Scripture Reading:

Proverbs 14:28

Proverbs 14:28

In the multitude of people is the king’s honor: but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince. 

When nations collapse, they first lose the will to perpetuate their civilization. Their birth rates implode because nobody wants to go through the pain and sacrifice of raising children for another generation. Effectively, the nation loses the will to live, and this is happening right now in places like Europe, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and China. Thanks largely to the convenient accessibility of birth control made possible in the 1950s, ninety nations around the world are already experiencing a population implosion. Whereas in former years it might have taken three to four hundred years of attrition for nations to collapse, birth control technology has contributed to the sharpest decline in population growth in the history of the world! As of the year 2000, the number of children in the world has declined,
and the bulk of the decline is happening in Europe. By the year 2020, out of the one billion fighting age men in the world, only sixty-five million will be Europeans. The French Empire survived as long as France was the most populous nation in Europe, with a population of twenty-seven million people. But by 1861, Germany exceeded
France’s population, and it wasn’t long before France became one of the weaker nations on the continent. Germany failed to take control of Europe, largely because another country with a similar demographic entered the world arena—the United States. While America increased its population from seventy-five million to three hundred million, Europe’s share of the world’s fighting age males fell from 27% in 1914 to 9% in 2009. This is how America became a world power. European nations held position as the strongest power centers in the world when they experienced a ten-fold growth in population from 1500–1900. But now, over the last one hundred years, the Muslim nations of Northern Africa and the Middle East have seen a similar ten-fold increase in population—from 140 million to 1.4 billion. The future does not bode well for Europe, and America’s future sits in the balance.

All of this illustrates the principle offered in this proverb: “In the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.” The empires of men are always destroyed by self-consumed opulence and complacency, combined with cultural myopia and a fatal pessimism concerning the future. Unless they are constantly under threat of war, these countries tend to lose the motivation to perpetuate their civilizations through the generations. It will always be this way with the nations of men, until they begin to seek another kingdom, and function according to a whole different motivation—the motive of love. Meanwhile, Christians will populate their communities with children, but only out of a passionate love for God and for the Kingdom of His Christ. They will raise their children with strong faith and character, with a
vision towards perpetuating the kingdom into the future, out of love for God and love for the children God has given them.

Proverbs 14:29

He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalts folly. 

If a man of great understanding is slow to become angry, how slow is ‘slow’? His actions and words are carefully and wisely measured. He takes time to question his own motives before he levels a severe admonition or rebuke towards one of his children. The idea that discipline must be dispassionate and unfeeling or limited to a sentiment of sadness is not biblical. A man who loves God above himself, and loves his neighbor as he loves himself, wisely governs his emotions. But when parents give way to hatred for a child, or allow selfishness to govern their spirits, they will find themselves responding in sinful anger.

Emotions used rightly are powerful things, and they should come into play as we minister to others in home or church. But be careful! In his epistle, Jude provides a helpful consideration of how we should emote as we minister to others:

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jude 21–23).

For related commentary, reference Proverbs 14:17. 

Proverbs 14:30

A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones. 

What is man? What is a human being? This anthropological question is basic, and if we cannot answer correctly, we will make mistakes in every other area of human thought and endeavor. If we do not rightly understand the basic constitution, the essential nature of a human, how can we solve man’s basic problems, develop political theory, or try to improve man’s condition on earth? According to a biblical definition, man is made up of both flesh and heart. What we can touch and see is a fleshly body, and what we cannot see is the heart, or soul. Skin, bones, muscles, and blood vessels take up space, and we can point to where they are. But where is the heart and soul? Does it reside on the end of your big toe, or is it swimming around somewhere in the brain stem?

One thing we can say with certainty is that the heart is intimately connected with the body, such that it is impossible to separate the two. A healthy heart is the life of the flesh. Those who are physically ill in the church should first call the pastors or elders, before visiting the doctor. James 5:14-16 urges the sick to confess their sins, and then the elders to pray over the sick, “and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” To trust unbelieving doctors to care for physical problems without addressing the spiritual issues would be an unbiblical bifurcation of soul and body. These doctors hold to the wrong worldview. They reject the spiritual world and treat patients as if they had no immaterial soul. This proverb is of special interest to all Christians, including medical doctors and pastors.

Envy is the rottenness of the bones. Following up on the more general statement of the first half of the verse, here is a more specific spiritual/physical connection. Envy is a malicious, flesh-eating sin that corrupts the body as termites destroy a house. These little insects eat out the wood and put a million little holes into the structural components of the home. Similarly, envy and other sins weaken the body and open it up to disease and eventual ruin.

There is a wicked, dark spirit lurking deep in the hearts of men. This spirit of envy hates the success, the accomplishments, and the good character of others. The covetous spirit would take the good things belonging to others. Envy would rather destroy the good of others. This evil spirit reduces Christian pastors to criticizing and harming the good ministry work of others. Even though the work might be imperfect, the envious ones are quick to toss the baby out with the bath water; and they do their best to defame their brothers by criticizing their work. As the sons of Israel sold their brother into slavery and as the Jews delivered Christ into the hands of the Romans by envy, men will still hate other men for the good they do. If men are not repenting, they will hate those who are. If men do not love as God commanded, they will hate those who do love. If men are proud, they will hate the
humble. It is hard to imagine a sin so evil and so destructive as envy!

Family Discussion Questions:

1. Why would we want to produce children and raise a large family? Do we want to populate our country? Or is there some other motivation that works in us? Do we emote in a positive way or in a sinful way?

2. Do we always govern our emotions, sometimes govern our emotions, or almost never govern our emotions? Do we emote in a positive way or in a sinful way?

3. Have you ever seen the sin of envy creeping into your heart? In what situations are you likely to envy others? How does envy differ from covetousness?