Proverbs 29:5

Proverbs 29:5  A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet. Flattering is a big word that means to talk wonderfully to someone in order to make them like you better. For example, you may tell someone how smart they are and they will like your words. They like your words, not because they are smart, but they just like being told that they are smart. And so they like you, and they think that you are smart. But neither one of you are smart because you are just saying fake words.  You just told them that they were smart and they liked what you said. But when the truth eventually comes out, they will realize that you were just saying that they were smart for your benefit. They will realize that you were not truthful with them. You are caught! Our verse says that you are caught just like a hunter sets a trap and catches an animal. The hunter spreads a net out on the ground, camouflages it with leaves and grass, and puts bait in the middle. The poor unsuspecting creature falls for the trick, eats the bait, and is caught in the net that is spread right under its feet. If you start saying insincere words to someone, eventually you will get caught in your own words. So just don't do it. Always speak the truth. You will never be sorry.

Proverbs 29:4

Proverbs 29:4  The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it. What is the job of a judge? Usually two people have a disagreement and they can't resolve their problems, so thy go before a judge who is wise, and he decides what is right and wrong. He decides who wins and who loses. But what if one of the people who is going before the judge, secretly, the day before, gives the judge an envelope with $200 in it?! A judge who accepts that envelope with money in it, is no longer fair. He is corrupted. He has accepted a bribe. His decision is no longer just, it is crooked. If someone gives you a gift, but expects a favor in return, they are not really giving you a gift; they are buying you and making you theirs to boss around. By giving you the gift and you accepting the gift, they own you! If it is your birthday and someone gives you a gift, that is different. If someone just wants to give you a gift, that is fine. But if they expect a favor in return, the gift is not just a gift, it is a gift with strings attached. That means that they will pull on their gift when they want you to do something for them in return. If you accept this false gift, the gift-giver will soon want you to do them a favor in return. So the gift is not really a gift. Be careful. Be fair. Don't be an unfair judge. Don't receive secret gifts. Don't let someone else buy you or buy a favor from you.

Proverbs 29:2

Proverbs 29:2  When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn. Do you like it when your mother and father are yelling all the time? Do your parents like it when their children are fussing at each other all of the time? Do you think that your pastor likes it when the church members are arguing with each other all of the time? No, no, no. We all like peace and quiet. When good people are in charge, things are nice and quiet. But when wicked people are in control, there is trouble! No one is happy, not even the wicked person who is in charge! They don't even like themselves! We all like peace. If we follow God and follow the good people who God has put in charge of us, everyone will be happy, happy, happy. Right?!

Proverbs 29:1

Proverbs 29:1  He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Have you ever been warned about something? I have. When our mother or father warns us about something, we should listen. If we don't listen, it is our fault when we get into trouble. When I was a little boy my mother warned me to clean out and straighten up my dresser drawers. But I didn't listen to her. So when I got home from school that day, I found all of the stuff from all of my drawers were dumped on my bed! I couldn't go to bed that night until I had put all of my stuff neatly back into my dresser drawers. I didn't listen until it was too late! If we get into trouble that is bad, but if we were warned and didn't listen, that is even worse! We had a chance and didn't take it. God loves us and gives us warnings. We should listen to God's warnings before it is too late! Can you name some of the warnings that God gives us? Let's try to obey God's warnings. We will be glad, and so will our Heavenly Father!

Proverbs 28:28

Proverbs 28:28  When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase. This verse is talking about good people and bad people. I am reminded of a seesaw. Some people call it a teeter totter. It goes up and down and up and down and . . . well you get the picture. Our verse says that when the wicked rise what do good people do? But when the wicked people perish, what do the good people do?  It is like our teeter totter: when the wicked people are up, the good people are down and when the good people are up, the wicked people are down. I like it when the wicked people are down and the good people are up! If we obey God and are as bold as a lion, we will chase the wicked people away. Or, better yet, we may even convince the wicked people to change their wicked ways and become good people. They become good people by trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior. He will change their wicked hearts into good, kind hearts.

Proverbs 28:27

Proverbs 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. This is at the same time a wonderful promise and a fearful warning from the Bible! Do you know that God sees everything? Does God see you when you are kind to someone and no one else sees it? Yes, He does! Does God see you when you are unkind to someone and no one else sees it? Again, yes, He does! This verse says that God likes it when we are kind to the poor and God dislikes it when we avoid helping the poor. When we see someone in need, what do we do? Do we help or do we pretend that we don't see them? To be blessed by God, we should be kind to the poor. And don't forget, God is watching!

Proverbs 28:23

Proverbs 28:23  He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. When someone asks you if you like the dress they are wearing, what do you say? Do you tell them the truth or do you tell them what they want to hear? Oh, you should never be unkind to someone with a smart mouth, but you should be careful what you say and not hurt someone's feelings. I was at a hospital visiting a family years ago and the new father was admiring his new little baby. But, it was the ugliest baby that I had ever seen! He asked me, "Isn't that the most beautiful baby you have ever seen?" I thought for a moment and said, "Wow, that is some baby!" He was happy with what I had said, and I had still told the truth. We need to be truthful, but kind at the same time. But truthful has to be first. If we lie and say that that is the most beautiful baby that we have ever laid eyes upon, soon the father will realize that we lied to him. We were just flattering him about his ugly baby. And he will not appreciate our lie, even though it was well intended. Tell the truth and be kind in telling it - if you can. But always tell the truth.