The Over-Promiser, the Sluggard, the Troublemaker, and the Savior—Proverbs 6:1-19

Jesus Christ saves sinners from what we've done, from who we are, and from what we might become.

Do you ever look back on your past and wince when you think of something you really shouldn't have done? In my early twenties, I had a hard time finding dress shirts that fit me. But I found a website where you could plug in your measurements and they would send you a custom-tailored shirt. And it wasn't very expensive, if you picked the fabrics they had on sale. It was a great thing, in theory. The main problem was that the on-sale fabrics were all very, very bright fluorescent neon colors. I wore them anyway. I had a neon green and a neon orange. My middle school students loved it. They told me they could see me from a long way away. I was dating my future wife at the time. When I told a fellow teacher that I would soon be meeting Amy's parents, her immediate response was, "Don't wear that shirt."

Sometimes it's easy to reverse the effects of our folly. I eventually got rid of the neon shirts, and I don't think anyone was hurt by my actions. But sometimes it isn't so easy.

And what if the problem isn't what you've done, but who you are? Even then, there are things we can do about it. There's a lot you can do to change yourself. Self-help books abound. Personally, I had pretty remarkable success learning to juggle from a book. There are also books on becoming healthier, more productive, more popular, and so on. But I've never seen a self-help book on appendicitis. Deep down we know that there are certain problems we can't solve ourselves. Sin is like that. I don't think you should try to beat appendicitis without a doctor, and know you can't beat sin without a Savior.

Jesus saves us from what we've done and from who we are. He also saves us from what we might become. What do you do when you find a bad spot in an apple? I for one don't throw away the apple: I just cut off the bad spot. But what about when you get down to the very bottom of the fruit drawer and find an apple that hasn't been inspected for years, that has some kind of fuzz growing all over it? You know that apple can never do anyone any good. You throw it away. Sin's tendency is to make us into fully evil people who will only harm others. But Jesus Christ came to save us from what we might become.

This passage describes three kinds of people: the over-promiser, the sluggard, and the troublemaker. The over-promiser needs to be saved from what he has done. The sluggard needs to be saved from who he is. And the insidious troublemaker of Proverbs 6 is what sin wants to make out of all of us, someone so bad that he is about to be thrown out like a bad apple.

Let's start with the over-promiser. His problem is that he has put up security for his neighbor. In other words, he has promised to pay his neighbor's debts if the neighbor can't pay them, like someone does when they co-sign a loan.

Hang on, you might say. Isn't that a kind thing to do? Isn't there even something especially Christian about offering to pay someone else's debt? Isn't that what Christ did for us? Sure it is. And Proverbs is all for Christ-like generosity. Proverbs 14:21 says, "Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor."

But sometimes, in our desire to imitate Christ's love, we can forget to imitate his wisdom. He didn't always give people what they asked for, and neither should we. We shouldn't try to give money we don't have, or give to someone who will use the money for evil, or impoverish our wife and children to enrich a stranger, or make new commitments that could make it impossible for us to keep old commitments. In general, we shouldn't give thoughtlessly. And that's what this man in Proverbs has done: he has given his pledge to a stranger (verse 1) and is caught in the words of his mouth (verse 2). You can easily imagine him at the bar with the guys. And some new guy tells a story about how he's hit hard times. And our tender-hearted young man, who also wants everyone to know how generous he is, offers to loan the guy $10,000. He doesn't have $10,000, but he has a good credit rating, so he can borrow the money, and the new guy assures him that he will pay it back in a couple of weeks. But as the evening goes on, the new guy talks about his money-making strategy, which is to buy lottery tickets with a number he once saw in his bowl of Lucky Charms. In bed that night, our young friend can't sleep, because he starts to worry about the chances he's going to get paid back. So what should he do?

He might be tempted to try to ignore the problem. But Proverbs says no. He might be tempted to go back on his word, but Proverbs doesn't present that as an option. Proverbs says he should hunt down Mr. Lucky Charms and beg to be released from his promise. He should admit that he doesn't have the money. He should admit that he should never have made the offer. He should beg for forgiveness before his problem gets worse. And that's what we should do whenever we realize we've done what we shouldn't have.

