A Merry Heart Is Like Medicine
September 8, 2021
Commentary
Dishonesty does you no good, and telling lies will get you in trouble (v. 20). The person who becomes the parent of a self-confident fool does it to his sorrow, and the father of such has no joy in him (v. 21). When the heart is filled with joy a man’s whole being is refreshed. When he feels gloomy his whole body hurts (v. 22).
LAUGHTER IS TO LIFE WHAT SHOCK ABSORBERS ARE TO CARS.
The man of the world may have pleasures for a season but he has to resort to all kinds of things to relieve his uneasiness and rouse his spirits (v. 23). As an example the man of the world will get drunk so he can forget his problems. On the contrary when a child of God remembers who he is in Christ, joy will flood his soul. The man of understanding keeps wisdom at the center of his vision (v. 24). To have brought one into the world someone who throws overboard all restrain brings grief to a father’s heart and bitter disappointment to the mother (v. 25).
To punish an innocent person is an abomination to the Lord (v. 26). This applies either to a leader who punishes a good man or to the people who rebel against the leader because of his uprightness. The man who thinks before he talks is a man of understanding (v. 27). The man who speaks hastily is generally a person whose grasp of things is limited. Even a fool may be thought to be wise if he keeps his mouth shut (v. 28).
Application
I can think of circumstances in my life when I have had joy when other people could not under-stand. On the other hand I can think of other times when I could have expressed joy and didn’t.
Proverbs 17:20– 28 (NET)
20 The one who has a perverse heart does not find good, and the one who is deceitful in speech falls into trouble.
21 Whoever brings a fool into the world does so to his grief, and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A cheerful heart brings good healing, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked person receives a bribe secretly to pervert the ways of justice.
24 Wisdom is directly in front of the discerning person, but the eyes of a fool run to the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish child is a grief to his father, and bitterness to the mother who bore him.
26 It is terrible to punish a righteous person, and to flog honorable men is wrong.
27 The truly wise person restrains his words, and the one who stays calm is discerning.
28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered wise, and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning.
Illustration: Our Lifestyle Can be a Reproach to Others
Men are born sinners and it makes them very uncomfortable to be around righteous people. Therefore it is only natural for them to try to do away with people or things that tend to expose their sin. An example of this is the removing of the Bible from our public schools. I remember a very worldly neighbor that we once had who would do things against us. It was not because we had done anything against him (in fact we had tried to do nice things for him) but simply because our way of life was a reproach to his lifestyle. (Lou Nicholes – Missionary/Author).