who thinks they're above correction? They won't even hear the rebuke. Your words produce fruit — speak well and you'll eat well. But people who are scheming and treacherous? They're just hungry for chaos.
Here's the real one: whoever guards their mouth preserves their life. But if you're out here saying everything that comes to mind with zero filter — that's a speedrun to ruin. No cap, your mouth is either your greatest asset or your biggest liability. 🤐
Lazy vs. Locked In 💪
Wanting something and working for it are two completely different things:
The lazy person craves everything but gets nothing. They want the results without the reps. Meanwhile the diligent person? Richly supplied. Their soul is full because they actually put in the work.
The person hates — lies make them sick. But the wicked bring and disgrace on themselves. Righteousness is like a bodyguard for anyone living right, but ? Sin will overthrow you. It's not a matter of if — it's when. 💯
Fake Rich, Real Poor 💸
saw right through the flex culture thousands of years before Instagram:
Some people pretend to be rich but have nothing. Others move lowkey, looking like they have nothing, but they're actually loaded. The wealthy person can buy their way out of danger — their money is their ransom. But the poor person? Nobody's even coming after them. There's a weird in having nothing worth stealing.
The light of the burns bright and joyful, but the lamp of the wicked? It's getting snuffed out. Your character is the only light source that lasts. ✨
Ego, Wealth, and Waiting 🕰️
Three proverbs that belong together because they're all about playing the long game:
Arrogance only produces conflict. Period. But the people who are enough to take advice? That's where real lives. And wealth you get too fast — shortcuts, schemes, get-rich-quick energy — it dwindles. But whoever stacks little by little will watch it grow.
Then comes one of the most honest lines in the whole Bible: " deferred makes the heart sick." When you're waiting and waiting and the thing you hoped for keeps not happening — that does something to your soul. But when that desire is finally fulfilled? It's a . If you're in a season of waiting, this verse sees you. 🌳
Respect the Word or Get Wrecked 📖
Your relationship to God's determines a :
If you despise God's word, you're bringing destruction on yourself — nobody else did that to you. But whoever respects and reveres the commandment will be rewarded. The teaching of wise people is literally a fountain of life. It keeps you from walking into traps you didn't even see coming.
Good sense wins — people notice when you move wisely. But the treacherous? Their own ways become their downfall. A prudent person thinks before they act, but a fool? They broadcast their foolishness for everyone to see. It's giving main character energy but in the worst way. 🧠
Messengers and Teachability 📬
Who you send and whether you can be taught — two things that reveal everything:
A wicked messenger falls into trouble because they can't be trusted with what they carry. But a faithful messenger? They bring healing wherever they go. Poverty and disgrace are what's waiting for anyone who ignores instruction. But the person who actually listens to correction? They're honored for it.
There's something deeply satisfying about a desire fulfilled — it's sweet to the soul. But here's the catch: fools think turning away from is disgusting. They'd rather stay comfortable in their mess than do the hard thing. That's not just foolish — it's tragic. 😬
Your Circle Is Your Future 🤝
This might be the most practical advice in the whole chapter:
Walk with the wise and you become wise. But hang with fools and you will suffer harm. It's not complicated — your friend group is shaping you whether you realize it or not. Disaster follows sinners like a shadow, but the are rewarded with good.
And here's a generational perspective: a good person leaves an to their children's children. They're thinking two generations ahead. Meanwhile the sinner's wealth? It doesn't stay in their hands — it ends up being redistributed to the righteous. Legacy matters. 👑
Justice, Discipline, and Provision ⚖️
closes with three proverbs that carry real weight:
The poor have land that could produce food — the potential is there. But sweeps it away. Systems of oppression rob people of what they could have. That's not just unfortunate — it's wrong, and God sees it.
The person who refuses to their child isn't being kind — they actually hate them. But the parent who their child is diligent to correct them. Real doesn't avoid hard conversations. It leans into them because the stakes are too high not to.
And finally: the have enough. Their appetite is satisfied. But the wicked? They go hungry. Not because God is withholding — but because the way of wickedness is the way of emptiness. What you chase apart from God will never fill you. 🫶