spend some time in the book of Proverbs together. So let's go ahead and let's pray. Dear gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so very much for your son, Jesus Christ, who's come and died on the cross for our sins, who was buried and rose again on the third day. We just ask, Father, that as we look at the text this morning and we look at the things that are found here, that you would be honored and glorified by your servant and that we would exalt your son Jesus Christ, that we would make much of him and that we would think of him this morning. We just thank you so much for your word and we thank you for your spirit that leads us and guides us. And so Father, we just ask for this morning that you would be honored and glorified in your son's name, amen. So I don't know if you've ever heard of the phrase wise guy. I've been called a wise guy a lot, mainly as a joke because I'm always, I always like to turn a phrase and sound like I'm joking. Everybody goes, oh, we got a wise guy over here. The phrase wise guy also means and has the idea of somebody who's in the mafia and in the mob. At least that's what all the mobster movies teaches me, right? It's kind of interesting as we're looking through the book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs wants us to be a wise guy, not the bad kind of wise guy, but a good kind of wise guy. And today, as we look at the text, we're going to see a bad kind of wise guy in hopes that we become the good kind of wise guy. So today, I'm going to tell you not to be a wise guy in order to be a wise guy. I know this might get a little confusing, but hopefully you understand exactly what I mean when I say don't be a wise guy in order to be a wise guy, to be a wise person. The Lord wants us to be wise. He wants us to act in a way that's wise towards others. And this morning in the book of Proverbs, that's exactly what we're going to see. We're going to see Solomon encouraging us to live in a way that's wise, wise towards different people in different circumstances at different times. And so go with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs chapter 25, notice verse 16. We're gonna be in verse 16, Lord willing, down to verse 22. And as we're looking at this text, we're going to see three things about being wise and what the Lord wants for us and our wise interaction towards others. The first thing that we're going to see is that we need to be wise to our neighbors, wise in the way that we act towards our neighbors. Be a wise guy towards your neighbors. Not the bad kind, but the good kind. Be a good wise guy. We're gonna see that in verses 16 through 18. In verses 19 through 20, we're gonna see how we should be wise towards our friends, towards those who we are close to and those whom we trust. And then in verse 21 through 22, we're going to see how we're supposed to be wise towards our enemy. and how the Lord would want us to act. So let's start this morning in verse 16 of chapter 25, and let's talk about being wise towards our neighbor. And notice how it starts off, it says, if you have found honey. Now at the time when this was written, when Solomon was writing, there wasn't a lot of beekeepers and all of the honey would have been wild honey. And so you either would have had to go out and look for it or you would stumble across it. And this was a... This was a good thing, right? Finding wild honey is always awesome, right? I think I've only ever found wild honey once, and it was the best day of my life, right? It was incredible. I couldn't get any of it, because the bees would sting me, but it was awesome that I found some wild honey. So in the ancient world, to find wild honey, this was a big treat, right? This was the best surprise. This is the best thing that you could come across, right? So if you find wild honey, notice what he says. He says, eat only enough for you, meaning eat enough so that you're satisfied. Eat enough, don't overindulge, right? That's what he's saying. He's saying only eat enough and don't overdo it. Don't act like Winnie the Pooh, right? Winnie Pooh will overeat honey, right? Don't do that. Just eat enough. Well, the question is why? Why? He says, lest you have your fill and you vomited out. So you understand exactly what he's saying. He's saying, if you find wild honey, which is a great thing, you're allowed to eat it. Just don't eat too much, because if you eat too much, it'll make you sick. We don't really have to sit here and explain what vomit means. I'm pretty sure that all of us understand that phrase well enough. But if you are interested, I guess afterwards, during potluck, you can come up and ask me and I will explain the greater details of the Hebrew language and the meaning of this word while you eat. That is, to me, for me to say it again is no trouble and for you it'll be a benefit, right, as the Apostle Paul would say. But we get this, right? Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. We understand this and we say, well, is Solomon just concerned with just our health? Like, don't eat too much. No, he's concerned about something else. And notice what he's concerned with in the next verse. He says, let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house. Now this word for seldom means to be rare, means to be scarce. Probably a better idea is to be, make sure that when you show up it's a pleasant visit and the idea is that, It's not every day, like you're not a nuisance. I think that's kind of the idea is be a good house guest and don't be a nuisance. And so he says, so let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house. In the ancient world, their idea of hospitality was that they would bring out the best that they have. And they would give you the best that they have. And so every time you would show up, guess what? They would have to give out the best that they would have. And it is possible that