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Attributes of a Just Man
Proverbs 20:7
"The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him."
One of the characters you read about in the book of Proverbs is the just man. When talking about the just man, God is referring to one who lives right. In other words, he is one who abides by the laws of the land. He is one who abides by God's laws. He is one who is right with mankind. Certainly our present society needs people who will be just. When you study the just man, you will see three of his attributes that will help you in your daily life.
First, the just man listens to instruction. Proverbs 9:9 says, "...teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." Here is someone who doesn't close his ears to the instruction that comes his way, but he is one who learns through instruction. You will never learn the laws of God without listening to the laws of God. You will never learn the rules of society unless you listen to the instruction of one who teaches those rules.
It is highly important that you learn to be a listener. You will learn more through listening than you will through speaking. It is often said that the reason God gave us two ears and one mouth is so that we will listen twice as much as we speak. Life should be a classroom from which we learn. The only way you will learn is to be a person who listens to the instruction that comes through authority and correction.
Second, the just man lives honestly with others. It says in the verse above. "The just man walketh in his integrity:..." What God is saying is that the just man is one who is ethical with others. Ethics is simply treating others in the same manner that you would desire for them to treat you. Now you must understand something about ethics, you are not ethical with others so that they will be ethical with you, but you are ethical with others so that you can have God's blessings upon you. Furthermore, you shouldn't expect others to live according to your ethics. It is God Who rewards you for how you live. The just man is honest with how he treats others so that he may have the blessings of God upon his life.
Last, the just man always gets back up after failure. It says in Proverbs 24:16, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again..." The just man is one who never lets failure stop him. You need to emulate this attribute in your life. You will have failures in life, but when you fail, you need to learn to get back up. Don't let the taste of failure stop you from getting up and trying again. God knows you are not going to be perfect, but He expects you to be like the just man and get up and try to be perfect.
Does your life emulate the just man? Each day you should live your life trying to learn from instruction, treating others the way you would want to be treated, and trying again after failure. Every day will hold the opportunity to do all three, so don't fail in any of these areas and you will find yourself pleasing God as did the just man.