Bitterness and joy in our hearts
[Proverbs 14:10-35]
Is your heart happy or bitter now? If your heart is bitter, why is your bitter? If your heart is happy, why is your heart happy? I remember the saying, ‘If you share sadness, it will be cut in half, and if you share joy, it will multiply.’ But are we really good at sharing the sadness or joy that each of us experiences with our loved ones around us? I think we share our joy with others, but for some reason we are not sharing our own sadness with them. I think one of the reasons is because we think that the other people don't fully understand our sad heart even though we share with them. And personally, I think this reason is reasonable. I think no one fully understands the sadness that each of us is going through. It is not only sadness but also joy. I don’t think anyone can fully understand the sadness or joy in our hearts. Even if our wives or husbands, who are one body with us, don’t fully understand, I think that the members of the church who have become one body in the Lord cannot fully understand the sadness or joy in our hearts. Nevertheless, in Romans 12:15, the Bible tells us, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” What is the reason? When I thought about the reason, Hebrews 4:15 came into my mind: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” I think it is because God wants us, the members of His church, to sympathize with each other like Jesus, the High Priest. Therefore, the church needs to be established as a community that rejoices and mourns together.
In Proverbs 14:10, the Bible says: “The heart knows its own bitterness, And a stranger does not share its joy.” Focusing on this verse, I would like to receive a lesson from God while thinking about two things under the heading “Bitterness and joy in our hearts.”
The first thing I want to think about is ‘Bitterness in our hearts’ in 8 ways:
First, there is bitterness in our hearts when our house is destroyed.
Look at Proverbs 14:11a – “The house of the wicked will be destroyed ….” The term “house” here also means family members, according to one commentary. But it can also mean possessions (Walvoord). If this interpretation is correct, then the house of the wicked man, his family members and possessions, will be destroyed. Although living on this earth it seems to us, the Christians, that the wicked man is doing well, it is temporary (Ref.: Ps. 73). Therefore, we must not forget that the house of the wicked man may seem temporarily prosperous but will eventually perish. What is the reason? It is because of the sins of the wicked. The holy and just God will destroy the wicked man’s house for his sins.
I have applied this to us (the righteous Christians). And I think that our house will also be destroyed if we had unrepentant sins, and if we didn’t receive forgiveness from God. The problem is our sins. If we don’t repent our sins, our house is bound to suffer. One of the sufferings is that our life becomes difficult. Look at Proverbs 14:34b – “… But sin is a disgrace to any people.” What does it mean? Here, the word “a disgrace” refers to lack or hardship. In other words, it means that if the people are guilty of a lot of sin, their life will be difficult (Park). Of course, this tells us that the people of a country suffer from sins. But I think this principle can be applied equally to our house. If our families are also guilty, our lives will inevitably suffer. Another suffering our families can suffer from sin is that we can be ashamed. Look at verse 35b – “… But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.” This word also refers to the country’s officials who dishonor the country. When we apply this to our families, if there are many sins in our families, not only our lives will be difficult, but our family may be ashamed. For example, not only can children scorn their parents and shame their families because they commit a lot of sin as they go crooked, but the parents also can even curse their children and bring great shame to the family because the commit a lot of sin. When it comes to such a family, we say it is a broken family. If our house is becoming the broken family because of many sins, there must be bitterness in our hearts. What should we do? We must repent our sins as we trust in the blood of Jesus' on the cross by confessing our sins and the sins of our households to God. Then God will forgive our sins and the sins of our household and cover all our sins. As a result, God will bring joy to our hearts by turning away the bitterness in our hearts.
Second, there is bitterness in our hearts when we walk on a way that seems right to us and not to God.
Look at Proverbs 14:12 – “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” This word is repeated in Proverbs 16:25. King Solomon said, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death”. When I apply this this word to King Solomon, I think that the way he took right in his own eyes was that he “loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh” (1 Kgs. 11:1) and associated with them (v. 2). Obviously, God told the Israelites that if they associate with the Gentiles because they would surely turn the hearts of the Israelites away after their gods (v. 2). But King Solomon disobeyed His command and associated and love many foreign women because it seemed right to him (v. 2). What was the result? Look at 1 Kings 11:4 – “For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” Eventually, King Solomon, who was so wise, also sinned against God by worshiping idols at old age. Although God appeared to him twice and had commanded him that “he should not go after other gods”, he didn’t observe what the Lord had commanded (vv. 9-10). I think since it seemed to him that it was right for him to do so, he didn't realize that he had chosen the way of death.
