Read Proverbs 20:13  This is another verse that talks about lazy people.  Do you remember the other word that Solomon used in Proverbs for a lazy person?  That's right: a sluggard.  Our verse says that if you love sleep, you will come to poverty.  But the second part of the verse says that if we open our eyes, we will be satisfied with bread.  Here is the problem:  If you are lazy, you won't work and you won't have anything.  If you are lazy, you will never save the money for a new baseball glove.  If you are lazy, you will never save enough money for a new bicycle.  But, if you work hard and save the money that you earn, you will be able to buy a new baseball glove or a new bicycle.  Here it is: you can sleep and be lazy, but you will have nothing.  Or you can be diligent and work and save, and you will have many things.  But our verse says that you can't be lazy and have things.  If you want things, you have to work for them.  It's as simple as that.  God does not want lazy people.  He wants people to work and to provide for their families.  Learn to work while you are a kid.  Remember, lazy kids grow up to be lazy adults.  Think about that!

Read Proverbs 20:11 Do you have a kid who preaches at your church?  Probably not.  You may have preached at Master Club competition, but you don't have a ten-year-old who is the pastor of your church.  Most of the time it is an older adult who pastors the church.  But you don't have to be an adult to know someone's heart.  Our verse says that even a child can be known by whether he is good or not.  Let me ask you a question: How do you know what is in someone's heart?  The answer is by what they do on the outside.  If a person steals money, what do you think is on the inside of their heart?  They probably have the heart of a thief.  If someone talks dirty and talks about wicked things, what do you think is in their heart?  Probably wickedness and evil is in their heart.  Last week I read, "Be careful of what you think because your thoughts may become words at any moment."  Isn't that is true?  Thoughts become words and words become deeds.  And you don't have to be an adult for people to know what is in your heart.  Even a child is known on the inside by what he does on the outside.  When someone says your name, what comes to their mind?  When someone says, "Gerald," do they think a good man or do they think of a cheat or a liar or a thief?  I hope they think good things when they say my name.  But what about your name?  What kind of a person have you been building for yourself?  A good person or a bad person.  If you haven't been building a good person, isn't it about time for you begin to build yourself a good person? I think so.

Read Proverbs 20: 7  This is a great verse for kids.  It talks about where we get our good habits from.  It explains to us the key to being a good man or woman when you grow up.  There are some kids who grow up and become great adults on their own, but most kids become good adults because their father made them that way.  When you sneak and steal something and your father corrects you, you learn to be honest.  When you are lazy, your father corrects you and you learn to be a hard worker.  When you sass your mother and talk back to her and your father hears you, he doesn't let you get away with having a smart mouth.  He stops you from being a smarty pants. (Ha, ha!)  And . . .  when you learn as a child to be honest, hard working, and respectful, you grow up to be an honest, hard-working, and respectful adult that everyone likes.  You are blessed and everyone likes you because your father corrected you and made you act the way you should.  And actions become habits.  And habits become character.  You may not like your father correcting you, but someday, you will want to thank him for correcting you when you were little.  Why not thank him today!

Read Proverbs 20:4  This is the fifth time that we have talked about a verse on the sluggard.  God must think that it is pretty important if He has this many verses on it.  I like to go bare foot outside.  When I walk around my back yard, I am careful not to step on a pine cone.  Those really hurt!  But at night, I can't see them.  But one thing worse than stepping on a pine cone in the dark is stepping on a slug when it is out at night.  Ooooh!  Slugs have to be the nastiest creatures that there are!  I despise slugs!  And slugs are the root word for sluggard.  I bet God despises a sluggard as much as I despise a slug.  In our verse, King Solomon says that when it is time to go our and prepare the farmland to plant the new crops, the sluggard doesn't want to go our because he thinks it is too cold.  But if he doesn't plow the ground and plant the seeds on time, the seeds can't begin to grow.  When the weather gets nice and warm, it is too late to go our and plant.  Now it is time for the little plants to be up and growing well.  So when other farmers are out harvesting their crops, the sluggard's plants are just beginning to grow up.  He put them out too late because he was too lazy and didn't want to go our and plow in the cool weather.  When the sluggard's plants get ready to produce their harvest, the cold frost of the fall kills them and the sluggard has no harvest.  You may remember that this is called Cause and Effect.  it is a chain of events like this:  The sluggard's crops don't produce because the fall frost killed the plants - because the plants were too late in maturing - because the seeds were put into the ground too late - because the sluggard didn't want to go out into the cool air to plow the ground.  The sluggard has no crops and no food for the year because way back in the early spring, he didn't want to get out of his warm house and do his work!  My, my!  One lazy day can have such a terrible result!  So what is our lesson here?  Talk about it and then I'll give you some of mine.

Don't be lazy.  Don't be afraid of the cold.  Don't put off the work that you must do.  Don't be a sluggard.  Do your work on time.

