Proverbs 18:1 says, Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.  I believe that this means that people who accept Christ into their lives have a desire to separate themselves from the world and proclaim the wisdom of God.  If we are going to proclaim God's wisdom, we cannot do so if we are guided by the same values as the lost of the world.  Verse two states, A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.  We need to remember that a fool is not a person with limited intelligence, but a person who has said in his or her heart that there is no God.  Such people will never have understanding, but will follow whatever they may think up as the right way to live.  Verse three says, When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.  We could see this as a contempt of other people, but I believe that we can also say that when the wicked come, they earn the contempt of God.  Verse four declares, The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.  What we say is controlled by what we believe.  If we are going to have the gospel, the living water, flowing out of our mouth, the we must first have it within us.  Verse five states, It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.  This is a simple enough concept to understand, but often people do accept the way of the wicked in an attempt to overthrow God's wisdom and those who follow Him.  Verse six says, A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.  A fool likes to argue his or her point, especially with those who are followers of Christ.  Verse seven adds, A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.  This is still speaking about what the fool says.  The words of the fool, a person who denies God, will lead to destruction if they are followed.  Verse eight declares, The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.  This continues to speak about the power of words.  I believe a tale bearer is someone who makes up or shares stories about other people that are not true.  This can hurt a person deeply.  Even if the stories happen to be true, they are repeated simply to hurt the person.  Verse nine states, He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.  Being lazy in the way we work is the same as being wasteful.  We, as followers of Christ, are to do our jobs the best that we can, and not to do only as little as possible.  Verse ten says, The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.  When we believe in God, we have safety in life, now and forever.  Even if we lose our life in this world, we have everlasting security with God.  This should cause us to run to God for security, whatever is going on in life.  Verse eleven declares, The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.  I believe this refers to those who put their faith in riches instead of God.  They believe that their riches are like a strong city, and their conceit, or belief in themselves is like a high wall protecting them.  Verse twelve adds, Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.  When we are haughty, or filled with self-pride, instead of humbling ourselves before God, we are setting ourselves up for destruction.