Proverbs 30:10-14 – Character not to become

The ability to relate well with others interdependently is a sign of a person’s maturity. It was never the intention of God for man to be anti-social. Since the dawn of creation, we are made to function in groups. In the nation we are expected to relate with our fellow citizens. At home we have other members of the family to interact and relate with. In school we study and grow with other students, and at work we are expected to relate well with our colleagues. Life can be miserable when people who are expected to relate with each other do not want to relate peacefully with others. Proverbs 30:11-14 point to four different types of people who make it hard for others to interact with them. We pray by the grace of God we will not become any of the four categories of people.  Before Agur, the author, talked about the four types, he gave a word of warning against slandering others.

Verse 10 refers to a slave and master relationship. In our world, being a slave is not a common thing. So, we shall see this in the context of supervisors and subordinates’ relationship. This verse tells us that to speak ill of others to his or her superior is disgraceful. Slandering against others is no doubt a disgraceful act. That’s why it is reprehensible when one speaks ill of his colleagues to his superior. We should never speak ill of another person, no matter how offended we may be with him or her. All of us must maintain a spirit of humility as we relate with others. Immediately after advising that one should not be malicious, verses 11-14 then show us four types of repulsive people to be wary of. It is also a way of showing us not to become any of these four kinds of people.  

The first category of people shown in verse 11 are those who are ungrateful. They fail to show appreciation to their parents, which is already bad enough, but they would even go to the extent of cursing their parents. By not loving or obeying one’s parents is violating God’s fifth commandment. To curse them would make the situation worse. Such type of people cannot be trusted to submit to authority. If they can’t even acknowledge the position parents have over them, it is far harder to see them relating better to other authority.

The second category of people shown in verse 12 are the self-conceited. They only have themselves before their own eyes. This bothers around the sin of hypocrisy. This class of people are so self-righteous that they cannot be wrong in their own eye. It becomes very difficult for people like that to find repentance, because as far as they are concerned, they do not have any wrong. Even when they are cornered and their wrong revealed, they still have a way of defending or justifying it. And since they are so self-centred, they will not be able to see the sin in their lives, hence, they will never be able to deal with it and find true liberty.

The third category of people shown in verse 13 are the proud and haughty. Such people always look down with contempt on others. They can never see something good in others that is deserving of praise. They will curry flavour with those with status and position but will look down with disdain on those they consider below their dignity to associate with. These haughty people are obnoxious to God, who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  

The fourth category of people shown in verse 14 are the aggressive people. Such people cannot deal gently with others. It is as if they are always looking for a fight with others. They are armed to the hilt with weapons of hostility. Their teeth are like sword and knives that have the capacity to destroy and devour others. They deploy their power to ruthlessly destroy those who are helpless. They do not fit into the class of the merciful, whom Jesus promises in Matthew 5:7 that such will receive mercy, God’s mercy of course.

Knowing how harmful any of these four categories of people can be, we must seek God’s help and pray that we will never become like any one of these. We must live life with gratitude, especially to our parents, then we must never be self-conceited, or proud. And we must also never develop the spirit of hostility and aggression against others. Let’s allow our good works to be seen by men so that they may glorify the Father above!