you could say, hey, so-and-so is such a great cook. I think I'm going to go over to their house every day because they have to feed me. They have to give me the best that they have. And so you go over, and you go over, and you go over, and you go over, and you can imagine what kind of stress that would put on the host. You can understand the type of selfishness and lack of sensitivity towards the host to just simply just walk over, right? And so the idea is be careful. So finding a neighbor, a good neighbor, a good host, it's like finding wild honey. That's great. Congratulations if you found it. but be careful, be careful. You can wear out your hospitality, because notice the next part. It says, lest you have your fill, or lest he has his fill of you and hate you, right? Unless you're over and you're asking too much, there'll come a point where he will no longer wanna serve you because he likes you, he's now gonna serve you because he has to. Now as a believer, as we think about this, Remember in the book of 1 Corinthians, in fact, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13. Here, as Paul is discussing with this church and talking about this church who has a lack of love towards their fellow church brothers and sisters, and in the middle of talking about worship, talks about the greatest thing in worship, and the greatest thing in worship is love, and love towards one another, and this idea that we need to be building one another up. And so this idea that Solomon's bringing up is something that we know very well, that we don't want to wear out our welcome, not because, uh-oh, somebody might hate us, but it's because we want to build up our neighbor. We want to love our neighbor. We don't want to take from our neighbor. We don't want to abuse our neighbor. We don't want to exploit our neighbor. We want to love them and build them up. And if I, simply by going over too often and wearing out my welcome, become odious to my neighbor, and then when I then go to share the gospel, do you think he's really going to... Consider that, or when I need to say something to him that's really important, you think he's really gonna take me serious? Every time he'll see me, he'll go, oh, here comes that guy who just eats all of my graham crackers. Ugh, you know, that's what he's gonna say. But the apostle Paul talks about this. So in 1 Corinthians 13, I'm just gonna start in verse four. This is a description of love, and I think we could easily say that this is a description of love, and these things are specifically talked about because these are the ways that the Corinthians were not loving each other, right? And I would say that we are very much like the Corinthian church in the United States. There's a lot of overlap between what happens in the book of 1 Corinthians in the church in the United States. And so it would behoove us to focus on this and look at this and go, okay, this is what Christ-like love looks like. So notice, love is patient and kind. It doesn't envy, it doesn't boast, it's not arrogant. Now notice in verse 5, or rude and does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable and not resentful. So you see that it's not rude and it doesn't insist on its own way. That's exactly what Solomon is talking about. Love isn't rude. Love is wanting to build them up and not act in a way that's on becoming. Right? And that's what Solomon's saying. He's saying you've got to love your neighbor. You've got to love the guy that's aside of you and be very careful. Be very careful how often you go over there. Don't make yourself a nuisance. In essence, love your neighbor. It's amazing how many times we do this, where we, without thinking, impose ourselves in the life of other people. And impose ourselves in a great way. to great financial burden to others and emotional burdens to others. We just interject our life. And to us, it's great. It's like finding wild honey. This is awesome. This is the best thing I've found. Here I finally found a neighbor that will listen to all of my stories. Yeah, that doesn't mean he likes all of your stories. It doesn't mean that he might be putting up with you. And as Christians, we need to, We need to think of others and put their needs above ourselves. This is exactly what Jesus did. Paul talks about this in the second chapter of Philippians, to consider others as more important than yourself, like Christ did. Even though he was God, he came down to earth and died on the cross for us. That's what he did. He's the example of this love. The warning is really important. Don't become selfish and don't overindulge. Think of your neighbor and seek to edify your neighbor. Your neighbor is not placed on this earth so that you can get things from your neighbor. And the people you come in contact with are not placed in your life so that you can get from them. Our job as believers is to look out for their needs, is to share the gospel with those who don't know the gospel, and encourage those who do, and encourage them to live like Christ. Does this mean that sometimes people will give you gifts and invite you over? Yes, and that's fine. This isn't a command to never go over to someone's house. This is be thoughtful, be wise, be loving, be edifying when you think about your neighbor. Be thoughtful about this stuff. Don't become so self-absorbed to think that everybody enjoys your company as much as you enjoy your own company. Now there's another thing about a neighbor, right? Notice the next thing about a neighbor. Notice in verse 18, a man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club or a sword or a sharp arrow. So once again, here we see this idea of a neighbor. We've seen this throughout the book of Proverbs, of this idea of, bearing false witness. This is like a courtroom scene where somebody is willing to perjure themselves, willing to say something against someone else in a court of