Proverbs 12:8

8 One is commended for good sense, but a perverse mind is despised.

Proverbs 12:8 Meaning and Commentary

Proverbs 12:8

A man shall be commended according to his wisdom
Not according to his birth and pedigree; not according to his riches and wealth; not according to the places of honour and trust he may be in; but according to his wisdom, which he discovers in his words and actions, in his life and conversation: not according to the wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and devilish; not according to the wisdom of the world, which comes to nought, either natural or civil; especially that which lies in sophistry and subtlety, in wicked craft and cunning, whereby men trick, overreach, and defraud one another; but according to that which is spiritual and evangelical; which lies in the knowledge of Christ, and of God in Christ, and of those things which belong to salvation; the beginning of which is the fear of the Lord, and which comes from above, and is pure and peaceable. A man possessed of this is commended by all wise and good men, and by the Lord himself; as the wise man is by Christ, ( Matthew 7:24 Matthew 7:25 ) ; who builds his house on a rock; for which reason it stands, as in the preceding verse; but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised;
and which appears by the perverse words he speaks against God and Christ; against his people, ways, and worship, as antichrist and his followers do; and by his perverse actions, which are contrary to the light of nature, to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ: and such vile persons are contemned in the eyes of all good men, and are had in abhorrence by the Lord himself; for such who despise him are lightly esteemed; see ( Proverbs 18:3 ) .

Proverbs 12:8 In-Context

6 The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright delivers them.
7 The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.
8 One is commended for good sense, but a perverse mind is despised.
9 Better to be despised and have a servant, than to be self-important and lack food.
10 The righteous know the needs of their animals, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.