Introduction

Hello everyone, today we will look at Proverbs Chapter 12. If you learn and apply just 10% of the book of Proverbs, you will be a wise person. When we observe, we learn. If we don’t know how to observe and learn, we will not be smart. The theme of chapter 11 of Proverbs is to look closely at the end of being human. It is very easy to observe things. For example, if you pray and get healed, you must think about why and who this person is. But some people don’t want to observe and learn, then their life will always be the same, and nothing will change. As time passed, they will slowly become more foolish.

Chapter 12 says a lot of things and it is not easy to understand. The title I gave for this chapter is,’ To love discipline is to love wisdom, to hate discipline is to be a beast.’

If there is a fish bone stuck in someone's throat and they think to themselves, “Why is this happening?” They will scold themselves and learn. But if someone doesn’t question themselves as to why these things are happening, they will never get better. If this happens, and you know this is a discipline from God, you will learn a lesson and this won’t happen again. But if the first thing they do is complain and say things like, “Why does it have to be in my throat? Why not someone else?” They have lost this great learning opportunity and it will become a curse for them.So it is very fatal for a person to have no knowledge.

There was a sister who was always disciplined by her parents from a young age. Whenever she was disciplined, she would start thinking that she was right and her parents were just nagging her. If anyone here thinks like this, you must be careful, you need to understand whether you are a wise or foolish person. If you are foolish and don’t learn lessons every time you get disciplined, it is even more dangerous.

The attitude towards discipline is very important.

All the bosses and managers want to hire a person who has good character, they don't care whether or not his ability is good, they value this person's attitude more. If this person's attitude towards problems is bad, he is a foolish and evil person. Someone spent two hours doing something he could have finished in 15 minutes, his boss was very angry and asked, “How come you finished this slowly?” If he says, “Do you pick fault with me?” That is a very bad attitude. He is a foolish person.

Some people don’t like being disciplined, he goes to the washroom more often than others and eats way longer than others. So annoying! When he makes a mess, he doesn’t clean it up, and when his shift is over he leaves as soon as possible. No boss likes these kinds of employees.

Good people obtain favor from the Lord, but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.("Proverbs 12:2")

Nobody was born a good person. Only people who learn from discipline will be wise and smart. People who choose to be like that will receive God’s blessing and grace.

Why do people fall for traps? For example, there are people among us who complain about their work and being disciplined, it is because they did not do their work properly. I know someone who wanted to go to a university that was far away from his parents because his parents disciplined him a lot. He just hated his parents and hoped that after he went to university, he could dodge his parents. He didn't realize that he eats the food cooked by his parents every day, and he was completely unqualified to be picky with his parents.

People who don’t enjoy discipline are evil. The people I hate most are those who get mad at their parents and don’t respect them. You are not smarter than your parents. Some people don't listen to their parents. Which mom or dad doesn’t want their kids to be successful? If you are like this, you have to change, or else you will live a hard life. Some people say that after helping their parents they got scolded. They thought they had contributed a lot to their family. But isn’t that your job to help them as your parents raised you? It is a blessing to be able to help your parents around the house. Some kids can start helping their parents at age 3, and some people can help their parents work in the fields at the age of 7!

Some people start disrespecting their parents at a young age, and when they grow up they will start complaining to God and anyone in their sight. These kinds of people don’t know how to be thankful, they hate everything.

No one can be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted.. (Proverbs 12:3)

If someone enjoys being disciplined and scolded, he will be very wise. The root is your system of knowledge, it's how you react to things. Can people live well by making money from evil deeds? No! If you do evil things, you will live horribly! If you know that it is wrong to hate people, then the root of righteousness grows day by day in you. If you don’t mind being disciplined and scolded, then your foundation is solid.

What you were born with is useless, what you learn in your future is useful. When we study Proverbs 12, we are trying to get you guys to observe and reflect on yourself. A person must have a good root of knowledge. The login inside you decides how you react to things and how smart you are.

A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones. (Proverbs 12:4)

I am very confused about why some people just like to live in pain. Why can’t they just live well? Stop arguing every day. Don’t say that it’s only troublesome for a woman to have no talents, it is also very troublesome for a man not to have talents. Foolishness is so life-threatening. If people can not take discipline, they are very foolish people! When I tell someone that they did something wrong, they don’t accept the fact that they did it wrong. They even said that I got it wrong and that they were right!

The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. (Proverbs 12:5)

People who think about doing evil every single day will never get better. One day when I was walking, I accidentally bumped into someone, when I looked up I saw that he was very angry. He looked very scary. I thought to myself, “My life is worth so much more than yours, if you want me to kneel and beg for forgiveness, that's fine!” So I immediately said sorry. I don’t want to start trouble with him, and I don’t mind giving him some money. Do not stir up the anger of these people. Stop creating trouble with people.

Small countries and big countries both have their strengths and weaknesses. Small countries will never try to fight small countries, and big countries will never fight big countries because they are equally strong and they will both lose.

The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them. (Proverbs 12:6)

If you hate people, you will hate them all day long and you won’t even realize that you are hating the wrong person.