law. And in the book of Proverbs, this is a terrible thing. It's a terrible thing always. It's always a terrible thing to lie. It's always a bad thing to lie. It's always a bad thing to lie against your neighbor. But there's a special Ickiness about somebody who's willing to lie in court, right? Because why? Why would you lie in court? You're either trying to protect yourself or get something, right? Protection or getting something. And in fact, this is so clearly pulled from the rest of scripture. I'm sure we're familiar with Exodus 20, verse 16, where we're commanded not to bear false witness, not to lie. Paul tells us numerous times in the New Testament not to lie to one another. If we're liars and I'm willing to lie to you, then that doesn't mean I love you and I'm not a very good neighbor. And if I'm willing to go to court and perjure myself against you, that's definitely not loving my neighbor. I think of that passage in 1 Kings, remember when Ahab wanted that guy's field? He was willing to lie and perjure himself to get that man's field. This is being a terrible neighbor. This is the worst kind of neighbor. Takes you to court and then lies about everything that happened. This is bad, this is bad. And notice how Solomon describes how bad this person is. This person is so bad that he uses three words. And each one of these words is an instrument of killing, of death, right? And it's kind of interesting how, what he says, right? So the first one's a war club, then there's a sword, and then there's a sharp arrow. It's kind of interesting how each of these were used in warfare. The club is close up and personal. The sword is somewhat of a mid-range weapon, still pretty close. And then you have an arrow which is a long range weapon. So the idea is, no matter which way you look at it, he's going to hack you, beat you, and shoot you. That's what it is. That's what he's like. He's after you. He's out for blood. He'll bludgeon you to death, he'll stab you to death, and he'll shoot you from a long way away when you're trying to run away. That's what this person's like. There's nothing good that comes from this. It only has one purpose, and that purpose is to kill and destroy. So once again, just thinking of this idea of how do we love our neighbors, those people that we come in contact with. Here it is. One, be discerning. Seek their edification and their growth in Christ. Tell the truth in love. Don't lie and don't perjure yourself. Now, there's another thing. Notice the next thing about this wise behavior that we're supposed to have. Wisdom towards friends. Notice verse 19. It says, trusting a treacherous man in a time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Probably better translated, a mangled foot, or a foot that isn't formed right, or a crippled foot. But just think about this. Trusting a treacherous man. This word for trusting has this idea of placing one's confident and trust in. It's the idea of befriending. That's the idea, befriending, okay? So befriending a treacherous person. Here, the idea for treacherous person is a person who's willing to go back on their word, willing to be a traitor, someone who's not reliable. So you're placing your trust, befriending, relying on someone who's inherently unreliable. That's a bad thing. That's a really bad thing. By the way, this word for treacherous person speaks of somebody who breaks a treaty, speaks of somebody who violates the marriage vows. This talks about somebody who violates the covenant with God and is an idolater. So we're talking about somebody who makes a grand statement of affirmation, of loyalty and fidelity to something, and then will turn back on it. We'll make a statement publicly and then go, no, I'm not going to follow that. And so Solomon goes, you realize that when you're trusting a person that is unreliable, specifically notice in a time of trouble, This word for trouble can be any kind of trouble. Name trouble, that's what it is. When things are bad, when things are really bad, that's what this is. When things are bad, when things are against you. when you really need help, when you really need a friend. That's really what this is. A time of trouble is when you need a friend. So you're trusting a person who's not trustworthy in a time when you really need a friend. What's that like? First word picture that's given, it's like a bad tooth. Couple months ago, I chipped my tooth eating some popcorn. Was not a fun experience at all. Still not a fun experience. hurts, was enjoying something with my wife for my birthday, stuck something in my mouth and it was really cold and it hurt that tooth. It ruined, it almost ruined the meal. It didn't completely ruin the meal because it was awesome, but it still was like, ah, oh, that hurt. You bite down. I bite down the wrong way. Oh, that hurts. Every time, oh, that hurts. You don't even think about it. You just chew, because you go, that's what teeth are for. You chew, and then you got a bad tooth. And every time something touches it, there's like this reaction of pain, and that was a bad idea. And that's all you could think about. That's all you could think about, is my tooth hurts. You shouldn't have to think about your teeth, but now because you have a bad tooth, that's all you think about. That's what it's like trusting a friend that can't be trusted. When you need them, when you need them, and that one time causes a lot, a lot of searing pain. Incredible pain. Incredible searing pain that's right here. You just feel it. It's at the forefront of your mind. Think about a bad tooth that constantly aches a person, right? For weeks and weeks. That affects everything about you, right? It affects the way you walk, because you're, oh, my tooth hurts. That's what it's like, OK? Now, notice the second image. The second image is like a crippled foot or a foot that's damaged. Six years ago, it wasn't my foot, but I