Proverbs 19

READ CHAPTER 19 OF PROVERBS ON YOUR OWN,

OR FOLLOW THE LINK HERE TO READ IT ONLINE!

  

 VERSE TO MEMORIZE THIS WEEK: 

There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.

What is desired in a man is kindness,
And a poor man is better than a liar.

The fear of the Lord leads to life,
And he who has it will abide in satisfaction;
He will not be visited with evil. 

Proverbs 19:21-23 NKJV

EXTRA VERSES TO MEMORIZE:

*Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV) 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

The righteous run to it and are safe.

*Proverbs 14:26-27 (NIV)
Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
    and for their children it will be a refuge. 

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
    turning a person from the snares of death.

 

 

Proverbs 19

Knowledge, Knowledge, and MORE KNOWLEDGE

Some time back, as our company was going through growing pains and changes, we had a man come in and discuss our company’s “rebranding” and what it meant to the employees.  He was hitting us pretty hard on our knowledge of things we offered to our members, and wanted us to think long and hard about what we knew of our services we offered.  Right off, I knew I was done.  I mean, come on, I’m in I.T., which if anyone reading this doesn’t know what that is, I’m the computer guy….  I’m this guy….

 

My product knowledge isn’t that of a loan officer, member service rep, or for that fact, a teller.  I realized quickly I was counting on my coworkers to have more knowledge of our products than me.  Don’t get me wrong, I have knowledge on what’s going on here, and I’m for the most part a helpdesk for the credit union as a whole, but in all honesty, I figured myself more as the “fixit” guy.  Well, the man went through his little spill, and everyone had at the end as Bro. Shannon likes to say “The warm fuzzies”.  He left us with a phrase that has stayed with me, and I have applied to my life in many, ways, especially when it comes to knowledge.  He simply said “Repetition creates retention.”

GENIOUS!!!  I was floored!  I mean, that’s it in a nutshell!  What’s the best way to memorize something?  What did you do in Sunday school with the memory verse your teacher gave you?  On the praise team, why do we practice a song over and over and over?  Why has Bro. Shannon has told us time and time again to read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John over and over and over?  You read it, recited it, played it, said it over and over and over!! It’s because of that statement, repetition creates retention. 

The Book of Proverbs is the very same.   It’s a constant, repetitive collection of morals, instructions on how to act right, and the very powerful statement that fear of/submission to God is the beginning of wisdom.  In the I.T. world, it’s likened to a glorious instruction manual of “Product Knowledge.”  I’ll try my best to illustrate how I’ve seen and understood that Repetition Creates Retention in Proverbs 19 and the knowledge that I have found in it.

Proverbs  19: 1,4,6,7,10,17,22

Solomon repeats many times about the rich and the poor,  man’s love for money, gifts, and how the poor are regarded.  I think we’re shown that man is not wise to befriend someone based on what he can do or provide with his money.  So many time’s it’s shown to us over and over that the rich can be regarded highly, respected above all others based on what he has, or the gifts he can give, whether he is worthy of such praise or not.  I love verse 1, “Better is the poor who walks in integrity than one who is perverse in his lips.”   A poor man who walks and speaks the truth, lives with dignity, follows the Lord, lives by his commandments can offer 10 times as much to a man than one who showers with gifts just because he is able.  Giving to the poor without expecting IS giving unto the Lord.  Kindness is desired far beyond riches, and a poor man above a liar (vs22). 

Solomon states in Proverbs 19: 5,9 A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will not escape (NKJV). 

The exact same words for the exact same verses.  To me, I think he had to do that.  He had to be repetitive about bearing a false witness and how fatal the consequences of that are.  We are sometimes like children, even if we don’t like to admit it.  We sometimes have to be told things over and over to gain knowledge about certain things. God knows that, Jesus knows that.   We have to be reminded many times of how destructive a lie can be.  Lying and its consequences is spoken about many times throughout the Bible, and many times in Proverbs.  Proverbs 12:22, Proverbs 13:5, Proverbs 14:5, Proverbs 17:7.

Proverbs 19: 2, 15, 24

Solomon hits lazy on the head here.  We should never be lazy.  We should never set our feet in the sand like concrete.  We should constantly be moving, learning helping, seeking.  I had the great opportunity to go to Discovery Camp one year.  The last year my nephew Chris Sanchez was with us on this earth.  It was a great time.  The kids loved it, the counselors loved it, Jesus loved it.  He loved it because we were all there with one thing in mind, to worship him and to gain more knowledge of the Lord.  I was sitting in a sermon one morning being taught on knowing the scripture.  The man teaching stated something that since then, I’ve quoted many times today.  “I can’t talk to you about something I don’t know, and I can’t take you to somewhere I’ve never been.”  Think about that for a second.  If we are to lead, if we are to evangelize, if we are to teach the lost about Jesus and what he did on the cross, we have to know, in fact, in great detail who he is and what he did.  If we don’t make time to read our word, if we don’t make time to know Jesus, if we don’t move and do the work he has called us to do, we will struggle to further the Kingdom of God.  If we don’t seek knowledge, we won’t find it, we won’t possess it and most assuredly will not be able to use it.

Many more things are discussed and repeated in Proverbs.  I wanted today to share with you from chapter 19 a few subjects that really stood out to me.  I pray that all of you are blessed today and continue to enjoy this wonderful study on Proverbs.  I hope that in my ramblings, maybe you have found a little knowledge, and if you have, repeat it over to yourself until it sticks, because like I stated earlier, Repetition Creates Retention!! God Bless!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  MITCHELL SANCHEZ is the husband of 5 years to Tonya, and Dad to 2.  He works in the I.T. Department at Education First F.C.U.  Mitchell attends Freedom Fellowship in Silsbee, Texas ,where he plays the drums on the Praise Team and serves as Director of the Media Department.