Year 2, Day 304: Proverbs 13

Guard Your Mouth

There are days when I think Proverbs 13:3 was written specifically for me – and people like me.  I like to talk.  Occasionally I am guilty of just enjoying the sound of my own voice.  It’s not that I think that I’m smarter than anyone else; I just think that I have a good ability to think logically through an issue and I can process problems well.  Maybe we all think that about ourselves for all I know!  But I like to talk, I like to work through issues, and I like to discuss ideas with other people.  For the record, none of this is bad.

But as I understand that about myself, I also need to understand Proverbs 13:3.  The people that guard their mouths preserve life.  The people that open their mouths wide come into ruin.  I think I’ve blogged about this recently, but it is worth saying again.  One of the best lessons I learned through seminary and the first quarter of my ministry is how to keep my mouth shut.  In seminary, it was simply self-preservation and a desire to actually graduate.  In my actual ministry, it has come out of a desire to truly listen to the people to whom God has called me. 

Sure, I can spew piece of advice after piece of advice and thought after thought.  As a pastor, there are times and places for that.  But I always feel I am most effective when I am in a situation where I can listen to others talk and support the ideas that are truly planted by God in fertile ground.  There is much to be said for leading in the front.  But there is also much to be said about leading from behind as support, too.  The first step in being able to support someone is understanding the importance of closing my mouth and opening my ears.  As Solomon says here, “Those who guard their mouths preserve life.”

Pretense

Proverbs 13:7 returns us to a topic that I blogged about yesterday.  “A person pretends to be rich but has nothing; another pretends to be poor but has great wealth.”  How many of us in our desire to establish a pretense of being well off actually put ourselves in great holes?  How many people have bought homes for which they could not pay – or even could not pay for the upkeep?  How many people have bought homes for so much that they then struggle to put food on the table or to have clothing for their family?  Is our society not struggling with being debt-rich and resource-poor?  It is better to put on a life of modesty and have enough than to put on a life of wealth and have nothing.

The Joy of Having Just Enough

Then we turn to Proverbs 13:8 and hear something that is so true that it is almost laughable.  “The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, but a poor man hears no threat.”  Think about that for a second.  When is the last time you heard about a poor man’s child being kidnapped and held for ransom?  When is the last time that a poor person traveling abroad was in true danger of being kidnapped?  So often the desires of our heart – especially the desires that marry well with greed – are what get us into trouble in this world.  I wonder how many times people have honestly thought about stealing or breaking into my absolute-base-model-with-zero-frills-plain-colored Toyota Corolla?  Yet, if I drove a Jaguar with all the bells and whistles how much security would I need to invest to just keep it safe?

I do have to say something to be clear here.  Solomon is not saying that wealth is bad.  He’s not saying that wealth is evil.  He is simply advocating a life of modesty.  He is telling people to live within their means and don’t flaunt what you have received from God.  Solomon’s point is not that wealth is evil; rather it is that wealth brings more problems than blessings.

Hating The Child Because We Refuse To Discipline

Before closing with Proverbs 13:20, I want to really quickly hit on Proverbs 13:24.  I want to reiterate a point that our adult Sunday School teacher hit on a few weeks ago.  Proverbs 13:24 doesn’t say “spare the rod spoil the child.”  Proverbs 13:24 says, “Spare the rod, hate the child.” 

Parents who do not properly discipline their children are not showing love to their children, they are showing hatred.  Parents who do not discipline their children are allowing their children to grow up without having to learn how to do things like set priorities, make judgments, and manage consequences.  Parents who do not discipline their children are setting their children up to have a difficult time getting along with society in a positive manner.  I think Solomon got it right.  Parents who lack discipline for their children are showing hatred towards them.

Walking With The Wise

Now let’s return to Proverbs 13:20.  “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise; the companion of fools will suffer harm.”  There’s an undercurrent in this passage that we must heed.  The assumption is that the person who walks with the wise will become wise. 

In other words, we are not inherently wise.  Wisdom is a learned trait.  If we want to become wise, we must find the wise people around us and do everything in our power to hang out with them.  We must learn from them.  We must seek out their advice.  We must heed their words and learn to apply them to our life.  Wisdom is a way of life.  Wise is a quality that a person becomes.

So often we forget this.  We toss our life away trying to be entertained rather than becoming wise.  We throw our life away in parties and fun when we could be learning from the masters of wisdom in our community.  We chase the moment rather than the future.  Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise; the companion of fools will suffer harm.