In Proverbs 15:25, the Bible says that “The Lord will tear down the house of the proud.” God tore the kingdom of Israel in two in the days of Rehoboham, the son of the proud King Solomon, who had sinned by ignoring God's warning word and violating God's command. When I think about the fact that the Israel nation was divided into two, I remember what Jesus said in Mark 3:24-26: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!” If our family disputes themselves, then our house cannot stand firm. If there is a conflict in our family, then the whole family members will suffer from heartache. Even King Solomon, who was said to have been the wisest in the world, ignored God's word and thought that he was right in his eyes, and realized that the way he chose was the way to death in the end, and said to us, “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12), then how should we accept this word? At least, even if it seems right way in our eyes, we should check and check whether the way that seems right in our eyes is the right way in the eyes of God by looking at God's word again. In the midst of reflection and self-examination, when God's word makes us realize that the way that seems right in our eyes isn’t the way that is right in the eyes of God, we must turn away from that way. In doing so, God will bring joy to our hearts by turning away the bitterness in our hearts.
Third, there is bitterness in our hearts when we seek the joy of this world.
Look at Proverbs 14:13 – “Even in laughter the heart may be in pain, And the end of joy may be grief.” This word indicates that the joy of this world isn’t pure and long. It means that after the joy of this world, that is, the joy of the flesh, comes with sadness (Park). Look at King Solomon. Didn't it seem right to him that he had many foreign women as wives or concubines, so he kept them next to him, and eventually did commit the sin of serving their idols when he was old? How much would he laugh and rejoice when he initially had so many foreign women as wives or concubines? But later, when I think about how grief and sadness King Solomon must have been because of them, I cannot but agree with the saying that the joys of this world's flesh must be followed by sadness. Even if I look back on my own past life, I can't help but agree with verse 13. In this world, I pursued the meaning of life, happiness, and joy, but in the end what this world gave me was sadness and tears. In particular, I remember feeling more painfully when my two friends with whom I had been hanging out were shot and killed, and that what this world can give me is sadness and tears.
If we look at Proverbs 14:16, the Bible says, “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless.” The Bible tells us that fools don't have the wisdom to fear God, so they believe in themselves and commit sins in this world. Therefore, verse 17 says that he is quick to anger while living a prodigal life to pursue the pleasures of this world and to do many foolish things. Not only that, but the fool exalts his own folly because he is quick-tempered (v. 29). In the end, he inherits foolishness (v. 18). Although such a foolish person laughs and rejoices outwardly, the only thing left in the end is anxiety and sorrow in his heart. Look at Proverbs 15:13 – “A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.” When I think of this word, I think that many Christians prefer a smiley face with sorrow in their heart rather than the joy of heart that brightens their face (14:13). So personally, when I see people who always laugh on the outside, I think again. The reason is because I think there may be light of worry behind their always smiling faces. When I see them whose smiling face is not shining, I sometimes think that they may be trying to cover up their sadness or anxiety in their heart. The important thing is that our faces will shine when we have the joy that God gives us in our hearts. However, if we pursue the happiness of this world, after that, we are bound to suffer in our hearts from sorrow and sadness.
Fourth, there is bitterness in our hearts if our hearts are faithless.
