Proverbs 13:1 "A wise son heareth his father's instruction: But a scorner heareth not rebuke."

A wise son follows his father's correction and discipline. The son that scorns his father will not listen to his father, nor follow any of his advice. His mind is closed to any advice given and he is worthless on matters when you have to count on him.

Proverbs 13:2 "A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: But the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence."

This has a double meaning, on one hand, when you put food in your mouth, chew it over real good before you swallow it. The other point is that when you take a thought into your mind for instruction, think on what has been said real good before you discard that advice. Now in reference to the soul, we are talking about spiritual matters here, for the soul of the person does not die when the flesh dies. The soul that sinneth shall surely die, and reap that which he or she has done in the flesh. Remember Revelation 20:14, and 15? That violence that comes to the sinning transgressor is the second death, the death of the soul at judgment day.

Proverbs 13:3 "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: But he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction."

Think of it in this light; "He that guards his mouth, guards his life." If you keep opening your mouth and spouting off, in time your own words will ruin you. This is speaking of gossipers and ratchet jaws.

Proverbs 13:4 "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: But the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."

God will never bless a lazy sluggard, and the lazy person will have or achieve nothing. Though he desires to have a lot of things and accomplish much, he will never have the money nor time to get it. However the person that is dedicated to hard work, and gets out there and works for what he want, gets his desires. That is life, for there is no free lunches. Even the free lunch program at school is paid for our taxes.

Proverbs 13:5 "A righteous man hateth lying: But a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame."

All righteous men and women hate to be lied to and deceived. It doesn't take long for a wicked man to damage his character and reputation. Once you have damaged your reputation, it is hard to erase that shame that comes with it. Your character and reputation are the most valuable things that you have.

Proverbs 13:6 "Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: But wickedness overthroweth the sinner."

The person that follows the path of righteousness doesn't stray off into trouble. When you try to do right, it will keep you in righteousness. However the acts of wickedness, or deceit will cause the wicked ones downfall.

Proverbs 13:7 "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: There is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches."

This is talking about, keeping up with the Joneses, when a person tries to present him or herself to others as being rich, when they do not have the income to support that kind of life-style. They make you think that they own half of the town when you listen to them talk, when in fact they can't even buy a good meal. However, there are people that you may think of as being poor as church mice, yet they have wealth that could buy half the town. This one spoken of as having great riches is the type of a person that goes into the real estate office, and the sales person brings out the book on properties on the other side of the tracks. Many times you just cannot tell by looking at a person, as to their wealth. This verse will save you a lot of time and trouble when you are in business, and trying to judge a man's wealth by his dress and appearance.

Proverbs 13:8 "The ransom of the man's life are his riches: But the poor heareth not rebuke."

A man's good life is his ransom to his life in the eternity, and that is where his riches should be stored up. Your eternal riches ransoms you from hell fire. However, "the poor" of this verse will not listen nor learn from anything that is told them. This is not directed to a poor person, but to one that will not heed threats that are on his life.

Proverbs 13:9 "The light of the righteous rejoiceth: But the lamp of the wicked shall be put out."

Why? Because "the light of the righteous" is Jesus Christ. But those that do not have the light, and path, which is Jesus, will be put out of God's eternal kingdom. That soul shall be blotted out at the judgment seat of our Heavenly Father. That is a promise and it is written in Revelation 20:13, 15; "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." [13] "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." [14] "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." [15]

The wicked will be blotted right out of the book, for it will be as if they never existed. They will be no more!

Proverbs 13:10 "Only by pride cometh contention: But with the well advised is wisdom."

"Nothing but contention comes from pride:" for pride will always cause contention. Anytime a person is full of pride, they are placing themselves above others, and looking down on them.

Proverbs 13:11 " Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: But he that gathereth by labour shall increase."

Any wealth obtained by your vanity or ill-gotten gains will not stay long with you. You simply will not be able to keep it. However if you work for everything you have, your wealth will grow and increase. There are no free rides in this world, for the harder you work, the more your increase.

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."

"Hope deferred" means that there is something that you know has to be done, but you keep putting it off to another time. You are just afraid to start the project because it may take more time or money than you planned. Of course, it is then put off to the point that it never happens. However, if you just get out and start that job and get it done, it is with the help of the "tree of life". Christ is the tree of life, and Christ will step in and help you, as long as you do the job His way.

Proverbs 13:13 "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: But he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."

This verse deals with how you look at, and follow the Word of God. When you follow the instructions given in God's Word governing how you live your life, you will be rewarded. However when you despise the path or way set forth in God's Word, you will be blotted out of existence on that great white throne judgment day.

Proverbs 13:14 "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To depart from the snares of death."

You escape death of your soul when you receive immortality that only comes by your following the path or righteousness, as laid out in the Word of God. That is where you receive instruction to eternal life. Remember, all wisdom comes from God, and "the law of the wise" is given by God in His Word. The law of the wise, is the law of God.

Proverbs 13:15 "Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard."

"Good understanding" allows you to use tact in all that you do and say. It gives you common sense in the way you speak to people, and in the things that you do. However the way of the transgressor is hard, and usually to strong and over bearing.

Proverbs 13:16 "Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: But a fool layeth open his folly."

