19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. 20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.

21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise. 22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his folly will not depart from him. Proverbs 27:19-22 English Standard Version

If we want to see what we are like on the outside we can easily stand in front of a mirror. Or even gaze into a still pool of water. But if we want to know what we, or someone else, is really like, where do we need to look? (vs 19)

Earlier in this book we were told “Don't eat the bread of a man who thinks only about himself. Don't have a desire for his fine food. For as he thinks in his heart, so he is. He says to you, 'Eat and drink.' But his heart isn't with you!” (Proverbs 23:6-7) It's what's in our heart that really tells what we are like. What sort of heart would you say is described in vs 20?

It surely speaks of hearts that are greedy. And the fact that it is written as a general description of mankind suggests that it reflects all of our hearts. So we find the apostle John warning Christians against this danger of greed when he says: “Don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions - is not from the Father but is from the world.” (1 John2:15-16)

What is one of the things in life that can bring out what a person's heart is really like? (vs 22)

It's the way we respond to any honours or praise that we are given. Just as fire brings out the dross in silver and gold, so honours and praise often bring out the pride within us. The heart of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was revealed as he was walking on the royal palace roof and, gazing at the great city below, he said: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:29-30) In vs 2 of the chapter we are looking at the writer had said: “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips”.

The letters the apostle Paul wrote to Christians at Corinth have a lot to say about the issue of pride and boasting. It was a widespread problem in their Church. One form it took was of people boasting who their favourite preacher was and looking down on other preachers. Sadly, some of the preachers who were the most popular were those who bragged about themselves. It came to a point where Paul had to remind them of all that God had done through them in their lives. But he stresses that he didn't like talking about what he had achieved and says: “I've been making a fool of myself talking like this, but you made me do it. You should be the ones telling what I have done.” (2 Corinthians 12:11)

Could vs 22 be telling us anything about the problem of greed and pride, and sin in general?

I'd say that sin makes us into fools. The more full of pride we are, and the more greedy we are, so the more difficult it is to change our ways. How hard it is, said Jesus, for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. When our hearts are never satisfied with what we have we will spend our life chasing after more things instead of seeking God's kingdom. Our hearts can become as hard as stone when it comes to God and the Bible. Is their any hope for such a person?

Yes! A promise God gave to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel is true for all who humbly call on Jesus Christ to save and change them. God said: “I will give you a new heart, and  a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)