Look at Proverbs 14:14a – “The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways ….” Here, the word “The faithless” literally means “backslider in heart” (Walvoord). It would be nice if we keep on believing in Jesus and our faith continues to grow and we are being transformed. But there are times when we find that our faith growth seems to have stopped from a certain point and is backsliding. I think this is a sign that we are moving away from God. One of the bad things that often appears at that time is that we live apart from the truth and follow lies, and in reality we also live a false life. If our hearts are broken, we leave God and believe in lies, pursue lies, and lead the false life. In verse 25, the Bible says, “but a false witness is deceitful”. If our hearts are faithless, then our hearts devise wicked scheme (6:18). In other words, we devise scheme that will harm others in our hearts (Park). And we plot evil (14:22). If we are plotting evil and devising wicked schemes like this, then there is no joy in our hearts. Rather, there is bitterness in our faithless hearts. What is the reason? The reason is because God will judge us according to what we have done. In other words, the reason is because God will repay us for what we have done (v. 14). This is what Dr. Yoon-sun Park said: ‘After a person has committed a sin, it can be covered for some time without repenting. But the day comes when it shouts and catches the person (Jam. 5:4; Gen. 4:10). In other words, the sinner himself must resolve it by taking the initiative to catch his sin and repent. If he doesn’t do that and passes it over, the sin will catch him up and retaliate against him’ (Park). I think this is something I cannot but agree with. When we don’t repent our sins, I agree on the one hand that the sin will catch me up and retaliate aginst me and on ther other I am afraid that will happen to me. The reason is because I believe that unrepentant sin certainly has consequences. For example, listen to what Jacob, who deceived and had been deceived in Genesis, came down to Egypt and said to Pharaoh king of Egypt: “… The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning” (Gen. 47:9). When I thought of Jacob's confession, I remembered Genesis 37:34-35. When Jacob saw Joseph's goats' blood-stained, colored tinic, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his sons may days. When all his sons and all his daughters tried to comfort him, Jacob refused to be comforted. He cried for Joseph and said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for m son” (v. 35). What does this teach us? It is that our false actions will certainly have consequences when our hearts are faithless and we lie and deceive others when we have left God. The result is that not only will we be deceived, but we will also be forced to immerse ourselves in bitterness and sorrow. Therefore, in order for us not to be immersed in bitterness and sorrow in our hearts, we must continue to draw close to God faithfully so that our hearts aren’t faithless. Then we can prevent our fall. And as we draw close to God, we can realize our sins and enjoy the grace to repent. As a result, God will bring joy to our hearts by turning away the bitterness in our hearts.
Fifth, there is bitterness in our hearts when we believe in anything.
Look at Proverbs 14:15a – “A simple man believes anything ….” Here, the term “a simple” refers to a person who is ‘innocent (because of lack of experience, knowledge, etc.)”, “naïve” or “gullible”. This kind of person is easily influenced by others (Walvoord). In Proverbs 14:8b, the Bible says, "But the folly of fools is deception." What does it mean? The foolishness of fools is that they not only deceive others but also themselves. Therefore, the fool is a person who believes in others and is deceived, and believes in all the words of others (14:15). An example is the naïve young man who lacks sense (7:7) who has fallen into the temptation of the adulteress (v. 5). The young man fell into the adulteress’s loud voice (v. 11) of persuasive words and her smooth talk of seduction (v. 21) and “followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose” (v. 22). What was the result? The result is that he falls down and even dies (vv. 26-27). If we are so naive and easily believe in what others say and are deceived, then we will suffer in our hearts. We need wisdom. We must ask God for wisdom. Therefore, we must listen the words of others carefully with the wisdom that God gives us. We must listen to others with discernment. Then we will be able to prevent the heart from suffering.
Sixth, there is bitterness in our hearts when we are hated by our neighbors.
Look at Proverbs 14:20 – “The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many.” Jesus commanded us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt.22:39). Although we know that we must obey this commandment of Jesus, we have favoritism in loving our neighbor. How do we show favoritism? We take people by their appearance (Jam.2:1). So when “a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes” (v. 2), we show special attention to him and say to him “Here’s a good seat for you” (v. 3). But when “a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in” (v. 2), we say to him “You stand there or Sit on the floor by my feet” (v. 3). These actions are that we discriminate between the rich and the poor, judge with evil thoughts (v. 4), and insult the poor (v. 6). The Bible says that this is sinning. In other words, when we take man by appearance, we sin against God (v. 9).
Looking at Proverbs 14:21, the Bible says, “He who despises his neighbor sins ….” Here, the “neighbor” specifically refers to the “the poor” spoken in verse 20 or the “the needy” spoken in verse 21. In this sinful world, the poor and the needy are not only hated (v. 20), but also are despised by the society (v. 21). And even they are oppressed by it (v. 31). As a result, it seems that the poor and the needy are envious of the rich even though the Bible says “but envy rots the bones” (v. 30). In the end, in the society we are jealous, hate, despise, and oppressing each other, and there is no other choice but to have pain and sorrow rather than peace. Although this is the society we live in, the church must be different. In the community, the church, the poor and the rich should not be differentiated (discriminated) and there should be no favoritism. If there are discrimination and favoritism even in the church, the poor and the needy brothers and sisters in Christ will be hated, so there will be bitterness in their hearts. To prevent this from happening, we must not discriminate people based on their appearance, whether inside the church or outside the church. And there shouldn't be any favoritism. Rather, we must obey the Jesus’ commandment and love our neighbors as ourselves. Then the bitterness in our hearts will disappear and there will be joy in our hearts.
