An Encouraging Word... Proverbs 23

In my Bible today, I read something that I definitely needed to hear, and I feel perhaps someone out there needs to hear it too. I’ll share it, it’s from Isaiah 49: 13-16…

Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.
Yet Jerusalem (this could be any of us) says, “The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us.”

Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.



We’ll pick up on Proverb 23… “Don’t eat with people who are stingy; don’t desire their delicacies. They are always thinking about how much it costs. “Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it. You will throw up what little you’ve eaten, and your compliments will be wasted.” Proverbs 23: 6-8 (NLT)

“Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies; for as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, and waste your pleasant words.” Proverbs 23: 6-8 (NKJV)

What do you think this is in reference to? In this proverb, Solomon is warning us not to envy those who have become rich by being stingy and miserly. He warns us not to gain their favor by brown-nosing. Their ‘friendship’ is phony. They’re just using you to get what they want.



“Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.” Proverb 23: 12


We can always expand the limits of our knowledge. Pay attention to what others have to say, you most probably will learn something of use to you. The Bible says that people who are willing and eager to listen will continue to learn and grow throughout their lives. Don’t refuse to become set in your ways. Old dogs can learn new tricks!

A really good example of this is learning about computers. I don’t know about you, but I cringe when I hear people say, “I spend all day at work on a computer and the last thing I want to do is to be on a computer when I get home.” Have you heard that excuse? Now I’m not saying you have to be a computer geek, but I am saying not to close yourselves off…you can at least be computer literate! Otherwise, you’re going to be left behind. I confess that when I hear that excuse, in my mind those people are already left behind. We live in a technological world. It’s nearly impossible to have a conversation about all the cool stuff you are doing online if what you’re saying falls on deaf ears! Just my two cents:)