My Stubbornness That Won’t Come Off

[Proverbs 27:20-27]

For several months, I have been struggling a bit with athlete’s foot. I even saw a doctor and got prescribed medicine, and I have been applying the ointment, but this time, the athlete’s foot between the toes of my left foot has lasted quite a while. Then, a few weeks ago, the skin on the outside heel of the same foot cracked, and I thought it was athlete’s foot, so I applied the same medicine. However, my wife saw it and said it was not athlete’s foot but hardened skin (calluses) that had cracked, and that I needed to soak my foot in hot water to remove the dead skin.

So, following my wife’s advice, the next day after exercising, I soaked my foot in hot water and tried to scrub off the dead skin from my left heel while showering, but it didn’t come off easily. I think the dead skin on my heel had hardened a lot because it hadn’t been removed for a long time.

Similarly, I reflect on whether my heart and conscience might also be hardened. I firmly believe that God has not just left my stubborn and hard heart as it is but has given me a “new heart” in Jesus Christ (Ezekiel 36:26). God has removed my “hard heart” and given me a “soft heart” (verse 26). God has taken away my “heart of stone” and given me a “heart tender as flesh” (11:19).

But the problem is that I have been negligent in managing my heart, so a lot of stubbornness has accumulated there. Because of that, I have been disobeying God’s Word and acting foolishly, wasting time instead of acting wisely to make the most of time (Colossians 4:5), thus sinning against God (1 Chronicles 21:8).

Personally, I want to shed the stubbornness that God reveals in me and live wisely with God’s wisdom in this world, but it’s not easy. Just as the dead skin on my heel doesn’t come off easily, I am unable to shed my stubbornness.

In Proverbs 27:22, the Bible says:
“Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.”

What does this mean? When I was a child, I remember seeing women put grain into a mortar and pound it with a pestle. At that time, I didn’t know why they did this. Later, I learned that the reason is to separate the husk from the grain or to grind the grain finely (according to the internet). The purpose of pounding is to separate the grain from the husk. When grain is pounded in a mortar, it separates the kernels from the husks. Then, people sift the grain and blow away the husks to separate the grain (also according to the internet).

But in Proverbs 27:22, the writer says that even if you put a fool in a mortar with grain and pound them with a pestle, their folly will not be removed. This means that the stubbornness of a fool is very difficult to eliminate.

So today, I want to meditate on this passage under the title “My Stubbornness That Won’t Come Off,” focusing on Proverbs 27:20-24. As I do, I will share four types of my stubbornness reflected in the Word, and at the same time, receive four lessons from God’s wisdom.

I hope that you, too, will reflect yourselves in God’s Word like I do, recognize your own stubbornness, and that all of us, in repentance, receive God’s wise teachings and obey them so that we may be built up as wise Christians.

First, my stubbornness is my unsatisfied eyes.

Look at today’s passage, Proverbs 27:20: “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and the eyes of man are never satisfied” [(Contemporary English Version) “Just as death and destruction never satisfy, so the eyes of people never stop wanting more.”]. Friends, what if your eyes could no longer see? What if you and I became visually impaired? I have actually thought about this many times: “What if I became visually impaired….” One of the reasons I’ve had this thought is because when I go from church to buy lunch at a nearby restaurant, I often see people who are visually impaired walking with canes. Maybe it’s because there is an institution for the visually impaired near our church. Every time I see those people, I think about how frustrating it must be not to be able to see. So honestly, when I think about what would happen if I became blind like them, I feel afraid. Another reason is because of the “lust of the eyes.” Look at 1 John 2:16 in the Bible: “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” In this verse, among the things that come from the world is the “lust of the eyes,” which in the Contemporary English Version is translated as “the greed of the eyes.” Because of this greed of the eyes, I sometimes think if I became visually impaired, I would no longer be tempted by the greed of the eyes.

