We must not do this.

[Proverbs 30:10-17]

So, what kind of person should we be?
Once, I wrote an article titled “We shouldn’t become this kind of person…” that said:
“A person who misunderstands too quickly instead of trying to understand,
a person who is quick to criticize rather than genuinely praise,
a person who gets angry too easily instead of patiently enduring,
a person who is more eager to assert their own opinion than to listen to others—
we shouldn’t become this kind of person... sigh.”

Then, what kind of person should we really become?
Today, focusing on Proverbs 30:10-17, I want to meditate on seven things we should not do as Christians and learn the lessons the passage gives us.

First, we must not slander (or speak ill of) others.

Look at Proverbs 30:10:
“Do not curse a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will be held guilty.”
[(Contemporary Bible) “Do not criticize a servant to his master, or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.”]

I read an internet article titled “How to Deal with Talkative ‘Chatty Coworkers’” and found it interesting.
According to the article, one major source of conflict in many workplaces is “the constant chatter of coworkers who overshare their private lives.”
A survey of 514 professional and corporate workers found that 3 out of 5 employees said they have at least one coworker who overshares personal matters at least once a week.
These talkative coworkers often disrupt others’ work and pose risks not only to their own careers but also to those of their colleagues.

If you have such a talkative coworker around you at work, and that coworker goes to your boss and talks badly about you, what do you think would happen?
If that coworker mocks and criticizes you to your boss, how would that affect your relationship with your boss?
Especially if your financial situation is already difficult and you really need to keep your job, how would you feel if your boss starts to view you negatively because of that coworker’s complaints?
What if your boss hears these slanders through your coworker and ends up firing you, leaving you unable to work and financially strained—what would you do to that coworker?

Looking again at Proverbs 30:10, the Bible clearly says, “Do not curse a servant to his master…”
In other words, “Do not criticize a servant to his master” (verse 10, Contemporary Bible).
If a servant is serving his master and someone goes to the master to speak ill of the servant, what happens to the servant?
He suffers disadvantage from his master.
Especially if the slander is false (a false accusation), but the master believes it and looks at the servant suspiciously or negatively, how would the servant feel?

Dr. Park Yoon Sun said:
“Anyone who slanders a servant before his master commits an evil act that cuts off the master’s love for him.
A servant’s livelihood depends on his master, and if the master hates him, he becomes miserable.
Therefore, whoever slanders him before his master not only commits the sin of slander but also the cruel sin of trampling the weak.”

Look at Deuteronomy 23:15, where God says:
“If a servant runs away from his master and comes to you, do not return him to his master.”
[(Contemporary Bible) “If any servant runs away from his master, do not force him to return.”]

The reason the servant fled is because his master was unjust.
Therefore, if the servant flees to you, you should not force him to return.
God gave this instruction to the Israelites through Moses because the just God cares about servants who suffer unjust treatment from their masters.

But contrary to God’s heart, what does a servant do to a person who slanders him before his master?
Look at the second half of Proverbs 30:10:
“He will curse you, and you will be held guilty.”
[(Contemporary Bible) “Otherwise, he will curse you, and you will pay dearly for it.”]

The servant not only curses the person who falsely slanders him to his master but can also make that person pay the price.
And that price will be costly.
In other words, the price of falsely slandering a servant before his master can be very great.

Therefore, the Bible says,
“Do not curse a servant before his master.”
[(Contemporary Bible) “Do not criticize a servant before his master.”]
(Proverbs 30:10)

These days, through social media (SNS), we see countless comments that slander many people, including famous celebrities. Because of those slanderous comments, those celebrities seem to suffer extreme stress and even depression.
What I still remember is reading a news report on the internet about a famous celebrity who took strong legal action by submitting a criminal complaint to the Cyber Investigation Team at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul. This was regarding malicious spreading of false information, personal attacks, sexual harassment, and defamatory posts/comments related to themselves on online SNS.
It seems that we have entered an era where every single word in an online comment can either kill or save a person.

On the Blue House (the Korean presidential office) website, someone wrote:
“They drive people to suicide with their criticisms and slanders. They are truly murderers with words.”

