Proverbs - Government and Society

	"That which has been is that which will be," Solomon proposes in Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, "and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, 'See this, it is new'? Already it has existed for ages which were before us.  There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later {still.}"
	How right Solomon is on both counts.  There is nothing new under the sun.  And people fail to learn lessons from the past.  Even today there are those who suggest that we cannot use the past to help us decide how we should act in the present.  Situations are always different, they claim.  These are the people who would doom us to repeat the mistakes of our forerunners.
	Solomon strengthens his position in the book of Proverbs when he suggests solutions to problems which sound as though they are from the 1990s.  Contrary to those who claim that the Bible is outdated, the Word of God is just as up-to-date as it has ever been.  What advice does the book of Proverbs have for us and our society?  Well, it has some words of wisdom for our government. Let's consider just a few.  And why don't you read the book for yourself and see what you can find.  You might be amazed.  You might even run across some advice for Wiley Coyote.
	Our government would do well to listen to Solomon's advice about crime and punishment.
	"Stern discipline is for him who forsakes the way;" we read in Proverbs 15:10, "He who hates reproof will die."
	"Judgments are prepared for scoffers," Proverbs 19:29 observes, "and blows for the back of fools."
	We have removed from our vocabulary words such as "responsibility," "discipline" and "punishment."  A television program presented a segment dealing with prison inmates who clog the courts and drain state budgets by filing frivolous lawsuits.  They are served creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy, so they sue.  Inmates photocopy lawsuit papers so that others can easily file similar suits.  Some could not even remember how many they had filed.   One convict made the comment that he was not in prison to be punished.  He was just being separated from society for a period of time.  Does America buy this argument?  Solomon doesn't.
	Our government would also do well to heed Solomon's words about welfare.  There is no question that we must help those who are really in need.
	"He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;" Proverbs 17:5 notes, "he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished."
	"He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord," Proverbs 19:17 points out, "and He will repay him for his good deed."
	"He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered," Solomon warns in Proverbs 21:13.
	"The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor," we find in Proverbs 29:7, "the wicked does not understand {such} concern."
	There is no question about our obligation, and even our privilege, to help those in need.  But Proverbs does not recommend that we do anything to encourage the lazy.
	"Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise," Proverbs 6:6-11 instructs.  "Which, having no chief, officer or ruler,  prepares her food in the summer, {and} gathers her provision in the harvest.  How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?  'A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest'-- and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man."
	"Laziness casts into a deep sleep," Solomon writes in Proverbs 19:15, "and an idle man will suffer hunger."
	"The sluggard buries his hand in the dish," verse 24 adds, "{and} will not even bring it back to his mouth."
	"The sluggard does not plow after the autumn," we read in Proverbs 20:4, "so he begs during the harvest and has nothing."
	"The desire of the sluggard puts him to death," Proverbs 21:25 points out, "for his hands refuse to work."
	"The sluggard says, 'There is a lion outside; I shall be slain in the streets!'" Solomon states in Proverbs 22:13.
	There are frequently stories from Naples, Italy, about city employees who show up only to collect their pay checks.  One such story involves a man hired to pick up garbage with a night crew. But he never works a single shift.  When the police show up at his door, his mother explains that it is too dangerous for him to be out on the streets at night. Of course, he still picks up his checks for the work that he has never done.  There is nothing new under the sun.

	Proverbs contains valuable words of wisdom for our government.  We need to remember responsibility, discipline and punishment.  We need to help those in need.  But we must not encourage the lazy.  The point about discipline, including self-discipline, is not limited to the law.  Our culture in general must learn about discipline and responsibility.
	"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge," Proverbs 12:1 teaches, "but he who hates reproof is stupid."
	I like that one.  Don't you?  Solomon doesn't beat around the bush.  It couldn't be stated more clearly.  He who hates reproof is stupid.
	Our society needs to listen to Solomon's instructions about morality.  There seems to be a tendency for our culture to rely on sensuality.  It seems as though a product cannot be advertised without relying on sensuality.  A television program or movie cannot be promoted without relying on sensuality.  We are playing with fire.  And we are being burned.
	"For the lips of an adulteress drip honey," Proverbs 5:3-6 observes, "and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of Sheol.  She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know {it}."
	We are paying the price of our  reliance upon sensuality.
	Our society no longer values the truth.  A man's word is no longer his bond.  How does God feel about this attitude?
	"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord," Solomon notes in Proverbs 12:22, "but those who deal faithfully are His delight."
	What about dishonesty in our culture?  Have cheating and stealing become acceptable?
	"A false balance is an abomination to the Lord," Proverbs 11:1 says, "but a just weight is His delight."
	"A just balance and scales belong to the Lord;" we learn from Proverbs 16:11, "all the weights of the bag are His concern."
	"How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!" Proverbs 16:16 points out.  "And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver."
	"Bread obtained by falsehood is sweet to a man," Solomon agrees in Proverbs 20:17.  "But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel."
	Solomon is familiar with merchants who have two sets of weights.  One is for buying.  The other is for selling.  The first is a little heavy.  The second is a little light.  There is nothing new under the sun.
	What about the language that we hear all around us?  Is it innocent?  Is it acceptable?
	"He who has a crooked mind finds no good," Proverbs 17:20 cautions, "and he who is perverted in his language falls into evil." 
	Are we going to learn from these words of wisdom, or are we going to insist on repeating the mistakes of the past?  Solomon has some words of warning as we consider our response.
	"Hear, my son, your father's instruction," he suggests in Proverbs 1:8-19, "and do not forsake your mother's teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head, and ornaments about your neck.  My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause; let us swallow them alive like Sheol, even whole, as those who go down to the pit; we shall find all {kinds} of precious wealth, we shall fill our houses with spoil; throw in your lot with us, we shall all have one purse,' My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, for their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood.  Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird; but they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.  So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; it takes away the life of its possessors."
	"Do not enter the path of the wicked," he cautions in Proverbs 4:14-19, "and do not proceed in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on.  For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; and they are robbed of sleep unless they make {someone} stumble.  For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.  But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.  The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble." 
	There are two pathways before us.  One is dark and dangerous, but most seem to prefer it.  The second is illuminated by God's Word.  But most scoff at this path.  They refuse to walk down it.  Let's hope that we wake up.  Let's hope that we choose the pathway of truth so that we may be free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."