Friends, when you hear “the greed of the eyes” or “lust of the eyes,” who in the Bible comes to your mind? The first person who comes to my mind is Eve, the first woman in Genesis chapter 3. She was deceived by the serpent and looked at the fruit of the tree in the Garden of Eden, thinking it was “good for food, pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom” (verse 6) [“a tree desirable to look at” (Contemporary English Version)]. She shouldn’t have looked at the tree, but she fell for the serpent’s temptation and saw the tree that would give knowledge of good and evil. The tree was pleasing to the eye. Ultimately, she was led by the lust of the eyes and ate the forbidden fruit, then gave it to her husband Adam, who was with her, and he also ate it (verse 6), thereby sinning against God. The second person I think of when I hear “lust of the eyes” is David. The well-known biblical story of David and Bathsheba tells that one evening David got up from his bed and walked on the roof of the palace in Jerusalem, where he saw Bathsheba, a married woman, bathing, and “she was very beautiful to behold” (2 Samuel 11:2). David was led by lust of the eyes, and he sent for Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite (verse 3), and lay with her (verse 4). When she became pregnant (verse 5), David tried to cover it up by calling Uriah back from the battlefield, hoping he would sleep with his wife and think the child was his (verses 6-13). When this plan failed, David eventually wrote a letter to Joab, instructing him to kill Uriah (verses 14-17). The Bible says that David’s actions were “evil in the sight of the LORD” (verse 27).

In the New Testament, Matthew 5:27-28 records Jesus saying: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” [(Contemporary English Version) “The law says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”]. Jesus said that whoever looks at a woman with lustful eyes has already committed adultery in his heart. Friends, can you imagine? If you see a passing woman and think she is very beautiful and look at her with lustful eyes, you have already committed adultery in your heart. I don’t think this only applies to men. If a woman looks lustfully at a handsome man passing by, she has already committed adultery with him in her heart. Once, I thought about why people enter into adulterous relationships, based on Ecclesiastes 7:7. The reason is “greed.” In Exodus 20:17, the tenth commandment in Moses’ Ten Commandments states: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” God commanded, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,” so why do we covet? The cause is the greed inside us. If we have greed inside, we are never satisfied with the embrace of our own wife (Proverbs 5:19). Moreover, if we have greed inside, we begin to desire other women beyond our boundaries. So we are led by the lust of the eyes to look at women who are not our wives. Our ears then begin to listen to things about her. But no matter how many women our eyes see or how much we hear, our eyes are never satisfied. Look at Ecclesiastes 1:8: “All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.” Therefore, Satan tempts us with lust and fleshly desires to cause us to sin (2 Peter 2:18). Satan causes us to sin by making us covet other women.

Friends, the reason we have adulterous relationships is greed. Greed never knows satisfaction (Isaiah 56:11). Therefore, greed makes us not satisfied with our wives (Proverbs 5:19) and causes us to covet our neighbor’s wife (Exodus 20:17). So our hearts must not be directed toward greed (Psalm 119:36). The Bible says, “covetousness is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Therefore, we must reject all greed (Luke 12:15). Pastor Lloyd Jones said in his book “Spiritual Light” about the problem of the eyes: “Your eyes are the problem. When you see something, your heart follows it… If there is something that causes you to be tempted, do not look at it! … Do not let your eyes covet things. Don’t let yourself be distracted from looking straight ahead… Make a covenant with your eyes to look straight ahead. Focus only on God’s direction, holiness, and heaven, and move forward.” Job 31:1 says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” [(Contemporary English Version) “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.”]. We must make a covenant with our eyes. We must vow not to look lustfully at other women or men anymore. And, as we seek God’s grace and help, we must devote ourselves to and practice keeping that vow by not looking lustfully at others. Otherwise, we will keep sinning with lustful eyes (Proverbs 27:20; 1 John 2:16) and committing sexual immorality continuously (2 Peter 2:14).

If our foolishness is our insatiable eyes, we must confess and repent of this foolishness before God. And we must look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). When we do so, we can overcome the insatiable lust of the eyes because simply looking to Jesus will satisfy us.

Secondly, my weakness is that I like to be praised by others.

You’ve probably heard the saying, right? “Praise can make even a whale dance.” There is a book written by a man named Ken Blanchard that became a bestseller, and through this book many people began to pay attention to praise. This is because they realized the power and necessity of praise (Internet). The book tells the story of Wes Kingsley, an executive in a sales company who, while on a business trip to Florida, saw an amazing killer whale show at SeaWorld. Curious about how they trained killer whales weighing over three tons, he sought out the trainer and learned the secret training methods. By applying these methods to his home and company, he achieved harmony in his family and successfully reached his sales goals. In this story, Wes Kingsley learned from Dave, the killer whale trainer, that the relationship with killer whales is no different from human relationships, and the secret to a great show is positive attention, praise, and encouragement toward the other party. Everyone knows that positive attention, praise, and encouragement are important in human relationships (Internet).

