Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,
    when they are not able to understand it?

A friend loves at all times,
    and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge
    and puts up security for a neighbor.

Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
    whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
    one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

Proverbs 17:16-20

Most people would like to live a tranquil existence, even carefree if possible. Solomon has given us five verses here in chapter 17, which present some keys to finding tranquility. Looking at the first one, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if we desire a tranquil life, we probably shouldn’t hang around with fools; especially fools with money− they will bring nothing but trouble.

In the next verse, good friends and family make the best companions. Verse 18 gives us insight into what is and is not smart in business matters. Next, we see the connection between quarrelling and sin, and advertising our wealth, in this case, by building a “high gate”. If you need a gate, there is really no point in building a target. Finally, in verse 20 we see the result of allowing ourselves to be corrupted by the world around us. I think it’s fair to say that this usually happens slowly, bit by bit, until we lose track of how far we have strayed from right and wrong. A corrupted heart ruins our good judgment and dirties our mouths and things start to go wrong.

More importantly, corruption pulls us away from God, and that never brings about a good result.