Read proverbs 20:1  Wine is mentioned many times in the Bible.  Some people say that the Bible does not say that drinking alcohol is wrong.  Jesus actually made wine at the marriage of Cana in John chapter2.  But Jesus never permitted drunkenness and the wine mentioned in the New Testament was always mixed with water.  It was kind of like Kool Aide.  In Bible times there were no refrigerators to keep grape juice fresh, so all grape juice turned to wine quickly as it sat outdoors.  But Jesus never used strong drink.  Here in Proverbs wine is always spoken of as bad for you.  Here in our verse Solomon even says that wine mocks whoever drinks it.  It makes fun of you.  When someone drinks wine or liquor, they become controlled by the drink.  They usually can't stop with just one drink.  Then the alcohol in the wine takes them over.  Their speech is slurred - they can't talk clearly.  Their vision is impaired - they can't see clearly.  Their actions are slowed and they stumble around clumsily - they can't act clearly.  When people see a drunk person stumbling around, they laugh at them.  They are not in control of themselves.  Their body is controlled by the liquor.  As our verse says the wine takes them over - the wine makes a mock of them.  Anyone who thinks that they can control wine is deceived - the wine is controlling them.  And our verse from God's holy Word says that they are not wise.  Be wise.  Stay away from wine.  Stay away from liquor.  Stay away from alcohol.  Be wise!

Read Proverbs 19:25  Well here is another verse about correction.  But after all, Solomon is giving advice to his son, and his son probably needed correction.  How do I know that?  That is because all sons need correction!  But here in our verse Solomon talks about three different kinds of sons: the scorner, the simple, and the son who has understanding.  Solomon tells us that the scorner will not listen.  He cannot be taught or reasoned with.  The only thing you can do with the scorner is to smite him.  That means a spanking.  Can you be reasoned with?  If your mother tells you, "If you keep on doing that, you will get into trouble" what do you do?  A wise son or daughter will think, "Hum.  I think I had better stop doing that before I get into trouble."  But the scorner doesn't stop.  The scorner thinks he can get away with what he is doing and not get into trouble.  He won't learn.  He won't listen.  He can't be taught.  When I was a teacher in junior high years ago, my classroom was next door to the storage room where the students got a paddling when they were very naughty.  When another teacher took a student into the storage room and spanked them, Me and all of my students heard the spanking.  It was funny, because all of my students sat up just a little straighter in their seats and paid just a little more attention to my teaching.  They were like the simple person mentioned in our verse.  Solomon said that when the scorner was punished, the simple watched and listened and paid attention.  But the best was the child of understanding.  When a wise son or daughter was corrected, they obeyed and changed their ways.  So, what kind of a kid are you?  A scorner who will not listen?  Are you a simple child who follows a scorner and only obeys when the scorner is punished?  or are you a child of understanding?  Do you listen and learn before you have to be punished?  it is much better to listen than to have to be corrected.  I hate getting into trouble.  Do you?  How can you keep from getting into trouble?  How did you get into trouble today?  How could you have avoided getting into trouble?  What about tomorrow?  Are you going to be more obedient tomorrow?  I hope so.

Read Proverbs 19:18  Oh no! I can't believe this verse is in the Bible!  I can't believe that parents who love their children are told here in this verse to actually spank them!  Our verse goes on to say that don't let up just because the kid cries.  Wow!  Is that cruelty, or what?!  Actually, if a parent does not correct their son our daughter, that is the worst kind of cruelty.  Why do I say that?  Well, I'll tell you.  The only way that a child learns self-control is for their parents to correct them.  How does a little kid learn that a hot stove will burn them?  Well, there are two ways: a parent can just let their child burn themselves or they can tell the child, "No, no.  Do not touch the stove.  It's hot."  Which one is the kindest?  Suppose little Willie wants to play with a sharp knife from the silverware drawer.  Should his father just let him play with it, or should his father stop him?  But he really wants to play with the sharp knife.  Why is his father being so mean?  Actually, his father is being loving in not letting little Willie play with the sharp knife. Willie's father knows how dangerous a sharp knife can be.  How about when little Mary wants to play in the street.  Why does her mother not let her?  The street is nice and wide and flat.  It is a perfect place to set up a playhouse.  Is her mother mean in not letting little Mary play in the street?  No, not at all.  Mother knows that the street can be a dangerous place for a little girl.  Mother knows what is best.  What if little Sophie kicks her feet in anger and wants to play doctor with the medicine bottles in the medicine cabinet?  But she really wants to play with them.  Why is mother so mean as not to let her play with the prescription pills up in the medicine cabinet?  I think you are getting the picture.  Children need parents to be in charge of them until they get old enough to be in charge of themselves.  We learn self-control as our parents teach us by their control.  Correcting a child is serious business and parents need to take their job seriously.  And children need to accept a parent's loving control.  Before you know it, you will be driving a car and making all sorts of adult decisions.  And how do you learn how to make adult decisions?  By learning from your parents, who make good decisions for you when you are too young to know how to make good decisions for yourself!  Turst your parents.  They love you and want only what is best for you.