No one dislikes being praised. That’s how fundamental it is to human nature. As William James, the founder of modern psychology, said, humans have a deep desire to be recognized by others (Internet). In one survey, when asked “When do you feel happiest at work?” 45% responded “When praised” (Internet). Of course, this applies as long as the praise doesn’t become excessive flattery. Interestingly, even if praise sometimes sounds like flattery to our ears, we don’t usually feel bad but rather quietly enjoy it. Praise makes us feel good to that extent.

Personally, when I think of the word “praise,” two things come to mind. First, I believe I should not be stingy with praise myself. Second, is today’s Bible verse from Proverbs 27:21: “As silver is tested by fire, and gold by melting, so a person is tested by praise.” What does this mean? The crucible and the furnace are tools used to refine silver and gold, and praise is the tool used to refine a person. The Hebrew meaning of “praise” can be interpreted in two ways (Internet): (1) It can be understood as a standard for evaluating a person’s qualities. For example, in 1 Samuel 18:7, when the women of Israel saw King Saul and his men returning from battle, they praised David by saying, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This was a compliment acknowledging David’s superior war skills compared to Saul. Thus, praise is recognition that the praised person’s ability or qualities are excellent. (2) Another possible interpretation of “praise” is that it is a tool for testing a person’s character. That’s why the contemporary Bible translation renders the latter part of Proverbs 27:21 as “Praise reveals character.” In other words, by observing a person’s attitude when they receive praise, you can learn something about their true character. For example, a person who likes to show off will try hard to receive praise. I think continuously praising such a person may not be good for them because when they are starved for praise and seek it eagerly, even a single loving rebuke can deeply hurt and disappoint them, causing them to be tested. We have already reflected on Proverbs 27:2, which says: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” The lesson here is not to praise ourselves excessively.

Look at Proverbs 27:21 again: “As silver is tested by fire, and gold by melting, so a person is tested by praise.” I think the phrase “so a person is tested by praise” is very important. The reason is that I believe humans are very vulnerable to praise. Especially when serving the church, the body of Christ, we feel good and happy when praised by other brothers and sisters, but there is a real risk that because of such praise we might give glory to ourselves instead of God. Also, if we become conditioned by the praise of church members, we might serve to be praised by people rather than to receive praise from the Lord. We should prefer to be praised by the Lord rather than by people. One day, we will all stand before the Lord and give an account, and won’t we want to hear from Him, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 18:23-24; 25:14-30)? What must we do to achieve that? We must be faithful and wise servants (24:45). So, who are faithful and wise servants? I have thought about three things:

(1) We must become sincere people.
We should live as faithful stewards (Luke 12:42), with sincere hearts (2 Peter 3:1) and sincere lips (Proverbs 12:19). Also, we must be faithful servants of the Lord and faithfully keep the responsibilities that the Lord has commanded us until the very end. The Lord praises such people (Joshua 22:3).

(2) We must be those who “go immediately” to use the talents given to us by the Lord and bear fruit.
Look at Matthew 25:16-17: “The one who had received five talents went and traded with them, and made five more talents. Likewise, the one with two talents also gained two more talents.” When I think of “fruit,” I recall what Jesus said in Matthew 7:17-19 about “good fruit.” I have thought about this good fruit in three ways:
(a) Eternal life itself (verse 14). In other words, the beautiful fruit that Jesus’ disciples—both you and I—produce is entering the Kingdom of Heaven (verse 21).
(b) The beautiful fruit that Jesus’ disciples produce is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. See Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Among these fruits of the Spirit, Jesus’ disciples especially bear abundant “fruit of love,” obeying Jesus’ double commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27), thus living the life of the Kingdom.
(c) The beautiful fruit that you and I produce (the good fruit) is good deeds. See Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

(3) We must become those who prepare for the Lord’s second coming like the wise five virgins (Matthew 25:4, 8, 9, 13).
We must be those who respond to Jesus’ words “Surely I am coming soon” with “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Thirdly, my weakness is laziness, not working diligently.

What do you think was a very important possession for nomadic people like the Israelites? Probably their livestock—such as flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Therefore, more than anything else, they diligently cared for and watched over their sheep and cattle. That was their responsibility. So the nomads always kept their livestock in mind and cared for them diligently. A good example is Jacob in Genesis 30. While staying at his uncle Laban’s house to escape his brother Esau, Jacob tended Laban’s flocks (Genesis 30:29). As a result, before Jacob came, Laban’s holdings were small, but after Jacob’s arrival, the livestock flourished and multiplied (verse 30). This was because God blessed Laban, Jacob’s uncle (verse 30).

