“Lying lips are detestable to the Lord, but faithful people are his delight. A shrewd person conceals knowledge, but a foolish heart publicizes stupidity. The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor. Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up. A righteous person is careful in dealing with his neighbor, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray. A lazy hunter doesn’t roast his game, but to a diligent person, his wealth is precious. There is life in the path of righteousness, and in its path there is no death.” (Proverbs 12:22-28 CSB – Read the chapter)
When we lived in Virginia, the first few years we were there we had wonderful neighbors. Bobby and Francis were about as good as neighbors come. They became like a set of bonus great-grandparents to our boys. We loved them and they loved us right back. Then they moved out and some other people moved in. They were the opposite in every way. The house and yard that had always been immaculate were trashed. They had noisy, aggressive dogs that were allowed to roam freely and would chase our kids, terrorizing them. They would let their kids eat outside, which usually meant they would eat in our yard and then leave their dishes just sitting there when they were done. They were awful as far as neighbors go. But they were our neighbors. We didn’t need a feud with the people living next door. That would have been bad for everybody. Solomon has some counsel for dealing with neighbors in this final set of proverbs in chapter 12 along with an assortment of other advice. Let’s take a look.
Read the rest…
