Proverbs 12: 9 (NKJV) Humility vs. Pride

I have had some trouble with this verse and finally decided to look it up in some Bible Study notes. The definitions below give some clues, as well.

Proverbs 12: 9

9 Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant,

Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.

Here are the definitions of the main words. The Bible commentary that I used said that the part about “honoring himself” meant that the person was arrogant, so I added the definition for that word as well.

slighted: 1. To treat as of small importance; make light of. 2. To treat with discourteous reserve or inattention.

honor: 1. High respect, as that shown for special merit; 2. Good name; reputation. 3. Glory or recognition; distinction.

lacks: To be without or in need of

arrogance: The state or quality of being arrogant; overbearing pride.

A person who is “slighted,” is one who is looked down on or made light of. They are treated discourteously by ignoring them purposely. The person that is spoken of in the first part of this verse, is well off enough, though, to have a servant. He may not be treated nicely by those around him, and he may even be ignored, but he doesn’t come to his own defense. He is humble.

The second part of the verse speaks of a person who “honors HIMSELF.” He acts like he is something special, and seeks after glory or recognition, putting himself above others. Another word that describes this attitude (as given in the Bible Commentary I used from my NKJV Bible’s notes) is arrogance, or an overbearing pride.

The person that is being arrogant and prideful in THIS case is one that doesn’t even have enough money to buy bread.

The point of this verse is that even if you are treated badly by those that around you, but you still are “solvent” enough, or have enough money to have a servant, you are much better off than someone who is to prideful and arrogant to do what needs to be done to help to support himself and/or his family.

I would note, at this point, that pride is also one of the “Seven Deadly Sins” spoken of earlier in the book of Proverbs.

Proverbs 11:2 Pride vs Humility

Today’s verse is about being prideful and, in contrast, about being humble.

Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)

2 When pride comes, then comes shame;
But with the humble is wisdom.


The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about “pride,” or a “haughty spirit.” Proverbs 6:17 lists this as another of the Seven Deadly Sins. Proverbs 8:13 (NKJV) states: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate. Proverbs 13:10a says, “By pride comes nothing but strife...”

The Online Dictionary defines the type of “pride” spoken of here as: 1. Arrogant or disdainful conduct or treatment; haughtiness 2. An excessively high opinion of oneself; conceited.

Proverbs 16:18, a VERY well known verse, warns us that, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Today’s verse tells us tells us approximately the same thing! “When pride comes, then comes shame…” If we put ourselves up on a pedestal, sooner or later, God will have to knock us off, for He is to be our God and we are to have NO OTHER god’s above HIM!

Pride was Satan's sin. Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) tells us about this:

The Fall of Lucifer

12 “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,[literally, Day Star] son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

This certainly makes it clear that it is best to not allow this type of “pride” into our lives, but to recognize that our God is sovereign and HE is the one that has brought us everything that we might allow ourselves to be prideful over!

The word “humble” is defined as: 1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; not arrogant or prideful. 2. Showing deferential or submissive respect. When we KNOW and acknowledge, that everything good that we have has come from God and His work in our lives, then we are wise, and can easily be humble, showing “deferential or submissive respect” toward God and others.

Proverbs 11:1 Don’t Cheat Others!

Hi, fellow Wisdom Seekers! Today we will be starting a new chapter. Let’s see what the Lord has to teach us for today!

Proverbs 11:1 (NKJV)
1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD,

But a just weight is His delight.

The note in my NIV Bible says that, “In a culture with no bureau of weights and measures, cheating in business by falsification of standards was common…” God calls those that follow HIM to be very careful NOT to cheat others in any way! He says that cheating is an “abomination” to Him. The word, “abomination,” as defined in the Online Dictionary, means, 1. Abhorrence; disgust. 2. A cause of abhorrence or disgust. 3. an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence.

This would be another form of lying, and John 8:44 (NKJV) says, that if you lie, 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. Proverbs 6: 17 lists lying as one of the “Seven Deadly Sins” that God hates!

As we can see, God feels quite STRONGLY about cheating and lying, which go hand in hand. Revelation 22:14-15 (NKJV) makes this VERY clear! It says, 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [speaking of heaven]. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Lying and cheating are the exact opposites of everything the Lord wants of His people. This verse concludes with “a just weight is His delight” because God’s ways are ways of love, caring, help, and truth toward our “neighbors.” These things build up trust and confidence between His children (those that choose to follow Him), and eventually, we will all be living together in His kingdom, so we need to start building the type of relationships here that we will live with, forever, there!

Proverbs 6: 18 - 19

In the last study, we started this section that speaks of the 7 things that God hates or finds detestable, and covered the first three. These are often spoken of as the “Seven Deadly Sins.” Today, we will continue with the last four of the “deadly sins.” First, let’s re-read the whole section as a refresher:


Proverbs 6: 18 - 19 (NIV)

16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven, even, that are detestable to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

The fourth thing in this list is “a heart that devises wicked schemes." Again, this is the opposite of the love that we are to show others. The “heart,” in God’s Word, usually indicates the deep, inner “being” or “soul” of a person. This is talking about people that continually “bubble up” evil from deep within themselves, instead of overflowing the love of God toward others.


Verse 18 tells us the fifth thing that God hates… it is, “feet that are quick to rush into evil.” All of these things that are mentioned, are examples of the opposite of the way that God wants His people to be. Here, he wants us to STOP… and THINK… and NOT “be quick” to jump into some evil scheme. Often if we do take the time to stop and think, we won’t make the mistakes that will get us into trouble.


Number six on this list is “a false witness who pours out lies.” This is different from the second thing on the list in that it has to do with being a “false witness” and not just a plain liar. A “false witness” harms another person, and often this would lead to punishment or death for that person.



The last thing on this inventory is, “a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” The word “brother” has many definitions, but the one this most closely calls for is, “One who shares a common ancestry, allegiance, character, or purpose with another or others.” This could be our neighbors, our kinsmen or family members, members of our church group… any group of people that we belong to that have ties of some kind. We must be very careful when we speak to others, that we don’t gossip or otherwise say things that will stir up problems between people, for this is something that God actually says HE hates!