PROVERBS 22: SIX SAYINGS OF THE WISE

In Proverbs 22:17-29, we find six sayings of the wise. These are the sayings of the sages, who were usually older men of greater-than-average wisdom and had experienced a lot in life. I will summarize them here and want to encourage you to study them more deeply on your own.

1. Proverbs 22:17-21 – Listen to the wise and apply their teachings to your heart. Wisdom is available in every area of our lives, and if we seek it, we will find it. When we find it, we need to apply it to our lives in practical ways.
2. Proverbs 22:22-23 – God is our Vindicator, and He always brings justice to us, which means that He makes wrong things right. If we take advantage of someone or take a person to court to collect a debt when we know they are poor and need help, God will vindicate them, and we will lose what we paid trying to collect from them.
3. Proverbs 22:24-25 – I often tell people they could change their lives for the better if they would simply change some of their friends. The people with whom we spend our time are very important because they can influence us strongly. We become like the people we are around.
4. Proverbs 22:26-27 – Don’t agree to take responsibility for someone else’s debts if they don’t pay them (i.e., cosign for a loan). If you do, you may end up losing what you have because you have to pay a bill for someone else. It may be difficult to say no, but it’s better to follow wisdom than to be sorry later on.
5. Proverbs 22:28 – In Old Testament times, boundary lines were marked with a simple stone. To move the boundary line on property you had inherited—boundaries established by an ancestor—was the same as theft. This verse is another encouragement for us to be honest in everything.
6. Proverbs 22:29 – People who are skilled in their work will be promoted and serve in high places. A skill is something we develop through use over time. God gives us abilities, but He expects us to work with and strengthen them. As we do, we become highly skilled.