Chapter 10
Think about how one small decision can change your entire day, like deciding to hit snooze one more time and suddenly you’re late, spilling your coffee, and brushing your teeth in the car. Or choosing to bite your tongue instead of firing off that “clever” comeback you’ll regret by lunch.
Little choices add up fast. They build habits, shape character, and eventually tell the story of your life.
Proverbs 10 kicks off the Bible’s ultimate checklist of everyday wisdom. It’s rapid-fire truth: wise vs. foolish, righteous vs. wicked, helpful vs. harmful; like Twitter, but inspired by God and not full of the internet drama.
This chapter (and the many that follow) reads kind of like God’s post-it notes for living well. No fluff. No footnotes. Just clear, bite-sized wisdom for real life. I had a habit of actually reading these chapters daily and writing the one that spoke most to me that day on a post-it notes and placed it on my computer as a reminder. (Then I ran out of room on my computer screen frame.)
The key idea? Who you are tomorrow is shaped by the decisions you’re making today. What you say. How you act. What you choose when no one’s watching.
Jesus said that what’s stored up in your heart will spill out of your mouth and show up in your actions. And He didn’t mean that in a Hallmarky, feel-good way. He meant that the condition of your soul will eventually leak into your schedule, your texts, your relationships, and even your face.
So Proverbs 10 isn’t just about “trying harder,” it’s about living with wisdom that flows from a heart being changed by God. It’s practical, powerful, and way cheaper than therapy!
The Righteous Life Verses the Foolish Life
1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.
2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.
3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.
5 He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
6 Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
7 The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.
8 The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
10 Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
13 Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.
14 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
15 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.
16 The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool.
19 Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.
20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value.
21 The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.
22 The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
23 A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.
24 What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.
25 When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.
26 As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them.
27 The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.
28 The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
29 The way of the LORD is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil.
30 The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land.
31 From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.
32 The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.
