The Book of Proverbs is a collection of short sayings by King Solomon, who is considered one of the wisest men to ever live. The teachings of the book are intended as instructions to live an effective life on earth. There are countless messages in the Proverbs describing not only a good man, but a wise man, and we have provided some our favourites:
Proverbs 12:19 – The lip of truth shall be established for ever; But a lying tongue is but for a moment
Positive and truthful speech will always have a lasting quality while dishonesty tends to linger for a while but inevitably exposes itself. In Proverbs 12 it also reads “Lies self-destruct and destroy those who make them”. Next time you tell a lie consider it a small bomb you’ve planted in your soul that one day might explode.
Proverbs 8:10/11 – Receive my instruction, and not silver; And knowledge rather than choice gold. 11For wisdom is better than rubies; And all the things that may be desired are not to be compared unto it.
In this modern world young men get too caught up with a definition of success that was pushed across to you by social media influencers. Constantly being bombarded with flashy cars (rentals), houses (Airbnbs) and expensive jewellery (fake) but that has always been the currency of the foolish man. Real role models do not value themselves on their materialistic possessions but rather their wisdom and experience, which is why most successful men would rather lose every dollar they have, then compromise their mind. Which to them is their real treasury.
Proverbs 13:4 – The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
Never in history has it ever been so easy to be lazy, as a lot of the population have the worlds comforts right at their fingertips. Desiring other people, objects and lifestyles while taking no action is exactly what most of us do when scrolling through Instagram. So, never has it been more important to be diligent and disciplined in a world where we are smothered by the opposite, that is how you will stand out.
Proverbs 13:7 – One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
A perfect example of your “social media influencer”, whose sole job and purpose is to purvey the perfect life. This is not a new concept to civilisation, but it has never had a deeper meaning then in today’s world. Don’t be fooled by the façade some people uphold and do not think that great wealth relies purely on how others perceive you.
Proverbs 13:20 – Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.
When you are young try take more seriously those you spend your time with as you will become a combination of everyone you have ever known.
Proverbs 27:6 – Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
Keep the friends who are willing to pull you up with direct honesty dear to you and do not be clouded by the multiple kisses/compliments you may receive from “enemies”. Be wise enough when to know if a person is telling you what you want to hear and appreciate those who tell you what you need to hear.
Proverbs 29:23 – A man’s pride shall bring him low; But he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honour.
A man’s pride can bring him down, but humility will bring him honour.
Having great pride can lead to moments of embarrassment and humiliation but an honourable man can swallow such moments with great humility. You will often see this amongst trained fighters who exercise extreme humility when aggressively confronted on the street, holding back and letting the other man walk off feeling (high) that he has obtained the upper hand while they know they had the power to lower him.
Life isn’t about winning every single altercation or argument. Most of the time you will have to sit there and swallow your pride and win the internal battle against your own emotions than the external battle against the fool.
Proverbs 3:15 – She is more precious than rubies: And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
A virtuous woman should never be compared to all the “rubies” of the world as she is much rarer to find.
A lot of young men do not appreciate the girlfriend they may have at the time because of distractions the world puts on him and the strong urges he fights at that age. But with wisdom and age you will realise the truth of this proverb.
Proverbs 20:17 – Food gained by fraud is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth is full of gravel.
If you obtain something you don’t deserve, it will sit within you like it does not belong.
Never feel like anything goes unpunished and always assume the chickens will one day come home to roost.
All bad deeds have an after taste.
Proverbs 20:14 – “It’s worthless, it’s worthless!” the buyer says, but after he is on his way, he gloats.
This is a story of a buyer trying to undermine the value of what the seller is trying to sell. Once purchasing said item for a discount he then gloats to his friends and family about the value of the same item he was once calling worthless.
The message here is to always be cautious of a person’s word who has an invested interest into something or someone. Often depending on their circumstance, they can be saying one thing one day and the opposite the next.
Try judge the value of things or other people through your own lens and not someone else’s, who may have a motive you are unaware about.
Proverb 20:29 – The glory of young men is their strength; And the beauty of old men is their hoary head.
As a young man your glory is in your strength of character and ability/vigour to overcome the inevitable hurdles life permits onto you. As an old man your beauty is in the greyness of your hair which represents your experience, relentlessness and wisdom acquired through a hard life.
They are two sides of a coin, a strong young man and a wise old one.
Proverbs 18:24 – A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
There is a funny paradox with life that often when you have the most friends you are the worst version of yourself. Perhaps that is because most of your energy is used to please other people rather than focusing on yourself.
It’s no coincidence most successful or happy people operate inside a very small circle of friends or family.
This is how I have interpreted these Proverbs, but I am sure you will find your own meaning from them.
Written by: Thomas Hakim