Session 27 • Proverbs 27
Friends, Feedback & Foresight — Theme 3: Relationships & Counsel
Proverbs 27 shows how wise friendships, honest feedback, and quiet foresight shape a stable life. It contrasts self-praise with letting others speak, shallow company with refining friendship, and drifting with diligent watchfulness.
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 27 invites you to stop boasting about tomorrow, receive faithful correction, and invest in people and responsibilities with foresight. It pictures true friends as a sharpening gift, desires as never naturally “full,” and diligent care as the way you honour what God has entrusted to you.
- Do not boast about what you cannot control; walk humbly in today.
- Faithful wounds from a friend are better than flattering lies from an enemy.
- Desires left unchecked never say “enough”; wisdom watches heart and habits.
- Diligent care for what is in your charge protects you from quiet loss.
Section 1 — Humility, Praise & Foresight (vv. 1–2, 12)
Proverbs 27:1–2, 12 (KJV)
Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Explanation (v.1): You are warned against confident talk about the future you do not control. Wisdom plans, but it does not brag; it remembers how quickly a day can change.
Proverbs 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Explanation (v.2): Honour is not something you announce for yourself. A wise person lets character speak over time and allows others, not their own lips, to give praise.
Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Explanation (v.12): Prudence looks ahead and takes quiet shelter when danger appears. The simple keep walking as if nothing is wrong and feel the consequences later.
Section 2 — Honest Friendship & Sharpening Counsel (vv. 5–6, 9, 17)
Proverbs 27:5–6, 9, 17 (KJV)
Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Explanation (v.5): Love that never speaks up when it should is incomplete. Honest correction, though uncomfortable, can be more loving than silent affection that refuses to help.
Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Explanation (v.6): A true friend may “wound” you with hard truth, but their aim is your good. An enemy can cover hatred with pleasant gestures. Motive matters more than softness of words.
Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
Explanation (v.9): Just as fragrance lifts the spirit, so wise and sincere counsel from a friend brings deep encouragement. The “sweetness” lies in counsel that is hearty—coming from the heart and aimed at your good.
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Explanation (v.17): Good friends do more than affirm; they refine. In godly relationships, character and clarity are sharpened through mutual challenge, support, and honest conversation.
Section 3 — Heart, Desire & Diligent Care (vv. 19–20, 23–24)
Proverbs 27:19–20, 23–24 (KJV)
Proverbs 27:19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
Explanation (v.19): Water reflects a face; a person’s inner life reflects in their way of being. Over time, the heart’s true condition becomes visible in words, choices, and presence.
Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
Explanation (v.20): Desire left alone does not reach a point where it says “enough.” Without wisdom and contentment, the eyes keep looking for more, like an appetite that never feels finished.
Proverbs 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Explanation (v.23): You are urged to pay active attention to what is in your care. The picture is of a shepherd who knows the condition of the flock rather than assuming things are fine.
Proverbs 27:24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
Explanation (v.24): Wealth and status do not last automatically. Without diligence and wise care, resources and influence can quietly pass away.
Recap — Proverbs 27 (Key threads)
- Boasting about tomorrow ignores how limited your control really is (v.1).
- Letting others speak to your reputation guards you from pride (v.2).
- Faithful friends offer rebuke, counsel, and sharpening, not just comfort (vv.5–6, 9, 17).
- Desire does not fill itself; heart and habits must be watched (vv.19–20).
- Diligent care for what is entrusted to you protects against quiet loss (vv.23–24).
Today’s practice — Welcome sharpening, watch desires, tend your “flock”
Aim: Receive honest counsel, resist self-praise and drifting desire, and take one concrete step to know the “state of your flocks.” This session supports the Relationships • Wood/Silver (honest friendship, feedback) and Work & Discipline • Wood (diligent care) medallions.
Quick — Today (5–10 minutes)
- Send one message or have one brief conversation with a trusted friend: ask for one specific piece of honest feedback in an area you name.
- In your own words, answer: “If someone else described my ‘name’ (reputation) in one sentence today, what would I hope they say?”
- Whisper a short prayer: “Lord, keep me from boasting about tomorrow and teach me to walk wisely today.”
Medium — 7 days (“Iron & Inventory”)
- Choose one friend you trust. Set a simple weekly check-in (message, call, or in person) to talk about one growth area for both of you.
- Make a one-page “state of my flocks” snapshot: list key areas entrusted to you (finances, work, health, one key relationship) and jot one sentence on how each is really doing.
- Each day, act on one small maintenance step in any area (pay attention, review, encourage, tidy, or clarify).
- At week’s end, write 5–7 lines on how honest friendship and small acts of diligence shifted your sense of peace.
Deep — 30 days (“From Drifting Desire to Stewarded Care”)
- Identify one place where your “eyes” have not been satisfied (e.g., scrolling, shopping, praise-seeking, or constant comparison).
- For 30 days, pair a limit with a stewardship action: when you say “no” to the drifting desire (time or purchase), redirect that energy into tending something entrusted to you (finances, skill, relationship, or health).
- Once a week, ask a trusted friend to be “iron” for you and ask directly how they see your desires and habits moving.
- At the end of the month, summarize in a short paragraph: “How my friendships, desires, and stewardship look different than they did 30 days ago.”
Comparative lenses — Other wisdom echoes
Aristotle — Friendship & Flourishing
Aristotle speaks of “virtuous friendship” where friends seek one another’s good and sharpen each other’s character. Proverbs 27’s picture of faithful wounds and iron sharpening iron closely matches this— real friendship cares more about who you are becoming than whether every word feels soft.
Confucius — Counsel, Role & Humility
Confucius emphasizes listening well, speaking with respect, and observing one’s role in relationships. Letting another praise you, receiving hearty counsel, and maintaining harmony through honest yet measured words sit very near his concern for humility and rightly ordered ties.
Socrates — The Examined Heart & Future
Socrates would ask: “What sort of life are you forming if you refuse correction and avoid examining your desires?” Proverbs 27 pushes the same questions—about your heart, your friends, and your future— urging you not to drift unexamined into tomorrow.
Buddha — Craving & Companionship
In Buddhist teaching, craving never satisfies and companions shape the path. While the foundations differ from Scripture, there is overlap with Proverbs 27’s warning that the eyes are never satisfied on their own and that you are sharpened (or dulled) by the people you walk with.
Closing prayer (optional)
Lord, thank You for the gift of honest friends and wise counsel. Guard me from boasting about tomorrow, from trusting my own praise, and from desires that never say “enough.” Teach me to welcome faithful correction, to tend what You have entrusted to me, and to walk humbly with You today. In Jesus’ name, amen.