Proverbs 13:15-19

Proverbs 13:15-19 are proverbs on various topics.

Verse 15--Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the faithless is their ruin.

Verse 16--The clever do all things intelligently,
but the fool displays folly.

Verse 17--A bad messenger brings trouble,
but a faithful envoy, healing.

Verse 18--Poverty and disgrace are for the one who ignores instruction,
but one who heeds reproof is honored.

Verse 19--A desire realized is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

What important practical lessons can one learn from these proverbs?
1. A righteous person uses good judgment in dealing with life's issues. She/He thinks things through and then acts accordingly. But a fool lives to do evil without considering the consequences and thus makes a public spectacle of her/his folly.
2. One can trust faithful persons to report her/his message to others and [spiritual, social, spiritual]healing results. On the other hand, an unfaithful messenger betrays the one sending the message, and trouble results between the originator of the message and its recipient.
3. As in verse 1, verse 18 encourages those who want to live for God to listen to and accept reproof or rebuke, and to change if this is appropriate. But many are so set in their ways that they refuse to change even if this is best for them and for all concerned.
4. Whereas verse 12 said: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick," verse 19 says: A desire realized is sweet to the soul. When one desires what is good and prays and works to achieve it, it is very rewarding to the heart to realize that desire.

John Willis