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Year 2, Day 303: Proverbs 12

The Need For Correction

As we begin Proverbs 12, we have a wonderful verse.  “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge; but he who hates reproof is stupid.”  Upon reading this, my mind went back to an educational theory that was popular several decades ago.  Fortunately, it came into popularity just after I was in elementary school so I was not taught under its influence.  But it went something like this:

We don’t want to damage a child’s self-esteem.  So when they spell “dog” by saying “c-a-t” we don’t want to tell them they are wrong.  Rather, we want to compliment them on their ability to try and then slowly show them how “d-o-g” might be a better way to spell “dog” than “c-a-t.”

Anyone else remember when the days of that educational theory were popular?  {To some extent it still is with the “No child left behind” – or should I say, “No Teacher Left Standing” – stuff.} 

Proverbs 12:1 really tells us just how stupid that educational approach is.  He who hates reproof is stupid.  He who thinks a child can be raised without telling them that they are wrong is just flat out dumb.  Anyone who thinks that they can become a productive member of society without having a healthy understanding of when you have crossed the line is really just setting themselves up for trouble with the law.  One of the fundamental elements of society is not only understanding right from wrong but also being able to teach right from wrong.  Properly administered disciplinary tactics are always a good thing.  Poorly administered self-esteem tactics are always bad.  For more thought, see Proverbs 12:15.

Family Life

Proverbs 12:4 is another one of my personal favorite proverbs – one that I think I can honestly learn to put into practice better.  “An excellent wife if the crown of her husband.”  I have an excellent wife.  She loves me.  She isn’t out in the community doing things she shouldn’t be doing.  She is diligent about working with me to make sure we spend quality time together.  We work together with managing our finances.  She shares the duties of cooking and cleaning with me.   She comes to worship God with me every week.  She loves God.

Yes, I have a crown for a wife.  But do I always see her that way?  Do I always look at my life as though she is the best thing to happen to me since Jesus died on the cross?  Or do I sometimes long for those moments of being alone?  Or do I sometimes undervalue her efforts?  An excellent wife is indeed the crown of her husband.  But that doesn’t always mean that this husband sees the value in wearing such a quality crown.  I can do better in this regard than I already do.

Station In Life

Proverbs 12:9 also tells us an interesting tale.  “Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.  Actually, as I think about it there are two lessons here.  The first lesson is to be honest with who we are.  Notice that the author contrasts the verbs “to be” and “to play” in each half of the proverb.  It is always better to be in touch with who we are than to try and play a role that is not real.

I also think that there is a lesson here about living within our means, too.  How many times do we see people who come into money turn around and only a short time later file for bankruptcy?  What good does having a grand house and wonderful clothes do a person if they cannot put bread on the table?  What good does it do to drive around in a fancy car and belong to a prestigious country club if we struggle to pay our bills every month?

The Path To Life

I’m going to close this reflection with a no-brainer.  But it is a no-brainer that is repeated over and over in the proverbs so it makes sense for us to also repeat it over and over as well.  The last verse of this chapter says that the path of righteousness is life.  There is no death in it.  Jesus demonstrated that fact to us.  Jesus lived.  He was killed.  But death could not hold Him.  The same will be true for all those who live according to righteousness.  Nothing in this world is worth sacrificing that truth.

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Year 2, Day 302: Proverbs 11

Balance

On an amusing note, I have to confess to reading the first verse in Proverbs 11 completely and totally wrong.  The ESV translates, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord.”  Being a pastor, I completely took the word “balance” in a spiritual/emotional sense.  I began thinking, “What a great passage about knowing oneself and being in touch with one’s spirit.”  Then I looked into the Hebrew to make sure that I was reading it right.  I was disappointed to find out that the word for balance actually means “scale” or “means of measuring weight.”  I was disappointed to discover that this verse isn’t talking about a person being in touch with themselves but rather a person being able to go to the marketplace and not get ripped off!

However, that doesn’t mean that the verse cannot have meaning – even good meaning!  What does this verse tell us?  Don’t make a living by cheating other people out of their hard-earned money.  But it really goes deeper than that.  This proverb dives into from where we as human beings believe our life comes.  Do I have to provide for myself?  If so, do I have to cheat to make sure I survive?  Or do I place my trust in God’s ability to enable me to survive?

That turns me to another topic.  Am I willing to embrace God’s provision?  When I trust that God can provide for me, does that mean that I necessarily am willing to live by what He provides?  Or do I want more than He provides for me?  Is that why human beings need to be told to not cheat one another?  Are we not content with God’s provision for life?  {Wow, who’da thought that I could go someplace that deep on a reading of the Bible that started by taking a false step!}

Integrity

As we progress through this chapter, I find that Proverbs 11:3 follows this line of thinking quite naturally.  The integrity of the upright guides them while the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.  Those of integrity may not always win every battle.  They may not be the wealthiest members of a community.  But they will be respected members of the community.  They will have friends – and more importantly, spiritual family.  What of the crooked?  They might have the money and the stuff.  They might have that big house on a lake looking down upon the rest of the community.  But will they have the respect of the community?  To whom will they turn when life goes sour?  Is this not the point of Proverbs 11:4?