Living in such a time, I think we should be even more careful with our speech.
Especially, we must be cautious when talking about others (I say this to myself because I do not always do well).
Above all, we should not criticize, blame, or slander others.

Romans 14:4 in the Bible says:
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, they stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.”
[(Contemporary English Version) “Who can judge someone else’s servant? Whether they stand or fall is up to their own master. God can make them stand.”]

The Bible tells us not to judge or criticize other people’s servants (or followers).

Romans 2:1 says:
“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Also, James 4:11 says:
“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.”
[(Contemporary English Version) “Brothers and sisters, don’t tear each other down. If you do, you’re criticizing and judging the law. If you judge the law, you’re not obeying it, but acting as a judge over it.”]

Whether they are coworkers, brothers or sisters in the church, or even family members, we should not judge or slander others (Proverbs 30:10).
If we do, we will be cursed and pay a heavy price (verse 10).

Secondly, we must not curse others.

Look at Proverbs 30:11:
“There are those who curse their father and do not bless their mother.”
[(Contemporary English Version) “There are people who curse their father but do not bless their mother.”]

I think the era we live in is no longer one of honoring parents.
It seems we no longer live in a time when children are dutiful and obedient to their parents.
My biblical basis for this belief is 2 Timothy 3:1-2:
“Know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.”
[(Contemporary English Version) “Don’t forget that in the last days there will be hard times. People will be selfish, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disrespectful to God, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and not holy.”]

We are living in those difficult last days.
One sign of these times is disobedience to parents.
This generation does not obey their parents.
Not only do they disobey, but some even curse their parents.

Proverbs 30:11 says there are people who curse their father and do not bless their mother (Contemporary English Version).
In reality, aren’t there many children today who curse their fathers?
Among people I know, some have very bad relationships with their fathers.
Some have even cut ties with their fathers because they were deeply hurt by them.
There are many cases where father-child relationships are very bad.
What about the relationship with the mother? Generally, it seems better than with the father.
However, I wonder if these people truly bless their mothers as the verse suggests.

An interesting point in Proverbs 30:11 is that the author Agur uses both the words “curse” and “bless.”
Why does Agur not say “there are people who curse their parents,” but rather “there are those who curse their father and do not bless their mother”?
I think the author’s intention is to show that parents should be the object of blessing, not cursing.
Therefore, the lesson is that we should bless our parents, not curse them.

Leviticus 20:9 says:
“Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. Because they have cursed their father or mother, their blood will be on their own head.”
[(Contemporary English Version) “Whoever curses their father or mother must be put to death. They have cursed the parents who gave them life and must die.”]

Matthew 15:4 (Contemporary English Version) says:
“God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses their parents must be put to death.’”
(See also Mark 7:10.)

Thus, the Bible teaches that cursing parents is a capital sin.
God wants us to honor and bless our parents in the name of Jesus.

Everyone, mainly we know that parents should bless their children. For example, there is a book titled “Bless Your Children Once a Day,” and we parents think it is good (valuable) to bless our children once a day. However, perhaps we haven’t really thought much about the idea that children should also bless their parents once a day. The Bible says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14). If that is so, should we curse our parents who love us instead of blessing them? As Luke 6:28 says, “Bless those who curse you,” even if our parents curse us, we should bless our parents.

Thirdly, we should not regard ourselves as clean.

Once, while I was exercising at Y, a woman was talking to a man loudly enough for me, who was nearby, to hear. I listened, and I was bothered by how much she cursed using the “F…” word during the conversation. At that time, I thought to myself, “How can she talk like that?” and I thought, “That woman’s mouth is ugly.” A few days later, while browsing internet news, I read an article about a famous, devout Christian NBA player who used the “F…” word during last year’s Western Conference Finals, but received forgiveness from his mother. After that, I shared that internet news article on my Facebook page for pastors, assistant pastors, evangelists, and pastors’ wives, along with a post saying, “We should not curse even in our hearts.”

But actually, just like those who don’t believe in Jesus, even we Christians who say we believe in Jesus use not only the “F…” curse but other curses as well, so I think our hearts and lips need purification. Of course, this is only about cursing, but it doesn’t mean we only curse and don’t commit other sins.

