Proverbs 13:1-9

A wise son or daughter desires a father’s discipline, but the know-it-all never listens to correction. The words of the wise are kind and easy to swallow, but the unbeliever just wants to pick a fight and argue. Guard your words and you’ll guard your life, but if you don’t control your tongue, it will ruin everything. The slacker wants it all and ends up with nothing, but the hard worker ends up with all that he longed for. Lovers of God hate what is phony and false, but the wicked are full of shame and behave shamefully. Righteousness is like a shield of protection, guarding those who keep their integrity, but sin is the downfall of the wicked. One pretends to be rich but is poor. Another pretends to be poor but is quite rich. The self-assurance of the rich is their money, but people don’t kidnap and extort the poor! The virtues of God’s lovers shine brightly in the darkness, but the flickering lamp of the ungodly will be extinguished.