hurt my calf muscle. You know how incredibly painful that is to put weight on a torn calf muscle, that is really painful. And you know how much my life was altered? I had to use crutches. I had to do exercises. I was watching, I'm thinking of Linda as she's, you know, having knee surgery and all of the stuff that they're doing to help Linda because of the knee surgery and all the extra help that has to come. Why? Because she can't put weight on it because it hurts. So you think about a person who has a crippled leg or a crippled foot, and you need to rely on that to stand firm, to walk, to move, and you can't. That's what it's like to trust a friend that's not trustworthy. So number one, there should be discernment in how we pick our friends. Be very careful how you pick your friends and those who you associate with. The Apostle Paul tells us not to quickly lay hands on people, quickly associate with people. That can come back to hurt you in the end. So we need to be careful how we make our friends and those whom we have confidence in. We don't want to place our confidence in people who are unreliable and willing to stab us in the back. We need to be smart and discerning. I think there needs to be another thing. We should never be anything like this. We shouldn't be this type of person that somebody goes, well, I can't confide in so-and-so because They're not trustworthy. When I'm going to need them, they won't be around. When I need help, they won't be around. They won't offer good advice. They won't be praying for me. They're going to turn and be a traitor. We shouldn't be the bad tooth of somebody's friendships, right? You would almost say that's not really a friend, somebody that does that. Now the next proverb describes something that I think happens quite a bit. Once again, it's kind of interesting how this is phrased, right? So in verse 16 and 17, it talks about too much of a good thing. actually turns out to be a bad thing, and then in the next verse it talks about false witness, right? And then it's almost like he carries on that idea of somebody who's a bad, what's a bad neighbor? Somebody who lies. What's a bad friend? Somebody who's not trustworthy. And then he kind of goes back to this concept of too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And you need to have discernment. So notice the next thing that he says. He says, whoever sings a song to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day and like vinegar on soda. Now I love singing songs. I love writing songs. But it's true. Somebody who comes up and sings a happy song to somebody that's depressed, that song is not received in the spirit it is given. And I think that this is an instance of good intention, terrible, terrible execution. Once again, we gotta be careful how we talk to people, how we communicate to people, how we try to encourage and edify one another. It is possible, and I've seen this in the church over and over, where there has been well-intentioned believers saying things that you would say, that's a very sweet thing to say at the wrong moment to the wrong person, and it devastated the person. It wasn't bad, it wasn't meant to be bad. In fact, it was something very sweet and something very innocent and very kind. And in any other circumstance, you would say, wow, look at the body of Christ, helping out the body of Christ. But there's always that one time where somebody will say that one thing and you go, nope, nope, shouldn't have said that. I've been one that has said plenty of things that shouldn't have been said in a moment, and I said it, and then I wish I could catch it and reel it back into my mouth and save it for another day. So once again, this talks about discernment, knowing a person, knowing the situation, knowing what your responsibility is as a believer to somebody who has a heavy heart or is depressed. You know, I think the Apostle Paul gives us really good advice in Romans. Remember that passage in Romans where he talks about as much as possible be at peace with all people and then he talks about how we're supposed to weep with those who weep and laugh with those who laugh. There the Apostle Paul talks to us about having discernment, having Christ-like thoughts towards one another, really seeking their betterment. And actually, before we say something, going, what's the best way to say this? I also couldn't help but think of Job's friends in this situation. Here's Job who loses so much, and then his three friends come by and offer the world's worst advice, and worst solace ever, and makes a bigger problem even bigger. We shouldn't be like Job's friends in a situation like this where somebody has a heavy heart. We need to be ones that are thoughtful and discerning and walking by the power of the Spirit and exhibiting love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control, right? We need to act like Christ would act. That's the one thing about Christ now. I know that he is fully God and fully man, and so everything he does is perfect. But Christ is a great example of this, of saying the right thing at the right time with the right tone. And that's one of the things that we can learn, especially in this. I remember when I first became a pastor and I had to deal with people who were depressed and sad and going through difficult times. First couple times you go through that, there's really nothing that can prepare you for being in a pastoral position, dealing with people. And I said a lot of things that I look back now and would say, ooh, Caleb, probably was not the best thing to say. And sometimes I've learned that when somebody has this much depression, this much of a broken heart, sometimes the best words that you can say is no words at all. Sometimes people just want you to be around. They don't want you to philosophize on what's going on. They don't want a solution. They don't care about a solution in