Session 11 • Proverbs 11
Honest Weights, Wise Counsel & Generous Life
Proverbs 11 contrasts false balances with just weights, selfish grasping with generous scattering, and isolated judgment with safety in a multitude of counsellors. It shows how integrity, openness to counsel, and a giving posture lead to a stable and fruitful life.
Scripture should always be read first in your own Bible, with prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit for understanding. North & Narrow’s notes are created with the help of technology and reflect a fallible, interpretive layer. Use this program as a supplemental guide, not a replacement for Scripture itself.
What today is about
Proverbs 11 weaves together honesty in trade, humility vs. pride, the power of counsel, and the paradox of generosity: those who scatter are enriched, while those who clutch too tightly end up poorer. The chapter presses us to align our inner character and outer dealings with God’s delight.
- God delights in honest measures and hates distorted ones.
- Pride brings shame; humility and integrity guide and protect.
- We are safer and wiser when we seek counsel instead of deciding alone.
- Generous people are refreshed; grasping often leads to hidden poverty.
Section 1 — Honest Weights & Humble Integrity (vv. 1–4)
Proverbs 11:1–4 (KJV)
Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
Explanation (v.1): God hates distorted measures, whether literal scales or any form of cheating. Honest dealings give Him pleasure. Integrity in trade and agreements is spiritual, not just “business.”
Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.
Explanation (v.2): Pride pushes us beyond what is true and safe, and shame often follows. Humility receives correction, admits limits, and so walks in wisdom.
Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Explanation (v.3): Integrity acts like an internal compass; over time it steers decisions in the right direction. Crookedness breaks that inner guidance and eventually collapses on the person who walks in it.
Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
Explanation (v.4): Money has limits. In ultimate crisis and before God’s judgment, riches cannot rescue. Right standing and right living before God matter more than financial padding.
Section 2 — Counsel, Uprightness & Community (vv. 14, 17, 30)
Proverbs 11:14, 17, 30 (KJV)
Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
Explanation (v.14): Lone, untested decisions can bring collapse. Inviting multiple wise voices in— especially on weighty choices—creates safety and stability.
Proverbs 11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Explanation (v.17): Kindness to others ends up blessing the inner life of the giver. Cruelty harms the one who practices it; harshness rebounds on the heart.
Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Explanation (v.30): A righteous life becomes like a life-giving tree for others. Winning souls—drawing people toward life and wisdom—is an act of wise influence.
Section 3 — Generous Scattering & Withholding (vv. 24–25)
Proverbs 11:24–25 (KJV)
Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
Explanation (v.24): God’s economy often looks upside down: those who give faithfully find that they are not diminished, and often enriched. Those who cling beyond what is fitting drift toward a different kind of poverty.
Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
Explanation (v.25): A generous, open-handed person is “made fat” (well supplied). Those who refresh others are themselves refreshed—often in ways they did not expect.
Recap — Proverbs 11 (Key threads)
- God delights in honest measures and hates every form of hidden cheating (v.1).
- Humility, integrity, and righteousness outlast pride, crookedness, and riches (vv.2–4).
- Safety grows where counsel is welcomed and mercy shapes how we treat others (vv.14, 17).
- A generous life becomes life-giving to others and is mysteriously refreshed by God (vv.24–25, 30).
Today’s practice — Honest measures & open-handed living
Aim: Align your dealings, decisions, and generosity with God’s delight in honest weights and a liberal soul. This session especially supports the Finance • Silver (Honest Weights & Generous Measure) and Relationships • Silver (Mercy & Wise Counsel) medallions.
Quick — Today (5–10 minutes)
- Identify one place you handle numbers, time, or effort (an invoice, a shared bill, a task at work). Ask honestly: “Am I giving an honest measure here?”
- Make one small adjustment toward full fairness—round in the other person’s favour, add the missing effort, or clarify anything that could be misunderstood.
- Do one simple act of generosity (money, time, or encouragement) and leave it without demanding recognition.
Medium — 7 days (“Honest weights audit”)
- Choose one lane: (a) money/charges, (b) time promises, or (c) work quality.
- For a week, keep a tiny daily log: “Where did I face a choice about measure today? Did I lean toward honest weight or toward shaving a corner?”
- Ask one trusted person for input on that lane: “Do you experience me as fair and transparent here?”
- At week’s end, name one concrete change you will keep (policy, habit, or boundary) to protect honest weights going forward.
Deep — 30 days (“Generous pattern, guided life”)
- Define a 30-day generosity pattern tied to your reality: “Each week, I will set aside a fixed portion for giving and deliberately refresh one person.”
- Pair that with a 30-day counsel habit: “On every major decision this month, I will seek input from at least two wise believers before deciding.”
- Keep a one-line daily record: “Today’s honest-measure choice was…” or “Today’s refreshment of others was…”
- After 30 days, write a brief reflection (5–10 sentences) on how your sense of freedom, trust, and stability around money, decisions, and relationships has shifted.
Comparative lenses — Other wisdom echoes
Aristotle — Justice & Fair Exchange
Aristotle’s virtue of justice includes fair exchange—giving each their due in transactions and dealings. This parallels Proverbs 11:1, where false balances are an abomination and just weights delight the LORD. Both pictures treat “fair measure” not as optional niceness but as a core part of a good life.
Confucius — Trustworthiness & Harmony
Confucius stresses xin (trustworthiness) and right conduct as the basis of social harmony. When people can rely on your word and your “measure,” relationships and communities are stable. Proverbs 11’s honest weights, mercy, and counsel align with this: trustworthy character supports a shared life that does not crumble.
Socrates — Examining Motives in Gain
Socrates presses people to examine why they seek wealth, power, or advantage. Proverbs 11 invites similar self-examination: Are you willing to bend measure, ignore counsel, or withhold good in order to “get ahead”? The examined life asks whether gain is worth the cost to integrity and the soul.
Buddha — Clinging, Generosity, and Release
In Buddhist teaching, clinging and grasping deepen suffering, while generosity and release lessen it. Though the worldviews differ, Proverbs 11’s paradox of generous scattering and refreshment sits close to this observation: those who tighten their grip can become inwardly poor, while those who share are often surprisingly sustained.
Closing prayer (optional)
Lord, You delight in honest weights and a generous heart. Teach me to love fairness in every dealing, to welcome wise counsel, and to live open-handed instead of fearful and tight-fisted. Let my life refresh others, and guard me from any gain that would cost integrity. In Jesus’ name, amen.