The ignorant having money is a calamity

Hello everyone, today we will study Proverbs 19. It is talking about knowledge and wisdom. While trying to find the main point of this chapter, I was a little confused. Because I read a lot of words related to poverty, foolishness, and perverted.

After reading more, I realized this chapter is talking about the consequences of ignorance and foolishness. After I re-read the main points from Proverbs chapters 1 to 18, I realized that most of the past main points were positive, but this chapter is negative. In reality, the corruption caused by ignorance and foolishness essentially emphasizes the importance of knowledge, insight, and wisdom.

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. (Proverbs 19:1, NIV)

What is this passage talking about? Is this passage saying that the poor are better than the rich? No, it is saying that a rich person who is perverted and foolish is not as good as a poor person who behaves purely. Of course, a perverted and foolish poor person is not as good as a perverted and foolish rich person. Ignorance can not save one's life. It will be a calamity if an ignorant person has money.

A long time ago, a young man who caused a traffic accident while driving was caught by the police. He said something like this: "My father is Li Gang." What did this mean? His father was a leader in that city's police office. Being able to say this sentence showed how ignorant and stupid this person was! Ignorance plus arrogance is called folly. If a person is rich and then stupid, that is simply a tragedy in the world! Therefore, people should pursue knowledge. Why are people so ignorant? Because they didn't know that saying that would bring disaster.

Ignorant and foolish people toil in what they do

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord. (Proverbs 19:3, NIV)

Some people ask me, are his actions very worldly? I saw that he was so ignorant so I said: "You are not even qualified to love the world." How far-reaching is the corruption brought about by ignorance and foolishness? When a person's ignorance reaches a certain level, it will develop into cancer.

I have met many Christians who are cancer patients, and occasionally I meet one in ten who is willing to repent. Even if it is repentance, it still requires lots of hard work to turn his mind to God. Cancer is a very evil disease. If you work in a cancer hospital, after meeting these cancer patients, you will find that their temper and habits are very strange. The ignorance has reached a certain level, he doesn’t know that he is the root cause of cancer, and he also complains about God in his heart.

It is useless for a person without the knowledge to walk quickly. If you do things that corrupt yourself, and if you do it even faster, you will corrupt yourself even more. I have seen many Christians suffer from many hard things, such as cancer. Cancer is very hard, and he still didn't know what happened until he died. He is still crying in his heart: "God, how could this be?" Actually, God wants to ask you why you are like this.

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. (Proverbs 19:1, NIV)

If people are very foolish and ignorant yet rich, it is a tragedy. I have served some people with a little money, and I also tell them that loving money is a curse. Not only did they not believe me, but they insisted that a cursed person cannot have money. One should not think that because they made a little money, they are a smart and knowledgeable person, but that is not the case. My research has shown that whether you are rich or poor does not mean that you are spiritual or not, they have nothing to do with each other.

Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them. (Proverbs 19:4)

The poor are shunned by all their relatives. How much more do their friends avoid them? Though the poor pursue them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found. (Proverbs 19:7)

If a poor man has the knowledge, he will keep it in him and bring about the purity of his conduct and eventually, he will come out of poverty. A poor man who behaves purely is a man of knowledge, and temporary poverty is not a big problem.

Wealthy brothers and sisters among us must not think that I am talking about you when you hear this, I am talking about perverted and foolish rich people. Everyone must acquire knowledge, and wisdom, cherish life, preserve wisdom, gain benefits, and never be an ignorant person. The thing is, some people are like evil spirits, it is very scary.

We must learn every day, and we should not be quick to act without thinking first. We should not make up a plan very quickly and follow through, we must take time to think. Let us fix our foolishness, even if you are pathetic, you can still do it. No matter how hard this question is, it cannot stop God from working in us. The corruption of ignorance and foolishness is very serious, so we must solve the problem from the root.

People who have the knowledge and do things quickly will have no pressure. Some people say that I am a hard worker, working all day to solve endless problems. After thinking about it carefully, I think it’s not right. I should be working harder! Working hard is a joyful thing because I know very well that if I don't work, I have nothing else to do. Then I may be one of the cancer patients. Once you think in your mind that it is hard work, the game will be over. Because I have the knowledge and value hard work, I work a lot and do not suffer.

The ignorant and foolish people do not know how to live

Because I have the knowledge, I know that if I don't work, I have nothing to do. If you have nothing to do, do you go to a coffee shop and drink coffee every day like some old people? These people do not know the rewards of work so they feel that drinking coffee day after day is enjoying life. In the end, they can’t drink coffee anymore, and their life will come to an end. There is no work in the hell.