Seventh, there is bitterness in our hearts when we only talk and don’t act.
Look at Proverbs 14:23b – “… But mere talk leads only to poverty.” Here, “mere talk” refer to speaking only without execution (Job 11:2; Isa. 36:5) (Park). The Bible says that those who only speak with their lips and have no action will lead to poverty (Prov. 14:23). What kind of poverty does the people who only talk and has no action face? Dr. Park said two things: (1) They become poor in their physical life. The reason is because they are lazy people who go around and just merely talk without any action. And because the lazy people violate God's command to work hard (Gen. 3:19), they become in need by God's punishment. (2) The lazy people who talk only and don’t have action will also be in need of spiritual life. Think about it. How can your spiritual life be enriched if you only talk about spiritual things and don’t live according to the word of God? The problem seems to be that even though we know this, we are constantly walking on the path of poverty rather than pursuing abundance in our physical or spiritual life. In other words, it seems that there are many times when we just talk about what we know, that is we should not just talk with our lips, but move with action. It seems that we, weak humans, speak quickly but act slowly. So Proverbs 14:24 says, “But the folly of fools is foolishness.” What does it mean? It means that the fools who know their faults don’t correct them and continues to act foolishly. As a result, the fools are bound to suffer in their hearts. We are not to be people who only talk and don’t act. Rather, we need to develop a habit of speaking and acting immediately. There will be joy in our hearts when we live a life of acting up to what we say.
Eighth and last, there is bitterness in our hearts when we don’t repent until the end.
Look at Proverbs 14:32a – “When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down ….” The word “wicked” here refers to the wicked people who don’t repent until the end. And the word “are brought down” means driven away, which means forcibly dragged (Park). In other words, the wicked who don’t repent until the end are driven to tribulation. God, who is holy and just, judges the wicked who don’t repent, and reveals His glory by letting them swallow them in tribulation. When we commit a sin and don’t repent of that sin, we are bound to suffer tribulation in the end. But the problem is that even though we are in tribulation for our unrepentant sin, we ask God for deliverance in the midst of that tribulation, but we don’t feel the need to repent of our sin. And no matter how much we ask God for deliverance and when there is no answer to our prayers, we even blame on God because we are still in trouble. Eventually, through tribulation, we convict of our sins, and because we don’t repent, we sin more and more against God. As a result, we experience more and more bitterness in our hearts.
When we are in trouble for our sins, we must look back before the holy God to see if we have sinned against God and have unrepentant sins. Then, when God the Holy Spirit reveals and convicts us of our sins, we must repent our sins by confessing to God all our sins by relying on the power of the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. Obviously, our God will forgive and accept us. In doing so, our hearts will be filled with peace and joy.
The last thing we want to think about is joy in our hearts. Here are 7 things to think about when there is joy in our hearts:
First, there is joy in our hearts when our tent will flourish.
Look at Proverbs 14:11b – “… but the tent of the upright will flourish.” The house of the wicked will be destroyed (v. 11a). And his family will not only suffer from the hardships of life, but will also be put to shame. But the tent of the upright will flourish (v. 11b). What does it mean? It means that the upright person, the person who sincerely confesses his sin and believes in the Lord and receives His righteousness, lives with hope in the kingdom of heaven (Park). Of course, this doesn't mean that we all have to sell houses and live in tents. Here, King Solomon said “The house of the wicked …” and then “the tent of the upright” instead of ‘the house of the upright’. The reason is because the upright doesn’t have hope on this earth and doesn’t live by thinking about things on this earth, but rather thinks of what is above, and has hope in heaven and pursues eternal things. That’s what the Bible says that the tent of the upright will flourish.
We are people of faith moving toward a better home (Note: Heb. 11). This world is not our home. The house we will live forever is the house of heaven. Therefore, while living on this earth, we must have hope in heaven and pursue the things of the future. Then God will make our lives flourish. God will prosper and stabilize our homes and churches (Walvoord). I think our country is the same. When our country's president and rulers are upright and govern the country well with justice, then our country will be established as a nation of righteousness (v. 34). Then, there will be many people in the kingdom of righteousness (v. 28), and God will exalt the kingdom. The upright people who live in such a prosperous and stable country, church, or house will live day by day while enjoying the true joy that God gives.