Look at today’s passage, Proverbs 27:23: “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds” [(Contemporary Bible) “Know thoroughly the condition of your sheep and always keep your heart on your cattle.”] What does it mean? According to Dr. Park Yoon-sun, it means that “a person should not depend on wealth and power to live, but diligently engage in their own business to maintain their livelihood” (Park Yoon-sun). Why did the author of Proverbs say this to the Israelites who commonly worked in herding during his time? Why did he urge them not to depend on wealth or power but to diligently work at their own business to sustain themselves? The reason is found in verse 24: “For riches do not endure forever, nor does a crown last to all generations.” In other words, wealth and fame are not eternal; they come and go. Therefore, the Bible teaches us not to live relying on wealth or fame, but each person should work diligently, sincerely, and earnestly in their own tasks.

When I meditate on this, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 comes to mind: “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” [(Contemporary Bible) “When we were with you, we taught you that anyone unwilling to work should not eat.”] Do you know why the Apostle Paul taught this to the believers in Thessalonica? Because there were some who were lazy and unwilling to work (verse 11). The problem was not only that they did not work at all, but they also caused trouble within the church (verse 11). The reason these people didn’t work and caused trouble was that they held a mistaken eschatology about Jesus’ second coming. In other words, some in the Thessalonian church refused to work because of a distorted belief about the end times and Jesus’ return. So Paul admonished them: “For we hear that some among you walk disorderly, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread” (verses 11-12) [(Contemporary Bible) “But we have heard that some of you are lazy and do not work but go around causing trouble. Therefore, we command and urge such people in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and earn their own living.”].

There are many lessons about laziness in the Proverbs we have already meditated on. One of them is Proverbs 26:15: “The sluggard puts his hand into the dish, and will not even bring it back to his mouth” [(Contemporary Bible) “The lazy person puts their hand in the dish but doesn’t want to bring it to their mouth”].
Another verse is Proverbs 21:25: “The craving of a sluggard will kill him, because his hands refuse to work.” What does this mean? It means that lazy people do not want to work with their hands. Therefore, in Proverbs 13:4, the Bible says, “The sluggard desires and has nothing,” which means that although he desires with his heart, he does not obtain what he wants because his hands are lazy and idle. The lazy person not only does not hunt or catch anything (12:27), but even when putting his hand in the dish, he is reluctant to bring it to his mouth (19:24, 26:15). Isn’t that funny? If you want to eat meat, you have to hunt and catch the animal, but lazy people only desire it in their hearts and don’t actually hunt. Doesn’t that make you laugh? Also, who, when hungry, puts their hand in the dish but complains about bringing it to their mouth? Or should someone feed them with a spoon like a baby? I think this is the height of laziness. Desiring something in the heart but neither hunting nor willing to bring their hand to their mouth — this is truly laziness at its worst. The Bible in Proverbs 19:15 calls such a lazy person “an idle man,” that is, a person who is slothful and idle. In a word, lazy people hate to work with their hands (21:25). As a result, unavoidable poverty comes to them, like a victim overwhelmed by a robber (24:34) (MacArthur).

Friends, if we have such laziness, the lesson from today’s passage Proverbs 27:23 is to cast off this foolishness and work diligently and faithfully. What does a farmer think about when sowing seeds in spring? Surely, the farmer thinks about the harvest in autumn and therefore sows diligently in spring. The farmer sows seeds and works hard in spring because he eagerly expects to reap a harvest of grain (see 2 Timothy 2:6) in the fall (James 5:7). We must have this farmer’s mindset and attitude and diligently do the work entrusted to each of us. We must also work hard like laborers. We must sweat and labor diligently. Do you know what results Proverbs 27:25-27 says will come when we do this? There are three things we can consider:
(1) Look at verse 25: “After the hay is cut, new growth will appear, and the mountains will be covered with new forage.” When we work diligently and earnestly, just as new growth appears after cutting hay, we will also experience new growth (v. 25). Not only that, but just as “the mountains will yield forage,” we will reap the fruits of our labor (v. 25).
(2) Look at verse 26: “The lamb’s wool will be your clothing, and goats will be the price of a field.” Just as “the lamb’s wool becomes our clothing,” if we work diligently, we will have provisions from our work, and just as “the goats are the price of a field,” we can earn money from the fruits of our labor to buy buildings, land, or invest (v. 26).
(3) Look at verse 27: “The milk of the goats will be enough for you, your household, and your female servants’ food.” Just as “the milk of the goats is abundant and feeds all the family,” when we work diligently and diligently, our homes will be full of abundance and prosperity. God provides us with “everything in abundance for all things” so that we may “abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). When we have abundance, we will also be able to give generously to God (v. 11).

