angela hormberg

Tag: Perverseness

  • Proverbs 11:3

    Proverbs 11:3

    Integrity

    Commonplace –

    “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them” (Proverbs 11:3).

    In his American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster defined integrity as follows:

    “The entire, unimpaired state of any thing, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; incorruptness; uprightness; honesty. Integrity comprehends the whole moral character, but as a special reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfers of property and agencies for others” (“integrity”).

    We are all following something. In this Proverb, Solomon points out that something is our moral code or the lack thereof. Those with integrity know their beliefs and base their decisions on them. Those without a moral guide adopt a careless attitude toward their choices, opting for a life of caprice.

    If life were a game, those with integrity know where the start is, know where the end is, and every decision is made to achieve the end they desire, which is goodness.

    Those who lack integrity fall into two categories. The first group gives no thought to where they began and no sense of direction, so they never truly get anywhere.

    The second group deliberately choose the opposite of goodness. They have an undesirable end in mind and intentionally follow a path of wickedness. The lives of those in both groups end in despair and destruction.

    In his Commentary, Matthew Henry notes that God does not cause the punishment but rather the choice itself does.

    “It is not only promised that God will guide the upright, and threatened that he will destroy the transgressors, but, that we may be the more fully assured of both, it is here represented as if the nature of the thing were such on both sides that it would do it itself” (696).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 11:3.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    “Integrity”. American Dictionary of the English Language: Repbulished in Facsimile Edition, Noah Webster. The Foundation for American Christian Education, 1995.

    © 2026 Angela Hormberg