How important is your personal integrity? Can you be bought for money? Are you prepared to compromise your basic beliefs and values for the sake of personal gain? Better not, says Solomon. Better lose out and even be poor than do that and destroy your self-respect.

Although enthusiasm is a very good thing, it must be carefully directed, and combined with specialized knowledge of the area in which we intend to work, otherwise success will elude us. Never rush into a project without taking time for thorough research.

When there is a serious problem, many people are quick to suggest solutions before they know what the root problem really is. In the days before sign-posts it was very easy for someone in a hurry to miss a vital turn, and so arrive at the wrong destination – just like those who spend a lot of time and energy solving the wrong problem and end up achieving the wrong goal.

The theme continues. When people act in haste and make silly mistakes, as we saw in the previous proverb, they may well get upset and blame God for their bad luck. Why does he keep letting these things happen to them, they ask? Why are other people more lucky than me?

Do we take time to get the facts before starting a new venture, or do we enthusiastically launch into it, simply hoping for the best? Do we do our homework? Or do we pervert our way by acting foolishly?

Are we actively undermining our health and making ourselves ill by a poor diet, smoking and a lack of exercise?

Many people want to be friends with a rich man because of the benefits they hope to receive – so that he gets by giving. However, the many people are also very selfish and shun the poor man because he has nothing to offer them.

Billionaire Andrew Carnegie said that in business we get by giving – that wealth and success come by trying to make other people rich, by identifying and satisfying their needs, by saving them money, making things more convenient, and generally helping them improve their lives in specific ways.

On a personal level, and in non-financial ways, what do you contribute to a relationship, what value to you add to a friendship? Perhaps you are rich in time. Can you give that?

Perhaps the theme continues again. A false witness misleads people by lying and twisting the truth, and does so for a reason. Dishonest advertisers and marketing men do the same thing, for profit. The benefits are short-term, however, because disappointed customers will not return once they have discovered the real truth about the goods and services on offer. Honesty is the best policy, and the rip-off cannot continue for ever.

As we have seen, the rich man makes friends quite effortlessly, because people seek him out, the more so if he is generous with his favors. But what does a poor man do to make friends? Trying to impress by lying is not an option, as we saw in the previous proverb, so what is left? How can he be generous?

What can a poor person offer? Can he give attention, encouragement, kindness, love, a smile or a compliment? Can he be generous with his time in assisting others and helping people with community and church projects?

"It is more blessed to give than to receive", said Jesus (Acts 20:25)..

The poor man in this proverb apparently has brothers and sisters who are not so poor, and he used to have friends as well, before they deserted him -- so what went wrong?

The implication may be that his poverty is self-imposed. Perhaps it is not the poverty they hate, but the weak character and stubborn stupidity and self-indulgence that may have led to his downfall.

He keeps pursuing them, probably pleading to borrow money, but actions speak louder than words. If he showed willing and took constructive action to change and improve his situation, perhaps they would rally round to help him.

People, like the poor man in the previous proverb, want friends and family to show then love, but do they actually love themselves? The person who really loves himself will get wisdom, says Solomon. He will want a better life for himself and his family, and do something constructive about it. He will not be content to slop along in poverty.

Do we actually love wisdom, do we really cherish understanding and value learning -- or are we too consumed by the trivia of TV, newspapers and magazines to take a serious look at ourselves and the way we are wasting our time and talents? How can we do better? Where can we begin today to make changes? How can we become more skilled and efficient in our work? How can we increase our capability?

This proverb is almost identical with one above, with just a minor but important variation in the second line. Earlier we looked at the importance of honesty in our dealing with other people – because the crooked person will be found out in the end. Here, perhaps, Solomon is stressing the importance of being honest with ourselves – where the consequences are even more important, namely suffering and self-destruction.

Are we lying to ourselves? Can we accept the truth of our situation? Are we wrecking our own lives? An individual’s mental and emotional problems and addictions, it is said, can only be cured when they finally face up to reality and stop lying to themselves. Until that moment of truth arrives, they will go on being punished -- and will eventually destroy themselves.

A fool may yearn for wealth, but he lacks the attitudes of those who do achieve financial success – individuals with a vision who think and plan and sacrifice, who work diligently with meticulous attention to detail, and a resolute determination that refuses to quit in face of adversity. He waits, and hopes instead for the lucky break he feels he deserves.

The prince is carefully groomed so that when the time comes to inherit the throne it will be a natural progression. He will be fully prepared, having already acquired the education, social skills and wisdom required for this top management job – unlike the servant who busies himself with his routine duties and may do them well, but has no real ambition to better himself.

Are you a prince among men? Are you grooming yourself for a higher position? What extra experience do you need? What additional responsibility could you take on? Can you draw up an inventory of your training needs?