that moment. They just want somebody, they just wanna know somebody cares, and somebody's there, and that's it. That's all they want. I remember one time talking to one person who lost a dear loved one in their family, and I started going up and quoting Romans 8, 28. You know, God has a good plan. You know, God works all things out for good. That's the right theological perspective. That person did not want to hear Romans 8.28 at that moment. You know what they wanted? They wanted somebody to say, I'm really sorry, and I'm here for you, and I'm crying with you, and I'm weeping with you. That's discernment, and that's Christ-like love, knowing how to communicate. But sometimes we can do the opposite, and we often do the opposite. So what do we do? We start singing a happy song to try to cheer them up, and that's not what they want to hear. And so what is it like? It's like going out into a blizzard and going, let me take your jacket for you. It's a little toasty out here, isn't it? Let me take your jacket. That's crazy. You would never do that. It's cruel. It's cruel to take somebody's jacket on a cold day. And that is kind of interesting on this next one where it says it's like vinegar on soda. The commentators have a field day on this one. If you read any commentaries, they'll spend most of their time talking about what's the definition of soda here. I'm going to be honest with you, it doesn't really matter. You understand the point. Vinegar on baking soda. kind of nullifies it, right? It's kind of useless. I think that's what he's getting at. Some people say it's the word wound. I think it's better to stick with the Hebrew here and use the word soda. They had a concept of this, of vinegar on baking soda or something that was like baking soda. So it's this idea that it just nullifies it, right? It's not good. It's not a good thing for the baking soda. It's not a good thing for the vinegar. It's not good for you. Nullifies it. And so that's what you're doing. You're not doing anything. That's the image. You're not doing anything. And if you are doing anything, it's incredibly, incredibly cruel. Now notice the next thing of how are we supposed to be wise. So we've seen how we're supposed to be wise with our neighbors. Now we see how we're supposed to be wise towards our friends. Now notice the next one. And this one's going to be really tough because I don't like what the Bible says about this. My flesh doesn't like what the Bible says about how I should treat my enemies. I want to kill them all. That's what I want to do. To be honest, forgiving enemies, praying for enemies, loving enemies, are you kidding me? But I think that is one of the greatest strengths of the gospel, that a believer can forgive an enemy, can love an enemy. That's one of the great strengths of Christ. It's not a weakness. It's not what I want to do, but it's the best thing. And that's what Solomon talks about. So notice what he says, verse 21. If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat. And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. Now who exemplifies this the greatest? It would be the Lord Jesus Christ. What does the book of Romans say? While we were yet sinners, while we were enemies of God, what did he do? He died on the cross for our sins. This is what God does, this is what Jesus does, this is the grace of God, right? What did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount? He talks about how God gives rain, and he gives air to the wicked and to the righteous, and how we're supposed to be like that. I will also say this, it is important to notice the word uses that Solomon uses, the usage of words. Notice that he says, if your enemy, so this isn't going out and just handing your enemy water. This is in that one scenario where you find your enemy and notice he's hungry and the senses, This is something that is really needed that he doesn't have, and you have the ability to give the basic needs to another human being who needs those basic needs, love, and God would command of you. to show love and give those basic needs to that person that's in a dire circumstance. This is not talking about just pure stupidity of, oh, there's somebody I don't like. Let me give him a brand new car. That's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about giving people what they need when they need it if we are capable of giving it to them in certain circumstances. There's some circumstances that this The way that this comes about, of loving your enemy, might look different in some circumstances than others. So this all takes discernment. But the basic principle is love your enemy. We're told this numerous times. In fact, go with me to the book of Romans, chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, and then just notice with me In verse 18, this great principle of Christ-like love and walking by the power of the Holy Spirit, verse 18, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceable with all. Beloved, never avenge yourself, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord, to the contrary, If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. So you see, the apostle Paul here is telling us not to seek vengeance against an enemy, not to try to retaliate, but to do the opposite, to let God deal with that, and you act in Christ-like love, like how Christ acted towards you when you were an enemy against Christ. And He, out of His grace, came down and died on the cross for your sins. He, on the basis of His grace, loved you when you were unlovable. That's the standard of love that we as Christians have. Keep your finger here, because we're going to turn back to this text. Go back to Proverbs, and notice the next thing that Solomon says here. He says, in verse 22, for you will heap burning coals on his head." Now, a lot has been written about this. Some people have thought that this is a way of retaliation. If