Second, there is joy in our hearts when we live truthfully.
Look at Proverbs 14:14b – “… But a good man will be satisfied with his.” If our hearts are faithless (v. 14), then we will leave God and believe in lies, pursue lies, and lead a false life. And we will deceive others by spitting lies. If our hearts are faithless, we will devise evil schemes in our hearts. In our hearts we will devise the evil scheme that will harm others. And we seek evil (v. 22). Then there is inevitably bitterness in our hearts. The reason is because God will judge us according to what we have done. But if we are “good men” (v. 14), that is, if we are Christians who live truthfully with the satisfaction of our souls with the saving grace of God, our hearts will be joyful. In particular, like the discerning one’ (v. 33), when we keep the God’s truth that we have realized in our hearts and live according to that truth (Park), there is bound to be joy in our hearts. The truthful believers, who become true witnesses and save human lives (v. 25), will live with the joy of salvation and the joy of God.
Third, there is joy in our hearts when we believe in only the Lord and do His will.
Look at Proverbs 14:15b – “… but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.” Here, “a prudent man” is a person who truly believes in the Lord and does His will (Park). And “the prudent are crowned with knowledge” (v. 18b). Therefore, he refrains from his own actions in the knowledge of God. And he isn’t like a simple man who unconditionally believes in what others say and isn’t influenced by their words. Rather, he seeks and pursues only the Lord’s will while judging and discerning the words of others with the knowledge of God. The Bible Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.” What does it mean? It means that the fools, who don’t fear God but ignore Him, they don’t seek God’s will and walk the way that God desires. Rather, they walk the way they want to walk according to their own will (v. 8). But the prudent man knows his way. In other words, the prudent Christian knows God’s will and lives according His will. He knows what the Lord has called him to do and does it according to His will (1 Cor. 7:17).
In Proverbs 14:35, the Bible says that “A king delights in a wise servant”. In this way, when we walk wisely, we will receive the grace of the Lord, the King of Kings. How can we really act wisely in the sight of the Lord? It is doing what God is pleased with. Then, what does God please with? He is pleas when we live according to God's will. When we live by obeying God's word, God will rejoice, and when God is pleased, we too will be filled with joy.
Fourth, there is joy in our hearts when we fear God and shun evil.
Look at Proverbs 14:16a – “A wise man fears the LORD and shuns evil, ….” The fool doesn’t have the wisdom to fear God. So he believes in himself and commits sins in this world and lives recklessly (v. 16). Since he doesn’t fear God, he lives a prodigal life pursuing the pleasures of this world. As a result, he suffers sorrow and pain in this world. However, the wise man turns away from evil because he fears God. And because he shuns evil, there is a sense of security in his life (v. 26). If we look at Proverbs 14:27, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. And the Bible says that when we fear God we may avoid the snares of death (v. 27). The Bible says that when we live in the fear of God, there is hope even in death. In other words, we can have refuge even in death (v. 32). Therefore, we must become wise children of God. We must be God's wise children who fear God. And as wise children of God, we must shun evil and make Heavenly Father our refuge in the midst of persecution and tribulation (v. 26b). God will surely protect and keep us. Then we will be able to live with the joy that God gives us.
Fifth, there is joy in our hearts when we overcome evil with good.
Look at Proverbs 14:19 – “Evil men will bow down in the presence of the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.” The Bible clearly says that evil men and the wicked will bow down in the presence of the good and the righteous. That is, the good and the righteous will overcome the evil and the wicked. But for some reason, when we look at this evil world, it seems that the wicked and the evil people are overcoming the good and the righteous. In other words, from our human point of view, it seems that in this world, evil people are more powerful than good people, persecuting and harassing the good. So even the wicked killing the good are happening in this world. That is why many Christians probably don’t believe the truth that the good and the righteous overcome the wicked and the evil people. However, in the Bible, there are many cases where the good people overcame the wicked. For example, Joseph's brothers surrendered before Joseph (Gen. 42:6), Egypt king Pharaoh and his people surrendered before Moses (Exod. 8:28, 9:27, 12:31-33), the wicked men who tried to kill Daniel were rather thrown in the lion’s den (Dan. 7:27), Haman was killed on the gallows, that was made to kill Mordecai, in Esther (Esth. 7:9-10) and so on (Park).
