Proverbs 24:17 says,Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:  This is so much the opposite of what the world teaches and practices today that we as followers of Christ often refuse to accept it.  Verse eighteen adds, Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.  We must follow God's directives about our enemies, which tells us to love them.  I believe that even if we must go to war with an enemy that we should not do so out of hatred.  Verse nineteen states, Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked;  We are not to worry about evil people, but even more importantly we are not to envy them.  We have become too much a nation where wealth and power are worshipped, no matter how they were attained.  Verse twenty says  For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.  This is not referring to earthly rewards, but to the rewards of God.  Evil people, those who oppose or refuse to accept Christ as Savior and Lord, will never inherit life in the kingdom of God.  Verse twenty-one declares, My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:  Once more, if we are living under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will obey God and not be afraid of those in power.  Earthly powers can do nothing to take away our everlasting salvation with God.  Verse twenty-two says, For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both?  Earthly rulers often arise quickly, but the question is how long will they last.  Verse twenty-three proclaims, These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.  We are once again called on to act with the wisdom of God, and when we do we will not be influenced by who a person is.  We are to look at all people equally, whether they be rich or poor, powerful or powerless.  Verse twenty-four adds, He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him:  We are called on to never declare the wicked to be righteous, no matter how rich or powerful they may be.  Verse twenty-five adds, But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.  God expects those who follow Him to rebuke, or speak out against, evil.  We cannot just ignore those things that go against God's teachings simply because a person is successful.  Verse twenty-six states, Every man shall kiss his lips that giveth a right answer.  Matthew Henry says this means that those who judge with fairness will be respected.  Verse twenty-seven says, Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house. This is another call for us to work when we have work to do.  As we work, we will be able to build our house, which I believe means provide security for our family and us.  Verse twenty-eight declares, Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.  If we must testify against our neighbor, then our testimony must be truthful and accurate.  We are never to testify dishonestly, whether we like our neighbor or not.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.  This is the attitude that we will do unto others as they have done unto us.  We cannot treat others badly simply because the have treated us that way.  Verse thirty says,  I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;  Then verse thirty-one continues, And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.  When we live in laziness, the fact will be evident in the condition of the things we own.  Verse thirty-two adds, Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.  Solomon said that he saw the condition of the property of those who were lazy, or slothful, and considered and learned from it.  Verse thirty-three states, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. Then verse thirty-four concludes, So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.  The lesson is that when a person lives in laziness, poverty is the likely outcome.  We must be busy doing what God calls us to do and not put everything off until later.  We should never just wring our hands in despair, but should be busy doing God's work now.