In a Bible study guide from a Korean church titled “5 Principles You Must Teach New Members,” I read the following and want to share it with you:
“… We commit many sins in our hearts. The Bible says that even just having lustful thoughts is adultery, and even hating a brother is like murder. Then how adulterous, murderous, filthy, and ugly sinners are we?” (Internet)

Therefore, often we pray to the holy God, referring to ourselves as “this filthy and ugly sinner.” If you have never confessed (admitted) yourself as “this filthy and ugly sinner” in prayer to God, you may have heard others pray like that. Why do we pray to God in that way?

Look at Proverbs 30:12: “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filth.” [(Contemporary English Version) “There are people who think they are clean but don’t wash their dirt away.”]

Who do you think are those people who consider themselves pure? When you think of “people who consider themselves pure but do not wash away their filth,” who comes to mind? Don’t you think of the Pharisees who considered themselves righteous?

In Proverbs 30:12, those who “consider themselves pure” refers to those who, like the Pharisees, consider themselves righteous. According to Park Yoon Sun, these people have four characteristics:
(1) Those who consider themselves righteous focus on external religious rituals but neglect the state of their hearts (Matt 23:25-27),
(2) Those who consider themselves righteous boast as if their whole character is perfect because of one or two good deeds (Luke 18:12),
(3) Those who consider themselves righteous look down on others as inferior and discriminate (verse 11),
(4) Those who consider themselves righteous become arrogant because they think they are right and therefore do not fully trust Christ who atones for sins.

What do you think about these four characteristics?

The Pharisees, who were religious leaders at the time of Jesus, pursued “self-righteousness.” Here, “self-righteousness” means relying on one’s own religious deeds to stand before God. This is “righteousness based on works of the law.” This “self-righteousness” or “legalistic righteousness” can never justify a person before God (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16).

Why? Because a person is justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law. Therefore, those who believe in Jesus and are justified consider their own righteousness as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The “righteousness” that Jesus spoke of is “the righteousness of God” (Rom 3:21-22).

“The righteousness of God” is the righteousness based on the redemption by Jesus Christ. God forgave all our sins and freed us from sin by the blood of Jesus (Acts 13:38). Therefore, by the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross, we receive forgiveness of sins, and by His resurrection, we are justified (Rom 4:25), trusting only in the righteousness imputed to us by Jesus (3:22).

We must not rely on our own righteousness. We must rely only on God’s righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus. Even though our innate selfishness continually makes us boast in ourselves and leads us to self-idolatry, we must worship only the Lord, boast in Him, and live a life of altruistic love and service like Him.

Why? Because Jesus was crucified and died for all our filthy and ugly sins, and He rose again on the third day to justify us (Rom 4:25).

Fourthly, we must not be arrogant.

Look at today’s passage, Proverbs 30:13, from the Contemporary Bible: “There is a man whose eyes are too lofty, and a proud man” (or “There is a group whose eyes are raised very high, whose eyelids are lifted up”). Friends, don’t we all have a desire inside us to be honored before others? When I think about this instinct within us, I am reminded of King Saul from the Bible. Of course, when we think of “King Saul,” we usually remember the famous Bible verse, “Obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). But if we look again at this verse in its biblical context, King Saul was commanded to utterly destroy Amalek and all their possessions in the war against them (verse 3), but he disobeyed God’s command. The reason he disobeyed God’s word was pride.

How do we know this? When King Saul was reproved by the prophet Samuel, instead of truly repenting of his sin, he asked Samuel: “I have sinned. But please return with me, so that I may worship the LORD your God, and at least be honored before the leaders of my people and all Israel” (verse 30, Contemporary Bible). How could Saul ask Samuel to at least honor him before the leaders and all the people of Israel even after sinning against God and being reproved?

I believe the reason is that Saul, who had once been humble enough to regard himself as insignificant (verse 17), had become corrupted into a proud man. And I think there are at least two causes for this corruption:

(1) The reason for the change from humility to pride is acting not by faith but by what is seen.