Lastly, the fourth point is that my foolishness is loving treasures that are not eternal.

When I think of “treasures,” there are three things I consider important:

(1) I cannot forget Deuteronomy 8:17-18:
“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Korean Revised Version)

Moses had a concern. He worried that when the people of Israel entered the land of Canaan—a land flowing with milk and honey—and lived enjoying abundant blessings, they might forget the God who saved them, the God who led them in the wilderness, and instead think that their wealth was due to their own ability. In other words, Moses feared that the Israelites might say, “I have gained this wealth by my own power and the strength of my hands” (verse 17). Therefore, Moses told the Israelites, “Remember the Lord your God, for He gives you the power to gain wealth” (verse 18). We must believe that God gives us the ability to acquire wealth. We should keep in mind that we do not gain wealth by our own strength or effort. Only when God gives us the ability to gain wealth can we enjoy a prosperous life. Moreover, when we enjoy that prosperity by God's grace, we should long and look forward even more to the true rich nation—the kingdom of heaven. We must never mistake this world as our home just because we enjoy abundance. We should enjoy the blessings God gives in this world while looking forward to a better homeland (verse 16).

(2) When I think of “wealth,” I believe we must not rely on the abundance of possessions. Rather, we must rely on God’s love. The reason is that wealth will all disappear, but God’s love is eternal (Psalm 52:1, 7, 8).

(3) I believe it is better to lose wealth than to lose health (Ecclesiastes 5:13-14), and it is far better to regain spiritual wealth (faith), even at the cost of losing material wealth. If someone loses their faith because of wealth, wouldn’t it be better to repent and return to proper faith life, even if that means losing the wealth?
Look at Proverbs 27:24: “For riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.” (Contemporary Bible: “Wealth does not last forever, and crowns do not continue from generation to generation.”) The Bible says, “Wealth does not last forever” (Contemporary Bible). What does this mean? It means that wealth and fame are temporary and vanish quickly.

We seem to live in an age of confused values. People today often do not know what is truly valuable and important. Even we Christians are confused about values. We fail to discern what holds greater value as we live our faith. Moses in the Bible, growing in faith, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer with God’s people than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach for Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-26). But we tend to value the world’s wealth and fame more than suffering for Christ. We prefer the pleasures of sin rather than suffering with fellow believers. So though our lips proclaim suffering for Jesus and the gospel, our hearts desire worldly success and riches. We prefer the broad roads of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Egypt over the path of Golgotha that the Lord walked. This is confusion of values.

This confused value system sends mixed messages to our children. From their perspective, parents seem to attend church and live faithfully, but what parents say to them often emphasizes worldly success, happiness, and wealth. We can no longer continue like this. We must first adopt biblical, correct values in our own lives and live our faith properly. We must hold eternal values and reject temporary things.

When we look at the Bible, King Solomon is perhaps the one who enjoyed more wealth and fame than anyone else in this world. Yet, in Psalm 127:1, he said: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 2:1–5:1), as someone experienced in temple building, confessed meaningfully that if the Lord does not build the house (referring to the temple), the labor of the builders is useless. Solomon not only built the temple but wisely ruled Israel. He sought wisdom instead of wealth and fame because he wanted to govern God’s people well. Therefore, God gave him not only wisdom but also wealth and honor.

Which would you pray for—“wealth” or “wisdom”? From Proverbs 8:10-11, which we have meditated on, we learn that God’s wisdom is far better than gold, silver, or pearls. In other words, when we hear God’s voice of wisdom and receive His instruction and knowledge, we also gain the ability to earn wealth, so God’s wisdom is more valuable than wealth itself. Look at Proverbs 8:18-19: “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver.” What does this mean? Solomon says that those with wisdom have riches and honor.

We must love wisdom and earnestly seek it. Proverbs 8:17 says: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Solomon encourages you and me to become “those who love me” (verse 21), that is, those who love wisdom. Why? Because when we love wisdom, we put on the love of wisdom. What does it mean to “put on the love of wisdom”? It means that just as Solomon asked for wisdom pleasing to God’s heart, and God gave him wealth and honor he did not ask for, so when we love wisdom, wisdom will give us all these blessings. Therefore, Solomon encourages us to seek wisdom earnestly.

We must no longer foolishly love wealth that is not eternal. Wealth will all vanish. We should “not put our hope in wealth that is so uncertain, but put our hope in God” because “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17, Contemporary Bible).