Context No. 3060 of 4322 · Proverbs

Proverbs 19:1-16: in context

1Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool. 2It isn’t good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty with one’s feet and miss the way. 3The foolishness of man subverts his way; his heart rages against the LORD. 4Wealth adds many friends, but the poor is separated from his friend. 5A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who pours out lies shall not go free. 6Many will entreat the favor of a ruler, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 7All the relatives of the poor shun him; how much more do his friends avoid him! He pursues them with pleas, but they are gone. 8He who gets wisdom loves his own soul. He who keeps understanding shall find good. 9A false witness shall not be unpunished. He who utters lies shall perish. 10Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool, much less for a servant to have rule over princes. 11The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense. 12The king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass. 13A foolish son is the calamity of his father. A wife’s quarrels are a continual dripping. 14House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. 15Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep. The idle soul shall suffer hunger. 16He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is contemptuous in his ways shall die.

These proverbs weigh integrity, poverty, and wisdom. Better is a poor person who walks in integrity than a fool with crooked lips. Zeal without knowledge is not good. Wealth attracts many friends, but the poor are deserted even by their relatives. A person's good sense makes him slow to anger.

Two threads stand out. First, a frank realism about how the world treats rich and poor: wealth brings many friends, but the poor person is left even by his own kin. Proverbs does not pretend this is right; it names the hard truth so we can resist it. And second, a jewel about handling offense: good sense makes a person slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. To let a wrong pass, to refuse to take up every slight, is not weakness at all but glory, a mark of real wisdom and strength of soul.

Is it my glory, as Proverbs says, to overlook an offense and be slow to anger, or do I insist on taking up every slight against me?

Sources

Proverbs 19:11: "The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger. It is his glory to overlook an offense."
Proverbs 19:1: "Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in his lips and is a fool."
1 Peter 4:8: "For love covers a multitude of sins."