Many times, instead of acting by faith, we act based on what we see with our physical eyes. Especially when we face urgent situations, we are often swept up in the urgency of the situation and led by circumstances rather than acting by faith. Saul did that. In 1 Samuel 13:6 onward, when many Philistines, as numerous as the sand on the seashore, camped at Michmash (verse 5), the Israelites saw their critical situation and all were afraid and trembling (verse 7), scattering away from Saul and hiding here and there (verse 6). Seeing the Israelites scatter before him and the numerous Philistines gathered at Michmash (verse 11), Saul did not obey God’s command to him (verses 13-14). Instead of waiting for Samuel to come, he personally offered burnt and peace offerings to God (verses 9-10, 12). Saul sinned by performing the sacrifices himself, which only the priests were authorized to do. This was Saul’s lack of faith and pride, disregarding the holy laws of sacrifice (Park Yoon-Sun).

(2) The reason for the change from humility to pride is seeing one’s own glory rather than God’s glory.

We often steal God’s glory. Especially in situations where we deserve to receive glory, we often do not give glory to God but instead give glory to ourselves. Saul did this. He did not give glory to God. When he won the war against Amalek, instead of giving glory to God, he set up a monument for himself (1 Samuel 15:12). How could he erect a monument for himself? Shouldn’t Saul have built an altar for God after winning the war? (See 14:35) Why did he act so foolishly? The reason was that pride was already in Saul’s heart. So he gave glory to himself rather than to God. What is surprising is that even though Saul disobeyed God’s command, God allowed him to be victorious in the war; nevertheless, Saul did not give glory to God but to himself.

Looking at today’s passage in Proverbs 30:13 in the Contemporary Bible, the Bible says: “There is a man whose eyes are too lofty, and a proud man.” Here, “eyes too lofty” means “proud eyes” (6:17) or “a proud heart” (21:4). Such a proud man with lofty eyes is exactly the prosperous wicked people described by Asaph, the psalmist, in Psalm 73:3 (the “well-off wicked” in the Contemporary Bible). They wear pride like a necklace (verse 6), their eyes swell with arrogance (verse 7), and they speak arrogantly from high places (verse 8). How arrogantly do they speak? They “speak arrogantly with their mouths against the God of heaven” (verse 9). They say, “How can God know? The Most High cannot see everything that happens on earth” (verse 11). As we have already meditated on Proverbs 29:8 (first part), the Bible says, “When a proud man stirs up strife, even the city is disturbed…” Here, “proud man” refers to the arrogant and angry person. And such an angry and proud person fans the flames of conflict, disturbing the city (MacArthur).

When I think about my own pride, how do I know that pride exists in me? It is when I do not listen to the advice of mature believers who love me and when I dislike their reproof. Furthermore, my pride even causes me to dislike those who lovingly rebuke me. My pride makes me despise and reject the teaching and reproof of truth. And that pride causes me to too quickly listen to the foolish and tempting voices of the world. I should listen to the voice of wisdom. That is why the Bible says, “Do not rebuke a scoffer, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (9:8).

Friends, pride is hated by God (Proverbs 6:16). Therefore, the Bible says God does not tolerate the proud in eyes and heart (Psalm 101:5). The Bible also says God will humble proud eyes (Proverbs 18:27). We must be humble. We must imitate the humility of Jesus. Just as He humbled Himself, came down to this earth, and served rather than being served, we also must humbly lower ourselves and live lives of service.

Fifth, we must not exploit others’ belongings to pursue only our own profit. 

Have you ever heard the term “exploitation by Gap”? One phrase we often hear in Korean news is “Gapjil” (갑질). This word comes from Korean contracts, where the contract always starts by naming the parties as Gap (甲) and Eul (乙). These characters simply represent the contracting parties. Usually, Gap is the party giving the contract, and Eul is the party receiving it. Therefore, Gap generally holds more power. Because of this, contracts are often written in favor of Gap, and even if Gap makes unfair demands, Eul has no choice but to comply. This kind of tyrannical behavior by Gap is called “Gapjil,” meaning acting arrogantly like Gap (from the internet). One form of such arrogant behavior by Gap toward Eul is exploitation. Exploitation by Gap occurs when a person in Gap’s position infringes on the rights of someone in Eul’s position and exploits their labor or the share that should be distributed to them (internet). Gap exploits many Eul, including labor exploitation, by not paying them fully the promised money, thereby even exploiting money from weaker Eul.