When I meditated on these words, I remembered Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” If we lose to evil while living our faith, there will be bitterness in our hearts. However, if God is with us and we overcome evil with goodness, there will be joy of victory in our hearts. Shouldn't we live to enjoy this joy in our life of faith? Looking at Proverbs 14:22, the Bible says that “those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.” What does it mean? It means that we must do good work without interruption with a lot of preparation (Park). In that case, it means that God not only gives us mercy (love), but also faithfully fulfills the word of promise given to us. Therefore, we must promote good. We must work hard to do good things. We must live a life that overcomes evil with good. Then God will bring joy to our hearts.
Sixth, there is joy in our heart when we love our neighbors.
Look at Proverbs 14:21 – “He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.” If we break the commandments of Jesus and don’t love our neighbors, but rather despise them, then there will be pain in our hearts. The reason is because we are sinning against God. However, the more we obey the commandments of Jesus and love our neighbors as ourselves, the more joy will be in our hearts. Look at the lyrics verse 1 of the hymn “Jesus Comes With Pow’r to Gladden”: “Jesus comes with pow'r to gladden, When love shines in, Ev'ry life that woe can sadden, When love shines in.” Then how shall we love our neighbors? The Bible Proverbs 14:21b commands us to be kind to the needy. The Bible says that such a person is blessed. What is the reason? The reason is because being kind to the needy is honoring God (v. 31). That means that if we say we honor the Lord with our lips, but we don’t show kindness to the needy, then we aren’t actually honoring the Lord. We must be kind to the needy, not only with our lips, but also with our actions, and help them with love. In order to do so, one of the things we need is great understanding (v. 29). Also, we shouldn’t be impatient. Then we will be patient and humbly loving our neighbors, but especially be kind to the needy. Therefore, we will have peace in our hearts in relationships with our neighbors (v. 30).
Seventh and last, there is joy in our hearts when we work hard.
Look at Proverbs 14:23a – “All hard work brings a profit, ….” As we meditated on the Book of Proverbs, we have seen King Solomon talking about laziness and diligence over and over again. The point of those sayings is that we should not be lazy, but be diligent. Even in the first half of Proverbs 14:23, King Solomon says that all hard work is profitable. In other words, a person who only talks and does nothing at all end up in poverty (v. 23), while a diligent person who works hard and sweats will bring a profit. What is the profit for him? There are three things we can think of: (1) The Bible says that the diligent man will become rich. Look at Proverbs 10:4 – “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.” The “diligent hands bring wealth” means that the diligent will work diligently, and don’t sleep, especially in the summer of harvest, but work diligently to harvest (v. 5). (2) The Bible says that the diligent man will have a lot to eat. Look at Proverbs 12:11 – “He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.” If we work diligently and cultivate our land, of course, the profit is that we have plenty to eat. (3) The Bible says that the diligent man will rule over others. Look at Proverbs 12:24 – “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.” The lazy man has no choice but to be managed, but the diligent man will rule over others. So it can be said that this is also the profit of being diligence. When we consider these profits, if we are diligent and work hard, there is joy in our hearts.
I often go up to God's house and sing the hymn “Out of My Bondage, Sorrow and Night”: “Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come. Into Thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to Thee. ….” When I sing that hymn of repentance and forgiveness to God, there are times when I feel that there is a lot of pain in this world, and there are many times when we are disappointed and discouraged. There are many causes, but in the light of today's text, even though it isn’t the right path in the eyes of God, I walk that path in my proud because I think that it is the right path. Also, when I seek the joy of this world as I walk that wrong path and when I am only talking and not doing anything, I am disappointed and discouraged because of myself. Especially, I am disappointed and discouraged of myself because I see myself unable to repent even though I know I need to repent. So, while singing that hymn ”Out of My Bondage, Sorrow and Night”, there are times when I want to put my proud heart down on the cross and follow the God’s blessed word: “Out of unrest and arrogant pride, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come. Into Thy blessed will to abide. Jesus, I come to Thee.” At those times, I often experience God's comforting my sad heart and giving me strength. I want to believe in the Lord and live according to His will with the power that God gives. I want to live my life truthfully and a life of shunning evil because I fear God. I want to overcome evil with good. I want to love my neighbors and working hard in the Lord's work according to the commandments of Jesus. As I do so, I believe that the Lord will revitalize the church and family.