Proverbs 11:1–3 – Be honest, humble and ethical

Ever wonder how can one be truly acceptable to God? How will such a character befit one who has a covenantal relationship with God? The first three verses in Proverbs 11 give us a set of three contrasting characters that would befit one who calls himself a believer in the Lord. They are what God would definitely approve. In giving each character that God approves, we are first shown what God disapproves and abhors.

In verse 1 we see two contrasting characters, one who practices falsehood and deceit and one who is honest and practices integrity. In those days stones were used as weight to help in measurement. People who are deceitful would use the size of stones to manipulate the scale to give a false impression of an accurate weight. This is deceitful and such a character is revulsive to the Lord. Whereas one who is truthful and honest is a delight to the Lord. Hence, integrity and honesty are very foundational for the upright and wise. The first God-pleasing character God delights in is an honest person full of integrity.

The second God-pleasing character is humility. Like verse 1, Solomon first deals with the antithesis. In verse two he deals with pride first. Pride always comes before destruction. In this verse pride results in dishonor. When a proud man is proven to be false no one shows compassion for him. Pride always leads to disgrace. Whereas, humility is different. With humility one is more receptive to God’s grace and is teachable and open to the instruction that God will provide. Hence, he will find wisdom and be endowed with the ability to live and act rightly. 

The third character approves by God is one who lives with correctness. He has this as a standard of his conduct in life. With moral rectitude as his compass he finds himself insulated from needless errors. The moral compass will guide him to walk uprightly. On the other end, those who are crooked and perverse will have a destructive end. Their treachery will lead them into ruin. Although destruction may not seem immediate but it will surely come. 

If we want to please God, we must develop these three honorable characteristics in life. We not only need to be truthful and act with integrity, we must also be humble. God resists the proud but will give grace to the humble. But we must also seek to be guided by sound moral rectitude in our life’s journey. With the help of God, we can walk honestly, humbly and morally.