The next guy in the passage is the sluggard. His problem is not just what he's done in the past. It's who he is right now. He's lazy, and the Bible says that's a problem. You can see this in the New Testament too: "We urge you, brothers...to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one" (1 Thes. 4:10-12). Work is not optional for God's people. Not everyone will do work that makes money, and that's fine. Mothers don't get paid to raise their children, but their work is some of the most important work there is. In our society, it's often hard to find work: in that case, looking for work is your job, and you should do it unto the Lord. We all have to work if we're able, even if we have enough money to live on. Ephesians 4:28 says, "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." Do you have enough for yourself? Then do work that will bless someone else, or work to make some money that you can share with someone in need.

If you are a sluggard, learn some wisdom from the ants. Look how hard they work! They run back and forth, back and forth, carrying pieces of food bigger than their own bodies. And they do it without being told! If the ant can do it, so can you. If you don't, you're likely to end up hungry, which isn't a good thing. But the assumption of the passage is that you can change. It's as optimistic as the self-help shelf at Barnes & Noble. Get up, sluggard! You can do it! Even if your problem is who you are, there is a way out.

The last person in the passage is the troublemaker. And there's no such hope for him. I suppose Proverbs tells us about him for two reasons. The first is to warn us not to become like him. The second is to help us not to be afraid of him.

This man is devoted, with every limb in his body, to causing strife. His mouth, his eyes, his feet, his finger, and his very heart are all caught up in the effort to sow discord. The wise father of Proverbs doesn't talk to the troublemaker like he talked to the sluggard. He doesn't urge him to change his ways. The troublemaker is like the apple that's all bad. If you try to cut out the bad spot, you'll have to keep cutting until there's nothing left. "In a moment he will be broken beyond healing."

Who will break him, I wonder? Someone this chapter hasn't mentioned yet: the LORD. "There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him." Wow! You may be thinking, Nate, I didn't realize God hated anything, let alone seven things. What does he hate? "Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers." In other words, he hates the troublemaker.

Yes, God also loves his enemies. He's kind to them and offers them forgiveness. More on that soon. But the point here is that we shouldn't become troublemakers - people who lie and gossip and try to turn other people against each other - and we shouldn't be afraid of troublemakers - even when they're out to get us - because God will deal with such people.

I said at the beginning that Jesus Christ saves sinners from what we've done, from who we are, and from what we might become. We started by talking about the over-promiser who has rashly offered to pay someone else's debts. He's supposed to try to reverse the damage he has caused. But what do we do about the damage we can't reverse? Then we talked about the sluggard. He's supposed to go to the ant and learn to work hard. But what if he studies the ant and keeps acting like the slug? What if the problem is too deep for self-help, like appendicitis? And then we talked about the troublemaker. If we don't have what it takes to change who we are, how can we keep from getting worse?

The answer to all these questions is Jesus Christ. God sent his Son Jesus to be a ransom for sinners - to pay our debts. Jesus isn't like the rash over-promiser. He was able to deliver what he promised. He had what it took: himself. And that's what he paid. He died on the cross to pay for what we have done. If you trust in Jesus, you can look back at all those moments in your life that make you wince - everything from the neon shirts to the really serious sin - and you can say, Jesus paid it all.

Jesus is the one who can change who you are. The ant can set you a good example, but if you have a sluggard's heart, you'll keep acting like a slug. But Jesus gives a new heart to everyone who trusts in him.

And Jesus delivers sinners from who we might become. He takes us off the path to become hardened, hate-filled troublemakers and puts us on the path to become like him. And as his followers, we share in God's reward to Jesus Christ. If there are seven things the Lord hates, there are at least seven things he loves: Jesus Christ's humble eyes, his honest tongue, his hands that shed their own blood for us. His heart that was set on our redemption, his feet that brought us the good news of salvation. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the one who brought us peace with each other, and peace with God.

Trust in him. Without him, all the proverbs in the world will do you no good.

Pastor Nate Jeffries