In the Bible, “exploitation by Gap” can be seen in Psalm 73:6, which says, “Violence covers their clothing.” This means that all the actions and expressions of the wicked are nothing but violent oppression and exploitation of others (Park Yoon-sun). But exploitation was not only done by the wicked; in Nehemiah 5:7-9, we see that Judah’s leaders also exploited their own people: “So I rebuked the nobles and officials and said to them, ‘You are exacting interest from your own people!’ Then I called a large assembly to deal with them, and I said, ‘We, as far as possible, have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, including your own relatives!’ They were silent and could not find a word to say. Then I said, ‘What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you fear God? You must stop this usury! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, and also the interest you are charging them.’ Then they said, ‘We will give it back and will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.’” (Contemporary Bible). Nehemiah pointed out that the trials worsened because the leaders exploited the people unjustly. He also pointed out the lack of brotherly spirit where some took advantage of the difficult times to lend money and make the children of those who couldn’t repay into slaves. He also noted that foreigners were watching, and if they lived like this, wouldn’t it hide the glory of God? “In other words, all these problems happened because they had no fear of God and did not reverence Him” (Lee Dongwon).

Look at Proverbs 30:14 in the Contemporary Bible today: “There are those who cruelly exploit the poor and needy and pursue only their own gain.” [(Revised Version) “Their teeth are swords, their fangs are knives, to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among mankind.”] The metaphor of “teeth like swords and fangs like knives” is a poetic expression describing cruelty (Park Yoon-sun). It refers to the cruelty of those who exploit the poor and needy. Such people are greedy and do not pity the poor, cruelly exploiting them to pursue only their own profit. A good biblical example is King Ahab of Israel. In 1 Kings 21, King Ahab coveted the vineyard of Naboth, a loyal citizen, and eventually had Naboth, who was innocent, killed. Another example is from the time of the prophet Isaiah when Israel’s shepherds (leaders) pursued only their own interests to fill their own bellies with greed. Isaiah 56:11 (Contemporary Bible) says: “They are greedy dogs that never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, seeking their own gain by every means.” The Israelite shepherds drank wine and strong drink, pursued pleasure, and lived for today and tomorrow. They liked ease (verse 10) and were greedy (verse 11). Yet, they were unawakened and lived selfishly (verse 11). They only cared about themselves, got drunk, and indulged in pleasure (verses 11-12).

We must not live a life that only looks out for ourselves and pursues only our own benefit. The reason is that, as 1 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Love does not seek its own benefit.” Rather, we should seek the benefit of our neighbors. The reason is that Jesus commanded, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). The Apostle Paul loved his neighbors according to this command. He sought the benefit of the believers in the Ephesian church. Before the elders of the Ephesian church, Paul gave his final farewell sermon, and during the three years he served the brothers and sisters there, he taught them openly, both in public and in private homes, whatever was beneficial to them (Acts 20:20). What he taught openly and fearlessly for their benefit was “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 21). This was the mission of the Apostle Paul. The mission given to him by the Lord Jesus was to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Paul counted even his life as nothing in order to complete this work (verse 24). Paul also loved the believers in the Corinthian church. According to 2 Corinthians 11:9, when he was with the believers in Corinth and lacked financial support, he did not burden anyone. He was careful not to cause trouble for them in any way (verse 9). Despite this, Paul was misunderstood. Some among the Corinthian believers slyly accused Paul of exploiting them (1 Corinthians 12:16, Contemporary Bible). How do you think Paul felt then? He loved the Corinthian believers and was careful not to burden them, yet some slyly accused him of exploitation. How must Paul’s heart have felt? The first verse of hymn 212, “When Serving the Lord Humbly,” comes to mind: “When serving the Lord humbly, many hardships come, but Savior, give me strength to endure well.” May we serve our neighbors humbly with love by the strength the Lord gives, seeking the benefit of our neighbors rather than our own.

Sixth, we must not be dissatisfied. We must beware of greed.

