Proverbs 28:11 ¶ The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but
the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
To be wise in your own conceits is to be self-righteous
and full of self-worship. You’re puffed up and think you’re better than other
people. Previous Proverbs have said;
Proverb 26:5 Answer a fool according to his
folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.
Proverb 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his
own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
The Christian is told not to be wise in his own
conceits. Neither over the Jews;
Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles be come in.
Nor over other Christians in his own
congregation.
Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one toward
another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise
in your own conceits.
Rich people are not necessarily wise because
they have money and poor people are not necessarily stupid because they have
not. Solomon, the king and the preacher, noticed this in his life.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 ¶ I returned, and saw under
the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,
neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet
favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
The poor man that has understanding
can expose the rich man without wisdom, which is what understanding is, for the
fool that he may be. Here are wisdom and understanding given as synonymous, as
in many cases, words connected by “and” are synonymous and are alternative
words to each other in definition;
Exodus 36:1 Then wrought Bezaleel and
Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and
understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the
sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded.
Deuteronomy 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes,
and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For instance, this is the nature of the inspiration given to
men from God to write the Bible, to translate it, or to copy it, if such
inspiration has, indeed, been put on them. The Bible is not usually word for
word dictation but the results of the wisdom God gave unto men who were
sometimes exiles, poor, despised, and ignored who obeyed and honored Him, and
whom He chose to preserve His words.
Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and
the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
2 Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even
as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath
written unto you;
So, with regard to this Proverb,
don’t mistake being clever, resourceful, cheap, arrogant, manipulative, and
selfish for wisdom. You might be exposed for a fool by someone you wouldn’t
permit to shine your shoes. Just remember Paul’s admonition to us.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace
given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath
dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Proverbs 28:12 ¶ When righteous men do rejoice, there is
great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
In countries where there is freedom of religion
and freedom of conscience righteous men and women are free to rejoice, to give
thanks, and to give glory to God. But when a country is ruled by wicked men and
women or a wicked culture that does not regard freedom of religion and
conscience the righteous must hide. You don’t find outspoken Christians in one
of those wicked nations where Christians who speak up glorifying God and
rejoicing in their salvation are murdered or locked away.
2Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
The greatest gift that America has given the
world, the greatest ideal, is not our economic system but our commitment to freedom;
freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, and the like.
Within certain arguable bounds our government permits people to speak their
minds and worship as they so choose. Yes, there are many divisions of religion
here, many denominations and many arguments as to what true faith is but that
is also our strength in that no one church organization can openly rule the
rest. As long as the government stays secular the more freedom Christians will
have to worship and to serve Christ.
There will be a constant struggle as to what the
bounds are of expressions of faith but this argument is also good in that the
dialogue implies that there is freedom and that we are only arguing about what
the limits should be in order not to infringe upon another’s right to enjoy
their freedom. When righteous men are free to rejoice, there is great glory.
But when the wicked rise, who wish to impose their own brand of faith whether
it be in a god or gods or whether it be in man alone, so that no one else is
free to follow the dictates of their own conscience in who or what they worship
and how, then the righteous are hidden, the man is not to be seen who glorifies
the God of the Bible, the One who created all things.
In America you have the freedom to believe and
to worship and walk God’s way or the freedom to go to Hell in your own. You
have the freedom to search out the difference. It’s a freedom we must always
guard.
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