Proverbs

Reading through the book of Proverbs in the Bible, I noticed a few recurring themes.

Having sex with people who make a business of whoring is repeatedly warned against. Here are some drawbacks to wild premarital sex:

• AIDS causes people to die sooner and more painfully.
• Mistaken children cause emotional and financial hardship.
• Loss of trust with what could have been a more special spousal relationship.

Humility comes before honor. It begins and ends with respecting one's parents. To start, a child's best option is likely to be obeying his or her parents. Their experience is far greater than the child's, who has lived for a fraction of the time and is therefore extremely unlikely to have thought everything he or she does through as thoroughly as a parent would. Going out into the world, one can be perceived as smart, even if it's not true, by simply using words sparingly. It's to the grandeur of a wise person to pay little attention to insults. More importantly, a wise person sifts and weighs every single word before accepting it. Then using well thought out reason, a person who is able to exercise self-control is greater than a leader of a nation without it. When all is said and done, the parents of wise offspring are glad and themselves honored alongside one's self.

God isn't impressed with laziness. Getting the job done and putting food on the table involves getting up early and diligent labor.