Friends, our hearts cannot be fully satisfied with any love in this world. Our hearts can only be completely satisfied by the Lord’s eternal love. Look at Psalm 90:14: “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” [(Contemporary English Version) “Satisfy us each morning with your constant love, so we can sing with joy and gladness all our lives”]. The reason is that God has given us a heart that longs for eternity. Look at Ecclesiastes 3:11: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end” [(Contemporary English Version) “God makes everything beautiful in its time. He has planted a longing for eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end”]. Our heart that longs for eternity can only find satisfaction in the Lord’s eternal love. Our satisfaction comes only from God: “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). Satisfaction that comes from ourselves is never complete. Therefore, we will become dissatisfied again. And such dissatisfaction pursues worthless things (Ecclesiastes 5:10-11).

Look at today’s text, Proverbs 30:15-16: “The leech has two daughters: Give! Give! There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’—the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’” [(Contemporary English Version) “There are four things that never say ‘Enough!’—the grave, the barren womb, dry land thirsty for rain, and fire that never says ‘Enough!’”]. Here, the “leech,” the leech’s “two daughters,” Sheol (the grave), the barren womb, land, and fire are all things that never know satisfaction. That is why the Bible repeats three times that these things “never say, ‘Enough!’” In short, the point the writer of Proverbs is making is about greed that never knows satisfaction but always asks for more (Yoon Sun Park). For example, the “leech” is a ringed worm about 3–4 cm long, which has suckers on both ends of its body and attaches to the flesh of other animals to suck blood, often until very full (internet). This leech has two daughters named “Give! Give!” indicating they constantly suck blood and are never satisfied (Believer’s Bible Commentary). Dr. Yoon Sun Park explains that “Sheol” swallows the dead and is never full, the “barren womb” always wants to conceive, “land” absorbs all the water poured onto it, and “fire” keeps burning more as more fuel is added. These, like the leech and its daughters, are all unsatisfiable things, teaching us to be very cautious of the dissatisfaction caused by greed.

Beyond this, Ezekiel 16:28-29 also mentions something else that never knows satisfaction: “You were unrestrained in your lust, and you engaged in harlotry with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; then you became infamous because of your lust, and you also played the harlot with the Babylonians, who are famous for their wealth” [(Contemporary English Version) “You lusted after the Assyrians and became promiscuous with them. You were not satisfied, so you increased your promiscuity with the Babylonians, who are famous for their wealth”]. Besides insatiable lust, the Bible says the eyes of humans have no satisfaction (Proverbs 27:20). In other words, the desire of the eyes is never satisfied. Our eyes are full of lust and constantly sin (2 Peter 2:14). That is why Pastor Lloyd-Jones said in his book Spiritual Enlightenment, focusing on Job 31:1 (“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”), “Your eyes are the problem. When you see something, your heart follows it. ... If something tempts you, do not look at it! ... Do not let your eyes crave things. Keep your gaze straight ahead. ... Make a covenant with your eyes to look straight ahead. Look only in the direction God points—toward holiness and heaven.” Friends, if there is greed in our hearts, that greed cannot be satisfied. Human greed knows no satisfaction. Like the sea that is never full even though water continually flows into it (Ecclesiastes 1:7), human greed seems endless. Trying to satisfy this endless greed, people pursue various things in this vain world but ultimately do not find satisfaction. Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes, indulged in everything his eyes desired and everything his heart wished for (Ecclesiastes 2:10). He enjoyed all he saw and desired, believing it was his reward for all his labor (2:10). Yet he confessed, “Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun” (2:11).

If we have greed within us, we will sin by complaining and grumbling in dissatisfaction like the Israelites during the Exodus. Dissatisfaction makes us complain. Why are we dissatisfied and complaining? The cause is greed. Greed is scary and very dangerous. Moreover, greed is harmful to us. The reason we fall into foolish and harmful greed is that we lack contentment, the heart that knows what we already have is enough. We also only intellectually know, but not in our hearts, the truth that we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it. Therefore, those with much greed love money and try to become rich through covetousness (1 Timothy 6:6-10). In this process, they cause quarrels with others (Proverbs 28:25). Friends, we must live satisfied with only the Lord. The benefit and meaning of life is to walk the path of salvation by faith in Jesus and to live satisfied with only Him. Only Jesus can satisfy our souls as we live a fleeting life like a shadow. This is because our souls long for eternity, and only the eternal Jesus can satisfy our souls.