Perhaps the theme continues. If you were given authority, like a prince in the previous proverb, would you exercise it properly, or might you become a tyrant?

The wise ruler knows that people make mistakes and is prepared to overlook them, at least for a time. He has the right to do that, it is his glory, his prerogative. For the moment, then, he defers his anger, and gives people a chance to sort themselves out. If the transgressions continue, however, he may well get very angry indeed.

Do we expect other people, or our children, to be perfect? Do we pick a fight and blow up every time a mistake is made? Do we have the discretion to know when to express our anger and when to defer it?

In ancient times a king had absolute power, and his personal whim was unrestrained by any law. The word translated as indignation or wrath comes from the Hebrew word meaning to boil. Just as the bubbles of steam forming in a pan of water warn us that it may soon foam up and boil over, so the indignation showing on the king’s face gave a warning of trouble to come. Likewise, the growl of a lion offers early warning of approaching danger.

Do we see danger coming in our lives or business, or are we blind to the look on the king’s face and deaf to the growl of the lion? The customer is king in our economy, and even big companies can be badly savaged if they ignore the growing grumbles of consumer dissatisfaction, and so fail to take evasive action.

In any position of authority it is important to discourage the evil-doer and reward the good, just like the king. Do we do this, or do we punish but never reward – or try to reward but never punish?

Here is a family running out of control, probably due to the ineffectual leadership of the husband and father. In the ancient rural economy a man depended on the productive work of his eldest son to support him in his old age. If he failed to train him to carry on successfully, he brought calamity on himself. Added to that might be the continual nagging of a disappointed wife who was forced live out her days in avoidable poverty.

Perhaps the theme continues from the previous proverb. In training children, a father especially holds authority, like a king, and must exercise it wisely -- administering appropriate punishment when necessary, but also encouraging, praising and rewarding whenever he can. In so doing, perhaps, he sometimes needs the persistence prodding of the nagging wife to make sure he is doing a good job.

The man and wife in the previous proverb may work very hard to provide a good inheritance for their son, but they cannot give him a good wife. That responsibility rests on his own shoulders, and he may in fact choose foolishly.

Looks and first impressions can be deceiving, and beauty is only skin deep -- yet many people judge by appearances, and so rush into unwise liaisons. If we are entering into any kind of working relationship, marriage or otherwise, how can we assess the prudence, or lack of it, in a prospective partner? Diligence is one observable indication of the presence of prudence. Are there others?

Does the theme continue from the previous proverb? Perhaps the man with the foolish son and the nagging wife is slothful, which is why his wife keeps complaining about jobs that need doing, and the son adopts the same lazy lifestyle as his father.

The lazy person genuinely feels tired when there is work to be done. As a result, he needs more sleep, especially in the morning when it is time to get up and get busy. He becomes, by character, a lethargic and unproductive person, and will suffer the natural consequences of poverty and even hunger.

Deliberate action, even when we do not feel like it, can change our attitude and generate enthusiasm – the psychologically opposite effect on the emotions to laziness.

The slothful person in the previous proverb brings suffering on himself by refusing to work, an act of omission. Here, by way of contrast, is a person who actively brings suffering on himself by breaking the commandment, the law of God, by sins of commission. For some reason, immoral attitudes dominate his thinking to the extent that he actually despises the word of God and finds it irritating.

Comparing the law of God to light, Jesus says: "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" (John 3:20).

Perhaps the theme continues from the previous proverb. Do we ever act on the basis of personal malice and sheer contrariness? Are we aware of pathological attitudes, and their influence on our thoughts and actions?

Here is a powerful promise, and a reminder that we have social responsibilities, and should never become totally consumed by our own interests. If you have pity and give to the poor, says Solomon, you are actually lending money to God – and he will repay you, so you cannot lose out.

There is peculiar contrast between this proverb and the previous one. It is good to have pity on the poor, as we saw above, but sometimes you have to deliberately go against your emotional inclination in order to achieve good, as Solomon suggests here.

As with many situations in life, there is a time to act and a time when it becomes too late to act. So it is with training children. As they grow older, they become less amenable to discipline and wholesome teaching. Many people, it seems, are too meekly "politically correct" to follow Solomon’s advice, which may explain why youth crime has become a curse on modern society.

Psychologists are discovering that children who are who are not corrected, and who are allowed to vent their anger and show off in order to achieve their own way, fail to bond and form a loving and respectful relationship with their parents.

Here we meet a man who is enslaved to his emotions. Anger, as we have seen, can be controlled and used in a positive manner. Some individuals, however, are volatile and quickly fly out of control and do foolish things. As a result, they continually bring trouble on themselves.

