Proverbs 20:6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find
Proverbs is largely a book of contrasts. You cannot know what is right until you know what is wrong. In fact, Proverbs 19:1-3 gives us a number of contrasts. Verse 1 talks about better. Verse 2 talks about good. Verse 3 talks about perverteth, which means deviates from a certain way. So, without some contrasts you cannot gauge value, good and better, better and best, the way and the way which deviates from the way.
Proverbs 20:6 says, “Most man will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” You find a contrast here, the contrast between what we merely proclaim and what we demonstrate by our actions. About a week ago I was at a rodeo out west, and there were cowboy hats all over the stands. Everyone was wearing cowboy hats. Now, was everyone in those stands a cowboy? I’m guessing not. I did notice that down past the stands in this little rodeo arena was a large-boned Belgian Bronc, and on it was a guy flopping around, trying to hold on for dear life. That guy was a cowboy. Those of us in the stands with cowboy hats on were a different story There is a difference between proclaiming something and demonstrating something, implying something and proving something. The question is, “Can people buy what you say?”
Proverbs 20:14 says, “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.” A guy goes to buy something from Facebook marketplace and says, “It’s nothing. It’s nothing. I’ll give you a few dollars for it,” but when he leaves the seller, he boasts and brags. There may be a fine line between trying to promote something you wish to sell or buy and lying about it. Proverbs 19:22 says, “A poor man is better than a liar.”
The point here is that a rich life is one in which people can buy what you say. There is a difference between proclamation and demonstration. When it comes to buying into a candidate for President or other elected offices, the question that Ronald Reagan posed to us long ago remains, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” It is easy for people to say something; it is not so easy to actually demonstrate something. So, a rich life is one in which people can buy what you say.
Notice the contrasts between proclamation and demonstration, between merely saying and actually doing. Proclamation takes only a mouth; demonstration takes time and patience. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [common] men.” Here is a guy who is working hard. That is a lot harder than speaking a good game, but with patience it will prove itself. Merely proclaiming yourself only takes a mouth; demonstrating something takes time.
Proclamation takes intention; demonstration takes action. A lot of what we say is actually intention. For instance, we say, “I am praying for you.” What we really mean is, “I will pray for you.” It is genuine. We intend it. We feel it. We are going to pray. The other is demonstrable; “I have been praying for you.” One is action, and the other is words. Words are important, but here it is talking about more than words. It is talking about faithfulness and tenacity.
A proclamation costs nothing; a demonstration costs something. So, I can say I am going to do something or I am something and it costs me nothing, but if I am going to prove it, that costs something. One is a statement and the other is an open question. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness.” That is a statement. I am good. The other is an open question, “But a faithful man who can find?” That is an open question of consistency.
I think about Joseph who had a dream when he was a young man that one day his brothers would bow to him. He would be in power. His brothers resented that, which I can understand. Many years later, after a pit, a prison, and now a palace as the second-in-command of the known world, Joseph demonstrated what he had dreamed with his life. God gave him that dream and then His providence and provision, but there is a difference between merely having a dream and living a life. A rich life is one in which people can buy what you say.