your enemy's hungry, give him something to eat, because it's really going to hurt him. You'll really get him. This is the way you pay them back. I don't necessarily see that. The idea of heaping burning coals on their head is a difficult one, and this may be one where, because we're so far removed from the culture, sometimes we don't fully understand what's going on. In the ancient world, one of the things that would happen in many of the world religions is when they were repentant of their sin, they would throw stuff on them, they would get in sackcloth and ashes, they would wipe themselves down with ashes. In fact, there's even one culture that would put burning coals on top of their head on a pan as a demonstration of their repentance and of their wrongdoing. may be that this burning coals on their head is that as you act with godly love and Christ-like love, this convicts of sin, that burning, searing conviction of sin. And that's really what's happening, is they're seeing what should be happening, that you, who are their enemies, not taking vengeance, but sowing love, and it throws their whole mind into confusion. Why would this person do this? and there's this conviction from the Holy Spirit. One of the other ways that I know that this isn't talking about the polite way of retaliation is because the next part of the verse, because if you notice the next part of the verse, It says, and the Lord will reward you. So obviously it's not seeking vengeance, because if you were seeking vengeance, then the Lord wouldn't reward you. So this is obviously something that happens to them that you don't know about. You're just being loving, and this loving causes this. searing conviction, maybe even brings them to the point of repentance. But the point is, you're acting in love. You're loving your neighbor. You're loving them like Christ loved them. You're loving your enemy. And God sees that. And God honors that. You being his child, he honors our obedience. And there's a sense that he notices what you're doing. And he is the great rewarder in the end. Who knows, there may even be a possibility of reconciliation. Have you ever seen that? Somebody hated somebody, then they came to know the Lord, and the very person they hated the most is now their bosom friend. The church is full of stories like that. There might even be somebody in this room that that was your story. You hated somebody for sharing the gospel and that searing conviction, but then when you came to know the Lord, that was my best friend. That was my very best friend because he told me the truth. So I think the apostle Paul read this, he knows this, and if we go back to Romans, notice he quotes the rest of the verse and then he makes a really important comment at the end of chapter 12. So he says, so he quotes the verse, he says, for by doing you will heap burning coals on his head. And then he leaves out the part that the Lord will reward you because that's automatically assumed by the Apostle Paul and the things that he said before. But then he makes this really, really, really important statement as he got done talking about the gospel and the way the gospel, transforms the life of the believer and how the Holy Spirit makes us into something new. So what's an evidence of that? Notice this next verse, and do not be overcome by evil. Don't give in to the flesh and let the flesh be your master and rule you, but overcome evil with good, doing good. You don't get back at somebody. You don't get even. You do what's right, and you do what Christ wants. This is how a wise person acts. It's amazing. I don't know. I've never been around mafia people. My circles don't intersect with huge organized crime syndicates. It's amazing, actually. You would think it would, but it doesn't. And I've never met anybody that I knew of to be part of the Mafia. And pretty much everything I know about the phrase wise guy comes from documentaries and from Mafia movies. But I do know this, in those movies and the depictions of mafia people and those in gangs, and you see some of the things that those gangs do on the news and in documentaries, you look at this and you go, that passage in Proverbs we read, they do the opposite of what God wants all the time. Those wise guys are not very wise, right? It's all about lying and stealing and cheating and how can I exploit somebody and how can I get out of somebody something for myself? And even that idea of retaliation, right? That's a huge part of organized crime is drug wars and those wars that start because of retaliation. Those are wise guys. Those are how wise guys act. we would look at that and go, well, I shouldn't be a wise guy. But then we look at the book of Proverbs and we say, well, I should be a wise guy according to God's word. And so this is gonna sound strange, but my advice for the end of the sermon is don't be a wise guy, but be a wise guy. Don't be like the world in what they think of as wisdom, don't be that wise guy, but be the wise guy that's described here in the book of Proverbs. Act with Christ-like wisdom, yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit, seeking to edify and love and evangelize and glorify our God and Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Right? That should be what we should be. So don't be a wise guy and go out and be a wise guy. Let's go ahead and let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. We thank you for the truth in your word. We thank you that you are so gracious and loving and kind towards us that you would save us. You would save us from our sins. And we thank you, Father, that you've given us the example of Jesus Christ. And we just pray that we would yield to the power of your spirit and that we would seek and honor and glorify you. We just thank you for everything you've given us. And we just ask your blessings for the rest of the day. In your son's name, amen.