Proverbs 19:1 Commentary and Bible Study

There is a play on words in the verse, for the word ‘integrity’ can also be translated ‘completeness’ and that related meaning shows in what sense the poor have integrity. Though they are poor they have all that they need and indeed they have the most important thing of all: they are genuine and free from hypocrisy and double standards.The obvious subject of this verse is integrity, but if this subject is treated in a block of verses on relationship matters, then it must be interpreted as a factor in the forming of friendships. What does integrity have to do with friendship? Much indeed, for friendships which leave out integrity and do not start with a common commitment to truth by both parties, are those that belong to the darkness and not the light. Every true friendship invites God to join it, and welcomes his oversight of all that takes place. Anything that these friends are not prepared to let God see is banished from their conduct. The Lord is called as a witness to all their conversation, to all activities that they join in together, and to all plans for the future, and he is there from the start so that they both recognize that their lives are lived in the presence of God. But if this brings poverty with it, then they submit to that. If there are no opportunities for enrichment that allow them to keep their integrity, then they will remain poor with contentment. If the commitment to integrity limits the circle of friends from growing because there are no others prepared to commit to the same standard then they will accept that restriction from the Lord. The poor are better in this state because their real pleasure and satisfaction comes not from possessing great things on earth, but in having a good conscience, in knowing that they are loved by God, in walking according to his standards, in trusting him to assign them their portion.Here is a boundary beyond which a wise man will not go, but another strays into regions where he has no right to go. He is perverse in his lips, speaking things that he knows are not true in order to gain some advantage. He fabricates an evil report against a rival to bring him down, though he knows it is concocted out of nothing. He claims great things for himself which cannot be substantiated. He is a fool, because none of these intrigues will bring him any lasting advantage. He has set himself to make gain in contravention of the law of God, and he will find that God is working against him to frustrate all his efforts. Integrity brings its own reward and those who forsake its paths make shipwreck of their souls. If they try to do this in partnership with others, then that partnership is doomed.