Prov 23:4: Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!

Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

You need to know the hearts of men. It is not that difficult; and if you do not, you could be their next victim. The proverb here warns about deceitful hosts seeking your harm.

Here is Solomon’s whole warning, “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words” (Pr 23:6-8). Be careful, even at dinner!

The context has warned about the deceitful dangers of luxurious living, which is the usual lifestyle of rulers and the rich (Pr 23:1-3). Men that love these things are at risk in such settings, for fine dining may corrupt their morals or priorities. Solomon then went further to warn about the vanity of riches, for they are not the real substance of life (Pr 23:4-5).

He then shifted to the danger of dining when the host has evil motives (Pr 23:6-8). The fine food and drink, and the flattering praise and questions, which you enjoyed much during the meal, will be quite distasteful once you realize how you have been used or abused. Whoremongers, conspirators, and salesmen often use fine dining this way.  --Let God Be True

Today I will think like a dynamic servant of God, because I am what I think.
I am not always what I think I am; I am what I think.
I am not what I eat; I am what I think.
Clothes do not make the man; thinking makes the man.
Therefore I will keep my thought process active and open to the voice of God.
God did not call me to a life of failure, but to a life of success. This being so, I cannot fail as long as I do His will, allowing Him to work in and through me, motivating my every thought.
Because my God is a big God, I will think with confidence, knowing that my thoughts can never be bigger than my God.
Today I will think as the apostle Paul thought when he said: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me." (Phil. 4:13)  --J Walls

In an immoderate over anxious way and manner, to a weariness, as the word  signifies, and even as to gape for breath men ought to labour, that they may have wherewith to support themselves and families, and give to others and: if they can, lay up for their children; but then persons should not toil and weary themselves to heap up riches when they know not who shall gather them and much less make use of indirect and illicit methods to obtain them; resolving to be rich at any rate: rather men should labour for durable riches, lay up treasure in heaven, seek those things which are above, and labour to be accepted of God both here and hereafter; which only is in Christ. The Targum is,
``do not draw nigh to a rich man;''
and so the Syriac version; to which agree the Septuagint and Arabic versions; cease from thine own wisdom;
worldly wisdom in getting; riches, as if this was the highest point of wisdom; do not be always laying schemes, forming projects, inventing new things in order to get money; or do not depend upon thine own wisdom and understanding and expect to be rich by means thereof; for bread is not always to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, ( Ecclesiastes 9:11 ) . The Targum is,
``but by thine understanding depart from him;''
the rich man; and to the same purpose the Syriac and Arabic versions.
--Gills Exposition

It begins with a negative command: “Do not labor [do not be weary],” and then adds “cease from your intelligence.” Gaining wealth, it turns out, is wearisome. In a pithy chiasm, Solomon tells us to give it up: “Labor not to-enrich, from-understanding cease.”

Proverbs 23 is, of course, not contradicting the earlier wisdom. The sluggard is still a fool, and understanding is still a good. But Solomon is also warning, as he does over and over in Ecclesiastes, against “wearisome” pursuit of gain, whether material or intellectual. Put it aside, he said. Don’t work so hard. Cease from your pursuit of understanding.

The reason has to do with the nature of wealth, which is the nature of life. Life flies away (Psalm 90:10). The antecedent of “it” in verse 5 is unclear: Is the “it” the wealth at the beginning of verse 4, or the understanding at the end of the verse? Verse 5 is silent, never using the nouns again. The nearest antecedent would be “understanding,” but I suspect Solomon intended the ambiguity to work to encompass both wealth and understanding. Whether the wealth we “set eyes on” is material or intellectual, it’s quickly gone. --Peter Leithart

Proverbs 23:7

By the timer I was seventeen, I had accepted the idea that rules are more important than relationships, fitting in is more desirable than standing out, and you'll never amount to anything without trying top be like someone else. I had already learned not to like myself. I didn't know then that I'd tend to live according to other peoples expectations of me.......Labels affix themselves to your heart and possess your thinking. I realize now this cycle of low expectation and lower desire is not limited to my town, my home, or even my church. It is epidemic because most people have accepted mediocre as the measuring stick of their lives. Why? We've been labeled, and those labels libel and limit us. We don't believe in ourselves because we're taught to look at our lives through the lens of labels.  --David Foster ("Accept No Mediocre Life" p6-7)

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,.... He is not the man his mouth speaks or declares him to be, but what his heart thinks; which is discovered by his looks and actions, and by which he is to be judged of, and not by his words;   --John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible