It is so easy, at the end of the year, to look back and to become very depressed about things that we have not achieved, or about comparisons that we have made with people who we think have acquired things that should have been, that we should have acquired by now, or that we should have done by now. But who are we really comparing ourselves to? What achievements are we really seeking in life, and why?

Part three of Proverbs focuses on the repercussions of these major contrasts: the righteous versus the wicked, the diligent versus the lazy, and wisdom versus folly.

1. The Righteous and the Wicked

The righteous are just like a tree planted by the waters—stable and unmovable. The wicked, on the other hand, are temporary.

2. Character Is Revealed

Character may start out private, but it does not stay that way. It spills into relationships. Whoever we truly are on the inside will ultimately be revealed.

Leadership and society will know who you are. Pride will isolate you. Humility will preserve you and exalt you.

3. Endurance and Correction

Those who endure are those who can be corrected.

4. Wise Choices vs. Foolish Living

Wise choices are governed by the fear of the Lord—by reverence for the Lord. Foolish living causes erosion of any righteousness we may have.

5. Strength Begins in the Heart

A wise heart builds. A foolish heart tears down.

6. Refuge, Conflict, and Direction

The righteous have refuge, even in death. Resilience is not the denial of pain, but knowing where to find shelter and how to stand when pain comes.

Our behavior determines whether conflict escalates or dissolves. The righteous use gentle words to diffuse anger.

Wisdom is directional. Wisdom leads toward God. It leads upward.

Righteous resilience is not a one-time act. It is a way of living. It must be practiced daily.

Resilience thrives only in the presence of hope. So we’re getting back to our theme—only in the presence of hope.

Hope is a trust that something good is going to happen, even when present conditions seem hopeless—even when present conditions are hopeless. Hope takes all of that hopelessness and puts it in a box and says, “This is not going to be the end.”

When we internalize Part III of Proverbs—Proverbs 10 through 15—we readily see the benefits that are coming in the future are so much more than what we’re going through.

Those benefits are reserved for the righteous. They are opposed to the recompense that is coming for wicked, ungodly people. When the whirlwind passes by, those same people who seem to be successful are no more, but your foundation—the foundation of the righteous—is secure.

Salvation guarantees the hope of eternal life as 2025 comes to an end. Let us all just linger in the hope that is practiced by the righteous. Let us linger there on a daily basis.

You really don’t know who you are comparing yourself to when you see people’s posts on social media, or when you see them walk, or when you see them drive a car. You don’t know how they got things. You don’t know what they were willing to do. You really don’t know who you’re comparing yourselves to.

God will be pleased if you continue to do His will, or if you begin to do His will, if you’re not doing it. Hope is forward-thinking. Don’t look back. Redeem the time.

If you are stagnated, humble yourself and ask the Lord to interfere in your business. That’s another way of saying meddle. Decrease so that God can increase.

If you’re sliding back physically, or if you’re sliding back in your mind, the gospel bells give warning as they sound from day to day: of the fate which doth await them—forever will delay. This is my favorite verse of that song that was played, and it was not included in the song:

“Escape, go for thy life. Tarry not in all the plain, nor behind thee look, O never, lest thou be consumed in pain.”

Maybe it wasn’t included because it doesn’t sound so positive. Everything else—the gospel bells—what it will do. This one is a warning. It says, “Look, if you’re going to be looking at the things behind, then you know you’re going to be consumed in pain.”

That verse in that song is actually about Lot’s wife looking back. She’s looking back at many things, but there are so many things that we need to escape from. We need to escape from our thoughts. We need to escape from judgmental attitudes. We need to escape from our pride, from our selfishness, from our lying tongues, our petty theft, our lack of love for people—and blah, blah, blah—you can fill in the blanks, because all of our little sins are so varied.

Is there anybody here that is on the fence? That you feel that the hope is lost? There is a hope in salvation. It’s the salvation that Jesus Christ came into the world to bring. He hung around long enough to teach and to convert, and He died so that we can have the hope of eternal life.

There is no need to be depressed or to be discouraged. Think about the fact that nobody can hurt somebody who has eternal life. If you have eternal life, it means that you’re always thriving, even in the presence of what seems to be something evil or something negative surrounding you. Salvation is hope.