Proverbs concerning Life and Conduct

16¹ Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.

² Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.

³ Put God in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place.

⁴ God made everything with a place and purpose; even the wicked are included - but for judgment.

⁵ God can't stomach arrogance or pretense; believe me, he'll put those upstarts in their place.

⁶ Guilt is banished through love and truth; Fear-of-God deflects evil.

⁷ When God approves of your life, even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

⁸ Far better to be right and poor than to be wrong and rich.

⁹ We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it. It Pays to Take Life Seriously

¹⁰ A good leader motivates, doesn't mislead, doesn't exploit.

¹¹ God cares about honesty in the workplace; your business is his business.

¹² Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.

¹³ Good leaders cultivate honest speech; they love advisors who tell them the truth.

¹⁴ An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in lives; you're smart to stay clear of someone like that. ¹⁵ Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives; they're like spring rain and sunshine.

¹⁶ Get wisdom - it's worth more than money; choose insight over income every time.

¹⁷ The road of right living bypasses evil; watch your step and save your life.

¹⁸ First pride, then the crash - the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.

¹⁹ It's better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous.

²⁰ It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God.

²¹ A wise person gets known for insight; gracious words add to one's reputation.

²² True intelligence is a spring of fresh water, while fools sweat it out the hard way.

²³ They make a lot of sense, these wise folks; whenever they speak, their reputation increases.

²⁴ Gracious speech is like clover honey - good taste to the soul, quick energy for the body.

²⁵ There's a way that looks harmless enough; look again - it leads straight to hell.

²⁶ Appetite is an incentive to work; hunger makes you work all the harder.

²⁷ Mean people spread mean gossip; their words smart and burn. ²⁸ Troublemakers start fights; gossips break up friendships.

²⁹ Calloused climbers betray their very own friends; they'd stab their own grandmothers in the back. ³⁰ A shifty eye betrays an evil intention; a clenched jaw signals trouble ahead.

³¹ Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life.

³² Moderation is better than muscle, self-control better than political power.

³³ Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say.

17¹ A meal of bread and water in contented peace is better than a banquet spiced with quarrels.

² A wise servant takes charge of an unruly child and is honored as one of the family.

³ As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are assayed by God.

⁴ Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.

⁵ Whoever mocks poor people, insults their Creator; gloating over misfortune is a punishable crime.

⁶ Old people are distinguished by grandchildren; children take pride in their parents.

⁷ We don't expect eloquence from fools, nor do we expect lies from our leaders.

⁸ Receiving a gift is like getting a rare gemstone; any way you look at it, you see beauty refracted.

⁹ Overlook an offense and bond a friendship; fasten on to a slight and - good-bye, friend!

¹⁰ A quiet rebuke to a person of good sense does more than a whack on the head of a fool.

¹¹ Criminals out looking for nothing but trouble won't have to wait long - they'll meet it coming and going!

¹² Better to meet a grizzly robbed of her cubs than a fool hellbent on folly.

¹³ Those who return evil for good will meet their own evil returning.

¹⁴ The start of a quarrel is like a leak in a dam, so stop it before it bursts.

¹⁵ Whitewashing bad people and throwing mud on good people are equally abhorrent to God.

¹⁶ What's this? Fools out shopping for wisdom! They wouldn't recognize it if they saw it! One Who Knows Much Says Little

¹⁷ Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

¹⁸ It's stupid to try to get something for nothing, or run up huge bills you can never pay.

¹⁹ The person who courts sin, marries trouble; build a wall, invite a burglar.

²⁰ A bad motive can't achieve a good end; double-talk brings you double trouble.

²¹ Having a fool for a child is misery; it's no fun being the parent of a dolt.

²² A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

²³ The wicked take bribes under the table; they show nothing but contempt for justice.

²⁴ The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard; fools look for it everywhere but right here.

²⁵ A surly, stupid child is sheer pain to a father, a bitter pill for a mother to swallow.

²⁶ It's wrong to penalize good behavior, or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.

²⁷ The one who knows much says little; an understanding person remains calm. ²⁸ Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they're smart.

18¹ Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good.

² Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth.

³ When wickedness arrives, shame's not far behind; contempt for life is contemptible.

⁴ Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.

⁵ It's not right to go easy on the guilty, or come down hard on the innocent.

⁶ The words of a fool start fights; do him a favor and gag him. ⁷ Fools are undone by their big mouths; their souls are crushed by their words.

⁸ Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy; do you really want junk like that in your belly?

⁹ Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism.

¹⁰ God's name is a place of protection - good people can run there and be safe.

¹¹ The rich think their wealth protects them; they imagine themselves safe behind it.

¹² Pride first, then the crash, but humility is precursor to honor.

¹³ Answering before listening is both stupid and rude.

¹⁴ A healthy spirit conquers adversity, but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

¹⁵ Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights.

¹⁶ A gift gets attention; it buys the attention of eminent people.

¹⁷ The first speech in a court case is always convincing - until the cross-examination starts!

¹⁸ You may have to draw straws when faced with a tough decision.

¹⁹ Do a favor and win a friend forever; nothing can untie that bond.

²⁰ Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

²¹ Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose.

²² Find a good spouse, you find a good life - and even more: the favor of God!

²³ The poor speak in soft supplications; the rich bark out answers.

²⁴ Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.

6¹ Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. ² God reminds us, I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there to help. ³ Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. ⁴ Our work as God's servants gets validated - or not - in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; ⁵ when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; ⁶ with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; ⁷ when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; ⁸ when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ⁹ ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; ¹⁰ immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

¹¹ Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. ¹² We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. ¹³ I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

Ye Are the Temple of the Living God

¹⁴ Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? ¹⁵ Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? ¹⁶ Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: "I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. ¹⁷ So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good," says God. "Don't link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. ¹⁸ I'll be a Father to you; you'll be sons and daughters to me."