A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages against the Lord. Wealth attracts many friends, but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them. A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will not go free. (Proverbs 19:3-5, NIV)

Man cannot be without knowledge, especially the knowledge of God. If you know God and then act according to God’s words, I guarantee that you will enjoy a lifetime of happiness! Therefore, a man's ignorance ruins his own life.

The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper. (Proverbs 19:8, NIV)

Brothers and sisters, observe carefully. You don’t need to observe other people, just observe yourself, observe how you have lived, and think about how you came here in just a few years.

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury. How much worse for a slave to rule over princes! (Proverbs 19:10, NIV)

How can a fool live in pleasure? If he spends his days feasting, he will be punished and defeated in the end! Therefore, brothers and sisters, you need to be knowledgeable, insightful, intelligent, and wise no matter what. Is it hard work to do this? Yes! But ignorance is even harder!

Penalties are prepared for mockers and beatings for the backs of fools. (Proverbs 19:29, NIV)

Some of our brothers and sisters began to come out of ignorance and foolishness. If you know God, do you need to buy friends with money? Do you need to feast every day?

A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof. Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. (Proverbs 19:13-14, NIV)

Whether the child has money or not is not a problem, and how much money you leave to him is not a problem. Ignorance is the real problem. So, if you teach a child, teach him to be a man of knowledge, to develop the habit of learning. If you use these tips, it will be fine, and nothing will be a problem. Houses and money are all left by our ancestors, but they are not worth very much. Only what God bestows on people is grace, so we must know the knowledge of God and receive grace from God!

Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. (Proverbs 19:16, NIV)

If you have the knowledge, you will not take money so seriously. You can observe how much joy money can bring to people. When I got my job, three hundred yuan was a big number for me. At that time, I only made about 1,000 yuan a month. After deducting rent and money for food and drink, there was nothing left. If my boss went out, he could buy a printer worth 300 yuan and other things worth 500 yuan like it's nothing. After I saw that, I was very shocked. But they were rich! I found that being rich is a great thing. If I become rich one day, I will buy whatever I want like him.

But then I discovered that no matter what I had, the feelings of sorrow and joy in my heart were the same, and there was almost no change. It doesn't matter if you have money or not. People have money, but I am also fine if I don't have a lot of money. In other words, the life within a person has little to do with the amount of money they have.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done. (Proverbs 19:17, NIV)

We must be kind to the poor. Being kind to the poor does not mean giving him unlimited money. Instead, just give him enough money for him to fill his stomach. The most important thing about mercy is to drag people out of the curse of poverty, which is God's will. If you show kindness to the poor according to God's will, then you are lending to God. And God will reward you.

Better the poor whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. (Proverbs 19:1, NIV)

We need to think about what exactly is missing within us. What can give us life? Especially the knowledge about how we are alive is crucial. I have been studying the matter of human beings all day long, and I have learned from my teacher. My teacher is Jesus, I will preach Jesus’s gospel and I will do what he does. I will be like Jesus, I need to imitate Jesus. How he sees things, we must imitate that, how he speaks, we will speak like that. If we do this, we will be more and more like Jesus. When we are solving problems, our speed will increase rapidly.

If someone looks at money very heavily, then they won't look at wisdom very heavily. If someone relies on money, they won’t rely on God. But if you rely on God, you will not rely on money. If you rely on God, you will gain his knowledge, which is like the water that fills the ocean. So we should not rely on money.

Ignorant and foolish people get angry easily

A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again. Listen to advice and accept discipline, and in the end, you will be counted among the wise. (Proverbs 19:19-20)

Anger is a sign of ignorance. People who rage are not knowledgeable. When they see that this matter has no solution, they become furious. On the contrary, a person with spiritual knowledge knows how to deal with things, and does not have any anger.

Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death. (Proverbs 19:18, NIV)

How do I discipline? It is to let him turn around and take the path of seeking knowledge. If people are ignorant, they will always ask ignorant questions. They grow old in age, wrinkles and blood pressure, but their knowledge doesn't grow at all.

The knowledge of God can solve the problem of a man’s ignorance

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21, NIV)

If you discipline people according to God’s ways, how can it fail? So if you follow God, you will succeed. The understanding of God is like the water filling the sea. Things need to be resolved spiritually, it is not acceptable to resolve them according to the thoughts in people’s hearts.

The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:23, NIV)

People need to be educated, and people need to know. Because of people's ignorance and foolishness, the corruption they receive is beyond your imagination. If a person is often violent and loses his temper, how much punishment should he suffer?

