Gimme a Switch
17
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!
18
Discipline your children while there is hope.
Otherwise you will ruin their lives.
19
Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty.
If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
Verse 17
God cares about poor people. He wants us to help them. See Matthew 25:31-46.
Don't think of this proverb as a way to get rich quickly by giving money to the poor in hopes that God will reward you with more money.
Verse 18
Perhaps you have an evil son. As he becomes older, his behavior may become worse. Perhaps he will die when a judge punishes him. But we know that God will punish that son.
Perhaps you can still rescue your son. Perhaps if you punish him, he will change his behavior. Perhaps your son will pray to God. Perhaps your son will ask God to forgive him.
Do not be afraid to punish your son! You may save him from a much worse punishment.
This goes against worldly advice, these days. I've seen many children grow into troubled adults because their parents wanted to be their friend instead of disciplining them when needed.
Verse 19
Discipline is not just for young people. Adults should also learn to have discipline. In other words, they should teach themselves to behave well. But some people easily become angry. You might work hard to rescue such a man from his punishment. But if he becomes angry again, then you must rescue him again.
This is important as more people get angry over small things. Don't try to lessen the consequences when a friend loses their temper. They need to face the results of their actions, which might help them think before getting angry next time. to teach this person not to be angry. He should learn to be patient. An angry person has many troubles, because of his anger.
Let me ask you: Have you ever helped calm things down after a friend lost their temper? Next time, will you still help them?
Struggle to Standing. Available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/ev3YUqw
Website at https://www.wisdomfortheday.org
Support the show and Community Membership
I Love You!
See Ya!