1. Lesson 20
Proverbs

2. Things That Make A Person Great
There are different measures of greatness.
Accomplishments
How we treat others
What one stands for and is willing to sacrifice for it
Character is the best measurement of greatness
Pr. 24:16 – “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.” NIV It is how we respond to adversity.
Do we turn the other cheek or lash out

3. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not compromise yourself for money
Pr. 23:1-3 – “When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, for they are deceptive food.”
Gen. 25:29-34 – And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted.” Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

4. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not make wealth your idol
Pr. 23:4-5 – “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”
You cannot take it with you.
It will not buy happiness.

5. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not closely associate with the evil minded
Pr. 23:6-8 – “Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
Mt. 12:30 – “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. ”
1 Cor. 15:33 – Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

6. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not waste your words on a fool
Pr. 23:9 – “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words.”
Mt. 7:6 – “…cast not the pearl before swine.”
Do not mistreat the poor and helpless
Pr. 23:10-11 – “Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you.”
Pr. 22:22-23 – “Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.”

7. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not refrain from correcting a child
Pr. 23:13-14 – “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.”
Pr. 10: 1 – “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”
Pr. 15:20 – “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.”
What was said about Eli’s sons?
He restrained them not.
What was said about Samuel’s sons?
They walked not in his ways.

8. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not envy sinners
Pr. 23:17 – “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.”
Rom. 12:9 – “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
1 Thes. 5:21-22 – “but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.”
Do not make worldly people your close companions
Pr. 23:20-21 – “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.”

9. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not despise the advice of your parents
Pr. 23:22 – “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
Pr. 15:5 – “A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.”
Do not sell the truth
Pr. 23:23 – “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.”
Pr. 23:26-28 – “My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. For a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well. She lies in wait like a robber and increases the traitors among mankind.”

10. Tests of Character and Willpower
Do not be deceived by the allurement of wine
Pr. 23:29-30 – “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”