The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous stands firm.(Proverbs 12:7)

If someone does not get disciplined and does not listen to anything that other people say, their heart will be full of perverted words and they will never be wise. If they have some wisdom, it will be deceptive wisdom. Over these years I have been very distressed because I have tried countless times to make people knowledgeable but it's very hard. Sometimes I just want to take a break, but thank God that to this day I have not given up yet. After you listen to my sermon, you will know what to do. But when you listen to other sermons of Proverbs, you will know that all they do is read the scripture. So after you listen to them, you still don’t know what to do.

If you have high self-esteem, you will not be successful.

Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food. (Proverbs 12:9)

When people are scolded and disciplined, their self-esteem is offended. If they get mad and feel insulted, then they can't be disciplined. I don’t have much self-esteem. If people got mad at me, scolded me, or even spit on me I would not react. I have been like this ever since I was a child. Thank God that he prepared me to become a great person. It doesn’t matter if people despise me. At least I have brothers and sisters who follow me wholeheartedly. If you have too much self-esteem, it will be hard for you to be disciplined and learn.

In ancient China, it was very difficult to learn from a teacher. If you wanted to learn Confucianism, then you had to live with Confucius. You have to wash his feet and empty the urine pot, day and day like a servant. If you have high self-esteem, you can't be his student. Even if you work as an apprentice in a small Chinese pharmacy, you might get angry easily and quit. But in the end, you won’t be able to learn anything. When you are working for someone, you shouldn’t have high self-esteem. Same thing in the church, if you are unable to be scolded and taught by your shepherd, in the end, your self-esteem will kill you.

Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. (Proverbs 12:11)

You will realize that when someone is ignorant and self-respecting, they won’t live a good life. They always create trouble for no reason. They haven't even mowed the grass or planted the seeds in their fields yet, and all they think of were superficial things. Brothers and sisters, I want to train you guys to do right things and do the right things properly.

The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers, but the root of the righteous endures. (Proverbs 12:12)

Evil people refuse to be disciplined, and every day, all he thinks about is how to take revenge and how to do harm to others. They don’t have any wisdom, they don’t study at all, and they don’t want to do any work. In the end, they will be like an animal for the rest of my life. Like a hyena in the African desert, all they do is fight all day.

Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk, and so the innocent escape trouble. (Proverbs 12:13)

If someone refuses discipline, then he will refuse to obey anyone and he will be a snare for himself. The words he says are bad and it is useless to build people up. After you guys listen to this lesson, make sure you change and correct yourself accordingly.

From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward. (Proverbs 12:14)

What someone thinks of in his heart, he will say those things. I once saw someone like this, all he talks about is his little history. From how he was wronged as a child and things like that. Once you hear him talk, you will soon realize that he is a foolish person. If someone is willing to be disciplined and learns from his mistakes, he will bear lots of good fruit through the things he says.

You must learn to control your mouth. But before that, you must first change the belief in your heart. When you think about 10 things people have done wrong to you, you forgot the 90 kinds of good things they have also done to you. There are lots of very ignorant people. If you treat him with thousands of good things, he will be happy, but if you do one wrong thing to him, he will be very mad. All he thinks of in his head is that one wrong thing you did. I am surprised that there are such kinds of people in this world.

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.("Proverbs" 12:15)

Foolish people think that what they are saying is very good, but rather, all they talk about is foolishness. This is ignorance. They always talk about other people's transgressions and how they have wronged them, they always think they are right. We need to stay away from these kinds of people. A fool always thinks he is right. This is because he has not suffered enough yet and become such a kind of person. To change, he needs to be disciplined even more.

Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. ("Proverbs" 12:16)

If someone feels like everybody on earth has wronged him, he will be angry. But he has never thought to himself, “Has anybody wronged me?” He forgot all of the good things but remembered all of the bad things. Then he will be a very evil person. He is just like Cain from the Old Testament. Whenever people try to teach him, he won’t listen, he always thinks he is right. But in the end, he will be ill mentally, and all day he will think that people want to kill him.

An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies. The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.("Proverbs" 12:17-19)

When people talk impetuously and without knowledge, everything they say will hurt people. I found that if anyone learns a new language, the first things they want to learn are how to curse people. People are very good at saying bad things, they even say them to people online. You will realize that kids don’t even need to argue, they already know how to talk badly. People who talk impetuously don’t need to learn knowledge, but when they try to learn, it will be very difficult.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble. ("Proverbs" 12:20-21)

Why don’t righteous people meet danger? Because even if something bad happens to him, he will wake up and realize that it happened. Why are evil people full of calamity? Because even if he meets danger, he refuses to repent.

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. ("Proverbs" 12:22)

When someone lies, he will be cursed by God. God will send evil spirits to make trouble for him. The more wrongs he does, the more curses he will receive. So he will live horribly for his entire life.

The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool’s heart blurts out folly. Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor. Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.("Proverbs" 12:23-25)

The problem is that people don’t have wisdom, so every single day they are depressed and anxious. When this happens, someone needs to discipline him harshly to wake him up and make him happier.

Summary: Being disciplined is the way of life.

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality. ("Proverbs" 12:28)

Being disciplined is important. Brothers and sisters, you need to get rid of your self-esteem. On the road of righteousness, there are life, truth, wisdom, knowledge, joy, and riches.

You need to be a generous person, imitate God, and offer yourself to Him. Once you offer yourself, you will have your destiny (MingDing in Chinese), and blessings will be given to others through you. Many people will become wealthy and blessed through you. On this road, there is no death. After you finish this chapter, you need to change and act accordingly to what I have said.

May God bless you all!