The things which are emphasized most often in the book of Proverbs

Most of the book of Proverbs was thought to be written by King Solomon, who was the wisest man who ever was or will be. The rest of its authorship is thought to be from other Jewish people as the accumulated wisdom of the people. 

This book is very valuable. Not only does it contain wisdom that is available to all of us today, but also, the more I read it the more I see it as perhaps the most subversive book of the Bible, which I have written about here. 

Many people don't always avail themselves of this source of wisdom, even in instances when they are seeking wisdom from other sources (e.g. self-help books, financial savviness books, etc). 

The book of Proverbs does not need to be the only book we read to gain wisdom, but it should certainly be one of them! For where else can we get the words of the wisest man who ever lived, in addition to the accumulated wisdom of others?

There are several things which are repeated multiple times in Proverbs. Since they are repeated, I'm thinking that these are pretty important things. Here they are, in no particular order:

  1. The importance of hard work
  2. Avoiding trouble, evil or temptation
  3. Do not be responsible for other people's debts
  4. Seek wisdom as more important than riches
  5. Be willing to be corrected
  6. Honesty and not taking advantage of people
  7. Having a harmonious relationship with one's spouse
  8. Having reverence for the Lord

These things make sense when you think about it. They all provide you with long term benefits. Even if it's tempting to go against one of these in the short term, that is doing yourself a disservice in the long term. 

The book of Proverbs has been provided to us freely, yet all too few people choose to avail themselves of its wisdom. It's definitely worth adding this to our sources of wisdom.

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