When you were a kid, did your parents ever tell you not hang out with certain people? Maybe it was kid at school or in the neighborhood. Maybe it was a person on your little league team or maybe it was a boyfriend or girlfriend. Did you always listen to your parents? I asked those questions to our 7th and 8th graders this week in Bible History class and they gave me some very honest answers. They said that the reason their parents told them not to hang out with certain people was because they would be a bad influence on them. They also told me that they didn’t always listen to their parents. So I asked them why they didn’t listen. The response was that these people who were forbidden always seemed to be having more fun. I thought these were very truthful answers.

I think this is a pretty common experience. I can remember kids that my parents wouldn’t let me hang out with and now that I look back on it I realize that they were generally right. They had good reasons and now I can see those reasons plain as day. But back then, those people seemed like a lot of fun.

Our sermon text for today gives us a stark contrast between two types of people. On one hand there are the mockers or the know-it-alls. On the other hand are the wise men. Our heavenly Father urges us to avoid the mockers and be wise.

1. Know that you don’t know everything (v. 8-9)

First of all it says, “Do not rebuke a mocker.” Now when my parents told me not to hang out with someone and I didn’t agree with them, I usually tried to rationalize my decision by saying that I could be a good influence on them. But did you hear what the Word of God said, “Do not rebuke a mocker.”

What is a mocker? It is arrogant person who ridicules others, who refuses to listen to the godly advice of others, who thinks he is the authority on every issue. Certainly the Bible tells us that when we see sin, we should point it out in order to bring people to repent of their sin. Jesus even told us how to do that in Matthew 18. But here we have a person who will not listen, a know-it-all. This is a person who has no time for God because they know better than God.

This attitude is common when I do marriage counseling. Sometimes I will point out the problem between a husband and wife, usually involving selfishness. While I am talking I can see one of them nodding their head in approval. I think, “Great! They get it!” Then all of a sudden one of them will look at the other and say with total seriousness, “You see honey, pastor is talking about you. That’s what you do.” Believe it or not, this happens all the time.

God warns about people with this attitude. They don’t care what says to them. God tells us in Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” We are not to be like these people. We are to avoid these people. We are to be different.

It is one of the hardest things for people to do – admit that they are wrong. We are not to be know-it-alls. We are not to be arrogant about our sins and deny them. Our sins are plentiful. Our guilt is abundant. We often fail to see God’s will for us and obey it. Every day we sin. And sometimes we make it worse by not admitting our faults. We lash out at others and fail to own up to sins.

And so God urges us to be wise men – to know that we do not know it all. As children of God we are to be humble and accept reprimand for our failure to obey God. We are to welcome correction and be thankful for it. With humility, we are to see our sins and repent of them. Be wise and follow the directions of our sermon text, “rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” Be wise knowing that we don’t know it all and receive correction with humility.

2. Know the Lord (v. 10)

As we continue our learning from Proverbs, we also see that those who are wise know the Lord. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. True wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord. This fear is a must for true wisdom. And so in order to be truly wise we need to recognize the greatness, the vastness, and the awesome power of God.

This fear can cut two ways. One the one hand this fear can bring absolute terror. For a person who is confronted with the Almighty One and his Word will realize that one day all of us will face judgment. And a person who is a mocker, who is arrogant about his life, who fails to beg for forgiveness and heed God’s law, will be terrified by the thought of the Lord.

But the one who recognizes his complete and utter helplessness, who trusts in the Almighty One to lift them out of the depths of hell – to that person the fear of the Lord brings great comfort. That person knows the Lord differently. That person knows that the Lord is working on his behalf. That person knows that the Almighty One only has his best interests in mind.

And so let us all strive to know the Lord. The only way to do this is to sit at his feet and drink from the well of salvation, to listen to, study, read, and learn what God says in the Bible. Let us strive to eat the solid food of Scripture. For there we will see how much God loves us – so much so that sent his son to be our Savior. There in God’s Word we will receive comfort in knowing that Jesus gave his perfect life on the cross for our sins – especially our sins of being arrogant know-it-alls. There we will also see that God loves us so much that he has given us eternal life in heaven because his Son, Jesus, rose from the dead. There you will find the comforting peace that God gives believers through Jesus.

As our earthly parents may have advised us on who not to hang out with, our Heavenly Father does the same thing. He tells us to avoid the devil and his buddies, the world and sinful flesh. Our Heavenly Father urges to hang out with him in the pages of his Word. So let’s listen to him and be in the Bible everyday. Hang out with Jesus by going to Bible class each week and reading devotions everyday. You know the important information about your closest friends. Make sure you know the information about your friend Jesus. The arrogant know-it-all mocker will say that they don’t need Bible study any more, that they already know all that stuff. The wise man will recognize that he does not know everything and will dig in the Word to know the Lord better.

3. Know a rewarding life (v. 11-12)

That brings us to our third instruction on how to be wise – know a rewarding life. Our sermon text says, “For through me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer.” Sometimes when you ask a person who seems to be greatly blessed by God why they are doing so well they will respond with, “It’s clean living.” You may chuckle at that, but there is something to it.

The person who listens to God, studies his Word, and obeys his commandments out of love and thankfulness often avoids situations in life that may cut their life short. Godly wisdom leads to godly living. God’s commandments are there to protect us. Proverbs 6:4 gives us an example of that concerning the 6th Commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” It says, “Jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.” The man who does not commit adultery with another man’s wife will avoid the fury and revenge of angry husband. This commandment protects us from unnecessary trouble.

But even more so God’s Word protects our lives for eternity. This sermon text speaks of life being extended to those who are spiritually wise. That is because all those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin will have eternal life in heaven. Their lives here are on earth may not be any longer than the know-it-all mocker, but their life in eternity will last forever. Those who are wise will trust God and know his Word and that Word makes a person wise for salvation.

There will be those who mock you, who insult you for being a wise Christian. There will be those who will not listen to your corrections and reprimands because they are arrogant know-it-alls. God says to leave them alone. It is wasted breath to rebuke them. Rather, pity them as Jesus did. Remember how our Savior handled it on the cross. Men stood on Calvary and hurled their insults at him. With deep love and humility, he simply said, “Father, forgive them.” Do likewise.

Wise people know that they don’t know everything. We all have sinned and need forgiveness. However wise people also know the Lord. God’s Word shows us the Lord who loves and saved us. Wise people also see the rewarding life that spiritual wisdom brings. May we all strive to be spiritually wise. Amen.