Proverbs 11:17 - Meaning and Application

A common saying is, “Every one for himself,” meaning, “No one is closer to me than I am.” If we understand that rightly, it can push us to nurture good qualities in ourselves and kill corrupt ones. In that sense, we are either friends or enemies to ourselves, even in the way we enjoy present life, depending on whether we are led by religious principles.

A merciful, gentle, good-natured person does good to his own soul and makes his life easier. He enjoys the good conscience that comes from doing his duty, and he helps the comfort of those who are, in a sense, as close to him as his own soul, because we are members of one another. The person who shares his material goods with others will find that God gives him spiritual blessings in return, and those blessings do the best good to his own soul. This matches Isaiah 58:7 and following. If you do not turn away from your own flesh, but do good to others as you would to yourself, and if you give out from your own soul to help the hungry, you will do good to your own soul too. The Lord will satisfy your soul and make your bones strong.

Some also take this saying to mean that a merciful man takes proper care of himself. The kind of heart that leads him to be generous to others will also lead him to allow himself what is fitting and to enjoy the fruit of his work. We may also understand “soul” here as the inner person, as the apostle calls it, and then the verse teaches that the first and great act of mercy is to care well for our own souls, giving them the needed support for spiritual life.

On the other hand, a cruel, stubborn, bad-tempered person troubles his own flesh, so his sin becomes his punishment. He wears himself out and comes to harm because he does not know how to use what he has either for others or for himself. He becomes a burden to his nearest relatives, who are, or should be, as close to him as his own flesh (Ephesians 5:29). Envy, hatred, and greed for worldly things are like decay in the bones and wasting in the flesh.