Proverbs 22:8 Commentary and Bible Study

The temptation to abandon integrity may be very strong at times. The devil is quick to point out to us all the things we supposedly lose by sticking to our principles of honesty and truthfulness. ‘Cut a few corners here and there,’ he says, ‘because your rigid approach to life is costing you too much. You do not have to be so strictly truthful in what you say. You can afford to adjust things a little to give a different impression, to put things in a better light, to tone down the over-scrupulous standards of the Bible. You can still live a moral life and tell the truth most of the time.’ Integrity starts to seem like a heavy burden which we are carrying unnecessarily, and we are urged to put it down. There are those who are moved off course by this persuasion and soon find themselves building one compromise on another, and then turning to outright lies. The weakened conscience is less able to restrain for it speaks with less authority to our hearts.But what happens to the supposed advantage this brings? Does it materialise? God makes sure that in the end it does not. He may allow men to keep what they have gained till the last moment and then fill them with horror as they see they must lose everything, or he may send any number of different plagues to consume our profits until there is nothing left. The one who has turned away from righteousness sees that they have not only lost their integrity, but they have lost all else as well and been left with nothing. How tragic is their situation!The last part of this proverb suggests that there is also something else at work here. In speaking of ‘the rod of his anger’ Solomon seems to imply that there is a tyrannical, even a violent side to this person as well. In this case the loss of integrity goes hand in hand with oppression of others, but even this will be taken away, for the power that he has over others will evaporate, and they in turn will feel the smart of the rod on their own backs.