|
PROVERBS
LESSON 7 "Mama," Mark said as he came in after school," I’ve had a bad time at school today. Tom and Dennis have been fussing all day long and I like both of them but all they have been doing is fussing. It started with the ball game that we had yesterday with Jefferson Middle School. We got beat and both of them made mistakes. Dennis caught a ball and dropped it or it would have made the other player out if he hadn’t dropped it. Then Tom tried to make a home run and got put out at home plate. Now they are arguing over which one made the biggest mistake. They even wanted me to tell them which one was worst! When I wouldn’t they both got mad at me. That was just plain silly." Mother said, ".Yes, that is silly. But all quarrels are foolish. Solomon says in Proverbs 20:3 ‘It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.’ I will read you some more things from Proverbs. You were wise not to take sides in their quarrel as Proverbs 21: 23 says, ’He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.’ If you had taken one boy’s side the other would be mad at you. He might even have held it against you after they forget about the game. Sometimes people do that. We need to watch what we say. In Proverbs 15:28 we read, ‘The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.’ James tells us in James 3:2, ‘We all stumble in many ways. If any man is not at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check." That is something we need to think about and watch what we say. We read in Matthew 15:17-20 ‘Are you still so dull?’ Jesus asked them ‘Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make the man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.’ What this means is that the ugly things that come out of our mouth make us a person with whom a good person will not want to associate himself. The ugly things we say tells what is in out heart. But if we eat something not washed or do not wash our hands, that usually has no lasting effect--at worst it will only make us sick." Mark studied about this and then said, "Are you telling me that I’d be better off playing with dirty kids that smell than playing with clean ones who curse or tell dirty jokes?" "Yes, Mark," Mother replied, "Those dirty kids who never use bad language will grow up and be honest men who believe in good things. But the children who use bad language and talk about bad things will most likely keep doing that and may take part in the evil things they talk about now. Their habit of using foul language will stay with them when they are grown. It is a habit that is hard to break and most of them will continue to use bad language. This is disgusting to right thinking people and many will avoid them. It is also an offense to God.". "What about the rap songs that come over radio and TV sometimes? Are they as bad as just saying that they do bad things?" Mother replied that when they sang those words came out of their mouth so it contaminated them just as if they said them. These songs came from their heart or they would refuse to sing them. Mark asked his mother, "Are good words praised by Solomon?" "Yes, Mark, they are, "his mother replied. In Proverbs 25:11 he says, ‘A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.’ Someone has expressed this as, ‘Timely advice is as golden apples in a silver basket’" In Proverbs 10:19-22 we find, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment. The blessing of the Lord brings wealth and he adds no trouble to it.’ In the amplified version of Proverbs 10:19-22 we find this good advice in words we can understand. Solomon tells us, "Don’t talk so much. You keep putting your foot in your mouth. Be sensible and turn off the flow! When a good man speaks, he is worth listening to, but the words of fools are a dime a dozen, A godly man gives good advice but a rebel is destroyed by lack of common sense. The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth. All our work adds nothing to it’." 1. We learn in Proverbs every _____________is quick to quarrel. 2.He who guards his ____________and his ________________keeps himself fro calamity/ 3.The mouth of the wicked gushes______________. 4.James tells us if someone can control his ___________he is a perfect man. 5.It is not dirt that defiles a person but the ugly things that come out of his ______________. 6.Jesus said that the things that come out of the mouth come out of the _______________. 7.The songs that tell of evil or planning evil are _______________. 9.In Proverbs we learn that he who holds his ____________is wise. 10. The blessing of the Lord is our greatest __________. |