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11, NIV)

Why do people not know? If your mind is filled with a bunch of garbage, how can you know? If a person knows within, he will not get angry easily. If you get angry easily all the time, you must know that you are an ignorant person. By the tone of someone's voice, you can know that this is a manifestation of discerning good and evil. He is very dissatisfied inside, like a dead pig who is not afraid of boiling water.

Flog a mocker, and the simple will learn prudence; rebuke the discerning, and they will gain knowledge. (Proverbs 19:25, NIV)

It is not easy to solve the problem of ignorance and foolishness. Sometimes when I serve a person in the room, my co-workers will hear my voice getting louder, because it’s impossible to convince him. I tried my best to convince him, but I just couldn’t discern between good and evil with others; I was very fierce and had a very hot temper, but I was passing on God’s love so that they all knew one thing, that I am doing this just for their good. With this foundation, many things will be easier to handle.

If people are ignorant, it is very difficult to rectify. Brothers and sisters, you need to know that when shepherding, sometimes you need a whip, sometimes you need to rebuke, and sometimes you even need to punish. Anyway, these forms of punishment must be used properly. Shepherding is to shepherd people into knowledge.

The problems caused by people's ignorance and foolishness are very deep. Let me tell you a few things about how to be wise and smart. People put down important things and grasp unimportant things, that is ignorance. So why? Because he reversed the important and the unimportant things. So when you see what is important for this person, you can also tell the level of knowledge this person has. Some people are not good enough, they don't study, and talk nonsense.

When I was doing training, someone called me and said that he could not come to my training. I asked him why he couldn't come, and he said that he was preparing for his classes and he would train others tomorrow. I was thinking: you are not even that smart yet, it would be better to be trained first before you train someone else.

Sometimes, I tell our brothers and sisters to reflect on it. As a result, they said they feel that they have changed a lot. Then I asked them what they changed and how they changed it, but they couldn't tell clearly. I'm very good at different ways, so it's useless for you to try to fool me. Feeling like you have changed yourself is not useful, what matters is how you have changed. If someone can explain clearly how they have changed, then they truly understand and have genuinely made a change.

When I assign tasks to people, I have to explain how to do them over and over again. My hair is all gray, not because I am old, but because I work hard. When a person realizes their own ignorance and foolishness, they become blessed.

A corrupt witness mocks at justice and the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil. (Proverbs 19:28, NIV)

Whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace. (Proverbs 19:26, NIV)

It's embarrassing to think about the things that many people have done. Someone told me that he was not respected in his family. I asked him what he did. His mother was not even dead, yet he asked his mother to transfer the house to his name. I thought to myself, why would someone respect you? Who will respect you? Your mom is not dead yet, but you want to push her to poverty. God gave him only one curse, but now it has doubled. After a few days, the curse is not enough, so God adds a little more. To what extent must the curse be imposed before it will stop?

So when the curse comes, you must wake up from your folly. You are not even that good and yet you think you are good, you are just a little bit better but now you think you are in the sky. You went from negative to zero and now you think you are very good.

A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth! (Proverbs 19:24, NIV)

Laziness makes a man sleep; he who is idle will starve. (Proverbs 19:15, NIV)

Brothers and sisters, you need to understand that learning is quite challenging. Whenever a person starts studying, they feel tired and hungry. Then they want to eat and have a rest. I will always sigh on this. This makes me wonder, how deep does ignorance go? When I was young, I handwrote a lot of things, my hand was sore and I was tired too. Hard work is not labor, you need to have a good foundation, whatever happens, you need to learn it properly.

Summary

Penalties are prepared for mockers and beatings for the backs of fools. (Proverbs 19:29, NIV)

One whip can send foolish people to hell, and one whip can send them to heaven; So brothers and sisters, you need to know, that you should not rely on yourself, you need to develop a good habit of learning and a good habit of overcoming difficulties.

Whoever keeps commandments keeps their life, but whoever shows contempt for their ways will die. (Proverbs 19:16, NIV)

I am going to make a promise to you that if you have a difficult problem that you cannot overcome, I will work it out with you. If I can't do it alone, I will do it one piece by another piece until your problem is overcome. Shepherds among us will help you too. I'll do it with you, all for free.

I hope that one day God will give me a good judgment, I hope he says that I am smart, wise, and hardworking and that I distribute God’s word to his people on time. What a wise and faithful servant! I long to be such a person. I hope you guys can all become wise. That you learn how to shepherd and how to be shepherded. And that on the road of God, you will keep running and that you won't rely on money. That you will go from living a worldly life to living a spiritual life. That will be good.

May God bless you all!