Do not be afraid of sudden terror
or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,
for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being caught.
27. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to do it.
28. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
29. Do not plan evil against your neighbor,
who dwells trustingly beside you.
30. Do not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
31. Do not envy a man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
Psychologist and sociologist would tell us it is not healthy to tell people (especially young people) what they can’t do, but give them an alternative to what they can do. Most would not critique that that philosophy of life. However, in the above passages, the wisest man ever created by God, Solomon, might have a few things to add to that thinking. In these chapters of Proverbs, Solomon is outlining the difference between wisdom and folly. You can’t read the proverbs without that mindset. Each line of of each proverb says something about wisdom or something about folly. In the above six proverbs he outlines a number of do not do type passages. He is trying to stop us from doing something foolish. It might be nice to always tell people what they can do. Let’s hope that can be our major goal for life. But as Solomon has outlines, there are times we must simply tell someone do not do that. That is wisdom, as well.
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