Anger can be an addiction, and the more you help the man, the more you have to. Perhaps Solomon’s message is that we must somehow help such people face up to reality and perhaps let them suffer the consequences of their actions for their own good.

Perhaps the thread continues from the previous proverb. The child who is never corrected will feel insecure and lack mental stability. His parents have failed him, and he will remain for ever emotionally immature and volatile.

Some people are stubbornly stupid and ignore all advice and guidance – but they do not need to be like that. Unlike animals, human beings can change, when they finally decide to do so.

What advice and guidance have we been ignoring? What instruction and training would help us improve our lives? Where have we been going wrong? What chronic problems do we need to confront and solve? Why not pray and seek God’s help?

The theme continues. As we set about sorting out our lives, do we think to consult God? If we have been less successful than we would like so far, perhaps we have not yet found the work we were born to do, the career that makes best use of our personal gifts. There are many things we could try, but God knows what is best for us, so why not ask for his guidance? If we acknowledge God in all our ways, as Solomon explained earlier, he promises to direct our path.

Perhaps the theme continues. Are our plans based on greed and dishonest scheming, or on finding ways to make a worthwhile contribution to the world?

Greed is basic cause of lying, and is a shameful, repulsive trait. Better lose out in a deal, says Solomon, than make a dishonest profit by lying.

The opposite of greed is generosity, which, as we saw above, is an attractive trait that helps us influence people in a positive manner and win their support in the pursuit of our goals.

Perhaps the theme continues. The satisfaction and success we seek come from living a Godly life, rather than trying to get ahead by greed and lying. Evil seeks out and visits the lives of those who are prepared to associate with it.

Here is another reminder of a basic cause of human failure. The lazy man reaches his hand into the dish of food, but fails to bring it back to his mouth. Perhaps he is so depressed by his misery that he cannot even eat.

The man fails to accomplish what he set out to do, although he is quite capable of doing it, because he is defeated by negative emotions.

It has been said that many people who start out on a business venture accept defeat and give up far too soon, very often when success would be within their grasp with a bit more effort -- like the bread in the lazy man’s bowl. Perhaps they lose sight of their goal and with it their motivation, just as the man loses sight of his hand hidden in the dish. How persistent are we? How easily are we deflected from our specific purpose? What part to our emotions play in our success or failure?

Although a wise man may sometimes decide to defer his anger, there does come a time to act and make an example of the scorner, the ringleader. The simple minded, who heed the warning, are individuals who are open to influence and easily led, but not yet fully set on making trouble. These individuals exist in every school classroom.

On the other hand there are people of understanding with whom we can reason. Do we discern the difference and act accordingly?

Are there different styles of teaching and learning? Do some people only learn by a concrete demonstration of a principle, whilst others can operate and understand on an abstract level? What can we learn from the painful failures of other people?

Chasten your son while there is still hope, said Solomon earlier. If we fail to do that, things may well go from bad to worse. Here is a violent son who drives out his parents and takes over their home. It is shameful reflection on any parent when a child ultimately ends up in this state. If we fail to confront problems and take appropriate steps to deal with them, they may end up overpowering us.

How low can human nature sink? The answer is very low indeed, given the right circumstances. We should not be shocked at the level and depravity of youth crime in our permissive society, or by the fact that there are parents who live in fear of the violent attitudes they have allowed to develop in their children.

How well do you understand the working of the world around you? Why do some people succeed when others of equal ability keep on failing?

Is your plan, paradigm, or model of reality really accurate, or are you continually going wrong because you are like a person trying to find his way around Birmingham using a map of Bristol?

Using a different metaphor, we have all been "programmed" by our upbringing and experience. We all have "tapes" that play in our heads and guide us in our decision making and actions. Perhaps those tapes contain false instructions that cause us to err -- yet we go on listening to them.

Perhaps the theme continues. As we grow up, we informally absorb a great deal of information and slowly construct a mental model of how the world works, a paradigm of reality. Those older and supposedly wiser people we listen to are witnesses, but their message may be corrupt, like a damaged disk in a computer, causing us to malfunction and make faulty decisions.

It is also true that we tend to believe what we want to believe – and the wicked person likes to believe that crooked ways work best.

Is our model of reality corrupted? How can we sort ourselves out? Where are the reliable witnesses, successful and wise people who can put us back on the right track?

Perhaps the theme continues from the previous proverb. The scorner blunders on but blames other people and his bad luck for his lack of success. Nothing is his fault. His mind is closed, and he never questions his faulty beliefs and erroneous understanding of how the world works. He refuses to change his approach.

A scorner is arrogant, opinionated and completely self-assured. As a result, he deliberately flouts authority and ignore warnings of danger, and so brings unnecessary suffering on himself. He not only rejects advice, but belittles those who offer it and condemns their motives.