There is only one way to deal with people, no matter what problem is in, and that is by getting all the knowledge for that situation. This applies to family problems as well as in the market place. If you do not have all the sides and knowledge of any problem, you can not make a wise decision. "The fool layeth open his folly" for every time he speaks, only folly and confusion comes out. You just don't pay attention to fools.

Proverbs 13:17 "A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: But a faithful ambassador is health."

This is speaking of "an ambassador of God"; one that claims to be of God, yet speaks out of his own imaginations will only cause mischief and mislead people. But the ambassador or teacher of God's Word that stays with the Word, chapter by chapter, verse by verse will give spiritual health to those he teaches. The ambassador of God's Word will always bring a healing spirit to everyone that will listen to him and heeds the instructions. When the listener follows that instruction, it will heal both the physical and spiritual body, as well as his or her family and business.

Proverbs 13:18 "Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured."

That individual that just will not listen to sound instruction will fail in what he does all the time. He won't listen to what others tell him, nor does he care to learn, but stumbles through life with one failure after another. However when you listen to good advice and follow that advice you will gain by doing so. Most good advice usually comes free, and before you take any advice, look at the person giving the advice. Take your advice from those that have proven themselves, not those failures that that have never done anything right in their lives. Always go to the most successful person in whatever field you are seeking the advise for, and ask him or her for advise. Then you will be "honored" because you will be successful. The wisest advice that you can receive on all matters will come right out of the Word of God.

Proverbs 13:19 "The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: But it is abomination to fools to depart from evil."

When you work hard to do any work it is sweet to the soul, because you did it yourself. But to the fool, it is an abomination to him to walk away from his lazy life. The fool [#3684 in Strong's dictionary], "Keciyl, stupid, silly", simply does not want to stop doing the evil that he is doing; he finds pleasure in being a sluggard. Of course God can give the person a nudge in the right direction with a touch of the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed."

"Birds of a feather flock together"; you will be just like the people that you like to run around with. If you enjoy being with successful people, you will build that in your character. If you hang around with drunks and sluggards, that is exactly what you will become. If you bake a cake and use all sorts of garbage in your recipe, of course the final results of your cake will be unfit to eat. If you trash your mind with garbage and evil thoughts, that is what you will become. In the end, if you do not follow good judgment in selecting your friends, it will cause you damage to your character and reputation in the long run. You are the one that chooses the path that you will follow, and that choice will either build you up or destroy you. God gave you a free will, and it is up to you to do something about it, whether you are a doer, or a cry baby.

Proverbs 13:21 "Evil pursueth sinners: But to the righteous good shall be repayed."

Misfortune is always there for the sinner that seeks to do wrong to others. But those that try to do right in all that they do will be relayed for their good works. You simply cannot out do God in following righteous works. There is no such thing as luck, which is nothing but a god and religious practice to the unrighteous. When you do right to others, God causes the breaks to come your way in your life.

Proverbs 13:22 "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: And the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."

This good man that used wisdom, laid up a wealth by his good planning, and there was an inheritance to be left for his grandchildren. He taught his children to do the same, so long after this good man has gone to meet his maker, there was still wealth in the family. The wealth of the sinner, that sluggard that would do nothing, had nothing. He did not plan for the future, nor did he care of his inheritance for his offspring. They get nothing because there is nothing to give. It gets back to the use of common sense, if there is no common sense there, there will never be an inheritance for his children. What you have, or have not, is determined by what you do to and for yourself. There is no sin in being born poor, only a disgrace in staying that way, when God has given you a healthy body and mind. You can bank on it, for the just will end up with whatever the sinner or sluggard does gain; why? Because there is no common sense and direction.

Proverbs 13:23 "Much food is in the tillage of the poor: But there is that is destroyed for want of judgment."

Here again, it gets back to using good common sense. This verse needs a little explanation. The word "poor" should be "worker". It is saying that there is much food left in the tillage of the soil for those that will get out and work the land. It is saying that if you are willing to work, there will be more than enough to eat for you and your family. This good will come from the blessings of Father to those willing to work for it. If you do not practice good judgment on what you do or say, it will go against you in the end.

Proverbs 13:24 "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."

"Betimes" means "early". You don't wait until the damage is done to your child to correct him or her but you correct immediately to teach him the right way. When you see a problem in the early years of his life, you seek to correct that trait. Make sure that as you correct him, that there is no confusion as to why you are doing what you do. Make sure that the child understands that it is all part of your love for him. Children are very intelligent, and as we see all the high tech things being used, we know that this little mind can understand the whys of a situation, that is why you explain to the child why he is being corrected. Don't be so quick in judgment that you will not listen to your child, but never correct a child while you are angry. Cool off first, and say, we will talk about this at a later time. You gain nothing by loosing your head and going out of control; then nothing is gained by either you or the child.

Proverbs 13:25 "The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: But the belly of the wicked shall want."

This verse is stated exactly the way that it is. The wicked will never be successful, for whatever they gain, will be take from them at a later date. They can't even trust their own family, and they never have peace of mind. What a miserable live. We have a good example of that in our law today, dealing with drug pushers and users. For the law will take all their wealth to use in bring to justice other drug pushers and users. The law will take their money, their cars, homes and all that they have and give it to the law enforcement departments to use against them. That is good, for the wicked will never get ahead.