Some Important Thoughts from the Proverbs

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
    consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
    no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
    and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
    When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man.

A troublemaker and a villain,
    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,
    who winks maliciously with his eye,
    signals with his feet
    and motions with his fingers,
    who plots evil with deceit in his heart—
    he always stirs up conflict.
Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;
    he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

Proverbs 6:6-12

The teacher warns about laziness in 6-11. Here he enjoins everyone to be industrious and active in providing for the material needs of their families and setting something aside for a “rainy day” so to speak. Imagine living in an agrarian society in which wealth was achieved by producing food. Your first goal would be to produce enough to feed your family. Your second goal would be to produce enough extra to exchange with others for additional supplies that your family might need that you cannot grow or make yourself, and only then can you have enough to sell so that you can have savings for hard times. In such a circumstance, there isn’t much leisure time; thus, the warning.

In 12-15 the teacher warns against stirring up trouble within the community. There is no coincidence that this follows the warning about laziness, for this is the kind of person who ends up being the one described in these verses; a troublemaker. This is the person who has a foul mouth, a toxic attitude, someone who would rather scheme and plot than do an honest day’s work. This reminds me of the classic villain in an old Western; the guy who is more interested in cheating someone than earning a living, the guy who always gets killed at the end of the movie.

The last small section really needs no elaboration from me. Seven woes that should be our guides through life:

There are six things the Lord hates,
    seven that are detestable to him:
       haughty eyes,
        a lying tongue,
        hands that shed innocent blood,
       a heart that devises wicked schemes,
        feet that are quick to rush into evil,
       a false witness who pours out lies
        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Proverbs 6:16-19