Proverbs 29:1-9

For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it’ll be too late to help them. When good people run things, everyone is glad, but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans. If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents, but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with prostitutes. A leader of good judgment gives stability; an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste. A flattering neighbor is up to no good; he’s probably planning to take advantage of you. Evil people fall into their own traps; good people run the other way, glad to escape. The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor; the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea. A gang of cynics can upset a whole city; a group of sages can calm everyone down. A sage trying to work things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.