PROVERBS LESSON 4
EVIL COMPANIONS
By PAULINE SMITH
Mark usually walked the few blocks to school each day. One morning he saw Roy and Jake just ahead and didn’t want to walk with them but they stopped and waited for him. "Mark, you should have been with us yesterday after school Roy said. We went down to that liquor store on Stone St. and just loafed around. We pretended to be picking up trash but really we were watching for drunks. Sure enough when it was nearly dark one came out so loaded that he just lay down by the side of the store. When he started snoring, we went though his pockets till we found his billfold. We took his money out and put his billfold back. When he sobers up, he’ll wonder where his money went."
Jake said, "We split the money and after school, we are going to see Ben Hyde who is old enough to buy cigarettes. He charges 3 times what they do in stores but we want cigarettes. Want to go with us after school. We’ll give you some cigarettes. Did you ever smoke?"
Mark replied, "No, I’ve never smoked any and don’t want to start. And I’ve go ball practice after school anyway."
Roy said, "You’ll never know what you’re missing." But Mark remembered his mother reading from Proverbs, "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother " and he did not want to be the foolish son.. He thought his friends were being very foolish.
The next morning Roy and Jake waited for Mark and they walked to school together. "Our janitor is old and he is night watchman on Saturday and Sunday nights and makes extra money," Roy said. Jake added that he lived by himself and folks said he kept his money hidden in his mattress. Roy said that he had told him he didn’t believe in banks as he said he'd been told they would charge him all sorts of fees Roy said, "Oh well, he can’t read--he can just sign his name."
"But I like him," Mark said. "He tells me stories of how he grew up on a farm and how he used to pick cotton and gather corn. I like to hear him talk about how he did all of those things." Roy said he didn’t want to hear about all that hard work. He said he was too smart to work for a living, He said there were easier way of getting money than working for it. Mark thought they had a bad attitude. He decided that he would go to school earlier the next day so he wouldn’t have to walk with them.
A week or two later someone at school told Mark that he heard that Roy and Jake were in trouble but they didn’t know just what it was. Later in the day someone told Mark that Roy and Jake were in jail. But no one knew what was the matter. Mark told his mother that night that he heard Roy and Jake were in trouble. He said that he wasn’t surprised and that he'd tried not to be around them very much.
Mother said that he was wise to do this. She said Proverbs 13:20 said, "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Mark said that he just didn’t want to have much to do with Roy and Jake. The next morning Mark’s father read some from the morning paper and asked "Isn’t Mr. Michael Atkins the janitor at school?"
"Yes, "Mark replied. "He surely is and I really like him."
"Well, according to this article, two boys hurt him and robbed him last night." Mark was excited and asked his father what happened. "It says that the boys brought Mr. Atkins some ice cream. He fixed bowls for them and while they were eating, one boy said he needed to go to the bathroom and Mr. Atkins heard a chair turn over in his bedroom. He jumped up and started to go to the bedroom and the boy who was eating ice cream with him stuck his foot out and tripped him so he fell very hard. Both the boys helped him get up and get in a chair and the boy said he didn’t mean to trip him. They both said they would see him the next day and left. Mr. Atkins sat there for a while because the fall had caused him to feel bad. Then he began to wonder what the boy was doing in the bedroom when he said he was going to the bathroom. He went and looked in the bedroom where he had hidden money. Sure enough it was missing. It was all the money he had saved from his years of hard work. He called the police and they questioned the boys but the boys did not have the money. Among the places the police investigated was a bus station where lockers were rented. Sure enough two young boys had come in and rented a locker. The manager did not know what they put in it but the police had him open it. In the locker was the money." Then Mark’s father wondered who would do such a thing and if it was one of Mark’s friends. Mark didn’t know who it was but he had a cold fear that it was Roy and Jake.
Mark went on to school and by that time the whole school knew that it was Roy and Jake. Every one liked Mr. Atkins and felt so bad this had happened to him. The principal said he had called Mr. Atkins and told him not to come to work that day or until he felt like it. The principal said he asked him if he would like for him to come by and get him. Then they could take the money the police had recovered to the bank where it would be safe. and he would help him set up an account. He said he told him he would not be charged but instead the bank would pay him some interest on his money. He said Mr. Atkins said he would be very happy to do that as he realized the money had put him in danger.
Mark went home sad because of all the things that had happened. To Mr. Atkins. He told his mother the things the boys had said to him and that was why he had avoided them. Mark’s mother told him he was a wise son to do that. She then told him she wanted to read Solomon’s warnings found in Proverbs 1: 7-19.. She told him she was going to read from an amplified version as it makes this passage easy to understand and brings out meaning. She began to read, "How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught.. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead, it will gain you many honors.
If young toughs tell you, ‘Come and join us’--turn your back on them! "We’ll hide and rob and kill’ they say. ‘Good or bad, we’ll treat them all alike. And the loot we’ll get! All kinds of stuff! Come on, throw in your lot with us; I'll split with you in equal shares.’ Don’t do it, son! Stay far from men like that, for crime is their way of life, and murder is their specialty. When a bird sees a trap being set, it stays away, but not these men; they trap themselves! They lay a booby trap for their own lives. Such is the fate of all who live by violence and murder. They will die a violent death."
"Mama, will Roy and Jake die a violent death?" Mother replied that she certainly hoped not but hoped they would learn a lesson. They did not mean to murder Mr. Atkins but a bad fall for a man his age might have killed him if he fell on something. They chose a bad path that leads toward all sorts of crimes. We will hope that after they are punished for the crime they committed they will learn a lesson. We can hope they will decide to work for a living and not follow a life of crime which leads to death. "I sure hope they do better and I’m glad I stayed away from them and didn’t do the things they wanted me to do," said Mark fervently.
1,. Solomon tells us a wise son brings joy to his ______________.
2. He also tells us a foolish son brings grief to his ______________
3. He who walks with the wise grows ____________
4. The companion of fools suffers _______________
5. A man becomes wise by trusting and reverencing the ______________
6. Only ______________ refuse to be taught.
7. Solomon tell young people to listen to your ___________ and ________________.
8.. If young toughs want to be your companions ________ your __________ on them.
9. Men who live a life of crime trap ______________.
10. A life of crime leads to ____________.