The Whole Household and Beyond

Being a source of trouble breaks my relationships and hurts people

• Proverbs 11:9
• Proverbs 11: 12
• Proverbs 11:29
• Proverbs 16:28
• Proverbs 17:9
• Bribes hurt households (Proverbs 15:27)
• Returning evil for good hurts households (Proverbs 17:13)
• Acting in a way that draws public shame is hurtful to a marriage (Proverbs 12:4)
• Lying is destructive to brotherhood (Proverbs 16:9)
• Familial trust comes with equally powerful expectations and reactions in the face of betrayal (Proverbs 18:19)
• Poverty is a serious test of family and friendship, and typically sees us running away from each other (Proverbs 14:20-21; Proverbs 19:4-7 )
• God hates arrogance, to the point that He may dismantle an arrogant family (Proverbs 15:25)

Widows & Orphans

• God is especially attentive to widows and orphans (Proverbs 15:25, Proverbs 23:10-11)

Marriage

• Invest in exhilaration with your spouse (Proverbs 5:18-19)
• Foolishness and contentiousness are hurtful to a family (Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 17:1, Proverbs 19:3, Proverbs 21:9, Proverbs 21:19, Proverbs 25:24, Proverbs 26:21, Proverbs 27:15-16)

Children/Parents

• A child’s behavior has a serious impact on their parents (Proverbs 10:1, Proverbs 13:1, Proverbs 15:5, Proverbs 22:28, Proverbs 23:22-25, Proverbs 27:11, Proverbs 28:7)
• A person is judged by God, in part, on how he treats his parent(s) (Proverbs 17:25, Proverbs 20:20, Proverbs 28:4)
• Children are warned against wasting what they can gain from their parents with immoral choices (Proverbs 29:3)
• Inter-generational benefits work both ways (Proverbs 14:26, Provers 17:6)
• Discipline is important for the sound development of a child (Proverbs 13:22, Proverbs 13, 24, Proverbs 19:18, Proverbs 19:27, Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 23:13-14, Proverbs 29:15-17)
• A child’s identity formation should be oriented around what is pure and right (Proverbs 20:11, Proverbs 22:6)

Community

How we treat people in our community is a matter of concern to God

• Righteousness is a guiding force in a community (Proverbs 12:26)
• Wickedness and violence are also formative forces in a community (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 16:29, Proverbs 21:10)
• Proverbs 11:15
• Proverbs 17:18
• Proverbs 27:12-13
• The first to speak is not necessarily the most right or truthful in a dispute (Proverbs 18:17); and honesty, kindness, and restraint are both important in a community (Proverbs 12:14, Proverbs 24:28-29, Proverbs 25:18, Proverbs 26:17-19, Proverbs 29:5)
• Being considerate and non-invasive to the people we visit matters (Proverbs 25:17, Proverbs 27:14)

Friendship

• Real friendship and brotherhood don’t ghost people when they’re in trouble (Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 25:19)
• Some friendships can naturally surpass the norms of family ties (Proverbs 18:24)
• Proverbs 27:10

Enemies

• The best way to handle enemies is to be the person I need to be anyway (Proverbs 24:17-18, Proverbs 25:21-22)