Lastly, the seventh point: we must not mock or despise our parents. We must obey our parents.

I read an article on the internet titled "6 Regrets People Have When They See Their Aging Parents' Faces": (1) Saying hurtful words to parents, (2) Indifference toward parents, (3) Failing to properly express affection, (4) Not spending enough time together, (5) Not providing financial support, and (6) Not taking care of parents’ health in advance. Our parents are growing older, and we see them suffer from illnesses. Yet even so, we see our parents caring for and loving each other. Sometimes, when we see our father or mother at the crossroads of life and death, we children feel remorse and even shed tears. Still, we struggle with the realities we must face. When we have to let go of our beloved parents, can we really avoid regret?

Look at Proverbs 30:17 in today’s passage: “The eye that mocks a father, and scorns to obey a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, and eaten by the young vultures.” [(Modern Korean Bible) "The eyes of one who mocks their father and despises their mother will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the young vultures.”] What does it mean for a child to mock their father? According to Naver Dictionary, the meaning of "to mock" is to ridicule or look down on someone with laughter. The original Hebrew meaning refers to laughing at or mocking someone to belittle them (DBL Hebrew). An example is Proverbs 17:5, which says “He who mocks the poor reproaches their Maker.” The Bible says that mocking the poor is despising the Lord who made them (verse 5). So how can a child mock their father? Certainly, a child can mock their father by speaking disparagingly of him. In other words, a child can mock their father by making statements that diminish his value.

But I think mocking is not only done with words. The reason I think so is Isaiah 37:22: “The Lord said about him: ‘The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and mocked you; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.’” This verse is God’s prophecy through Isaiah that the people of Judah would despise and mock the Assyrian king. The latter half, "... the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you," suggests that a child can mock their father by shaking their head. For example, if a father is speaking to a child and the child turns their back and shakes their head while walking away, how disrespectful and contemptuous a nonverbal act is that?

Then why do children mock their fathers like this? Because they do not honor their fathers. The Bible clearly commands to “Honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 19:19; Ephesians 6:1-2). Children who mock their fathers are ignoring this command, thus disrespecting, despising, and mocking their fathers. More specifically, foolish children who mock their fathers do so because they do not fear God (Leviticus 19:32) and therefore do not honor their fathers. Foolish children do not fear God, so they do not fear their earthly fathers, and thus they despise and mock their fathers (See Proverbs 1:6).

Why then do children hate to obey their mothers? Why do they despise their mothers? Of course, the reason is pride. When we are proud, we do not obey God’s word and despise it; therefore, we despise our mothers and hate to obey them. Moreover, if children are not wise (Prov 11:12) or foolish (Prov 23:9), they despise and disregard their mothers and hate to obey their words. Such proud and foolish children do not fear or respect God’s word (13:13), so they disobey their mothers instead of honoring and obeying them. The Bible says there is certain retribution for children who hate to obey and mock and despise their parents.

What is that retribution? Look again at Proverbs 30:17: “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the young vultures.” Can you imagine it? Can you imagine birds in the air feeding on dead bodies? Especially when ravens or vultures fly and discover a dead corpse, they come down, stand on the corpse, and peck at the flesh. Thinking of that scene, we realize how fearful the end is for children who do not honor or obey their parents but instead despise, mock, and disrespect them through disobedience.

The Bible in Proverbs 23:22 says to us: “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old” (Modern Korean Bible). We must not despise, mock, or look down on our parents. Rather, we must honor and obey them. This is God’s command (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 19:19; Mark 10:19; Ephesians 6:2). By obeying this command, may we please God our Father and also bring joy to our parents.

In closing, as Christians who believe in Jesus, we must clearly know what we should and should not do. Centered on Proverbs 30:10-17, we learned seven things we must not do: (1) We must not slander (10), (2) We must not curse (11), (3) We must not consider ourselves pure (12), (4) We must not be arrogant (13), (5) We must not exploit others for selfish gain (14), (6) We must not be dissatisfied but guard against greed (15-16), and (7) We must not mock or despise our parents but obey them (17). May you and I obey this Word.