Unfortunate Reality

Proverbs 11:10 – specifically the back half of the verse – saddened me as I read through it.  “When the wicked perish, there are shouts of gladness.”  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that we should feel bad about being freed from oppression.  What saddens me is that there are people in this world who are so corrupt, self-mongerish, and untamed that we rejoice at their death.  It saddens me that there are people who are willing to take their natural human inclination for evil and run with it to whatever extent that they can get away with.

Counsel

Proverbs 11:14 is also a really neat proverb.  “Where there is no guidance, a people fall; but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”  I hope the truth in that comment leaps off of the page.  This proverb made me immediately think about the church.  If we want people to feel safe in our church, we need good counsel.  If we want people to trust us with their spiritual nature, we must develop good counsel.  If we want people to take us seriously when we invite them into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we must develop the ability to promote and train good counsel.  The more our congregations are filled with people who can genuinely speak words of wisdom into peoples’ lives the more people will seek out that counsel!

Pig’s Snout

I can’t pass up talking about Proverbs 11:22, either.  “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.”  I love this line.  It’s so much more fun than an equivalent adage: “Beauty is only skin deep.”  A person who does not have a beautiful spirit has nothing serious to offer in the terms of what makes a person truly rich.  If a person doesn’t have a beautiful spirit that helps them grow in wisdom, they will end up ruining the gift of physical beauty they have been given.

Well, I did warn you that the remainder of this book would seem a little haphazard and random.  But I think there was much treasure to mine in this chapter.  Certainly there was far more treasure than I was able to pull out in this simple blog.  I pray that as you read that your mind found and pondered the depth of God’s truth here in Proverbs 11.

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Year 2, Day 301: Proverbs 10

Random Nature

From this point on, the book of Proverbs becomes far more frustrating for me to read.  It’s not that the book is bad.  It’s not that the book is hard to read.  For me, the reason that this book becomes more frustrating to read is because the proverbs become so randomly organized.  It’s all good material; it’s just hard to bounce from topic to topic.  From the perspective of this blog, it’s going to make the next few days feel quite random.  I apologize for that upfront.

You Can’t Take It With You

I’ll begin by talking about the simple truth of verse 2.  “Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit.”  It goes back to the old adage, “You can’t take it with you.”  Sure, it might seem in the short run that evil, wickedness, scheming, and devious behavior turns a profit.  In many cases, it does!  But in the long run?  Is it worth betraying friends, family, or even your own conscience?  Does betrayal of one’s ethics, morality, and relationship with God pay in the ultimate long run?

Or what about the second half of that verse?  “Righteousness delivers from death.”  Just like the first half of the verse, at first blush this also seems untrue.  Do you know anyone who has been able to escape death?  I don’t.  Everyone I know has died – even those who are made righteous by the blood of Christ.  However, in the long run does not righteousness save a person from the grip of death?  Sure, we might all die, but through the righteousness of Christ do not those in Him ultimately escape the clutches of death?  {For more information, see Proverbs 10:16}

Speaking of Life

As I continued to read through the proverbs, I found another phrase that I want to put a little more thought into.  Proverbs 10:11 tells us that “the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”  How true is that!  How may truly faithful people have spoken words of wisdom into my life?  Oh, how my faith life has been shaped by people who take their spirituality seriously!  {For more information, see Proverbs 10:21}

Acknowledging Sinfulness

Proverbs 10:18 gives us a very interesting perspective on humanity.  “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips.”  This makes a pretty bold statement.  Is this verse not saying that all of us have hatred within us?  If we conceal it, we are lying.  Thus, the best approach is to acknowledge it where it resides and then get it out in the open.

Here’s a really cool dynamic that comes out of this thought.  We know that when we bury things – especially things that we know are sin – deep within us, they fester.  However, when we allow our sinfulness to be brought out and exposed then we can talk about it, find repentance, and receive forgiveness.

The last topic that jumped out at me is yet another reference regarding the fear of the Lord.  “The fear of the Lord prolongs life.”  We already know that the fear of Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  I don’t think those two thoughts are really all that different.  The more wisdom we can embrace, the more likely it is that we will be able to make decisions that are good for us.  When we can bring ourselves to be humble before God and make decisions that are according to His ways, the chance of us making a bad decision goes down drastically.

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Year 2, Day 300: Proverbs 9

Invitation

I’m going to go a bit off track in the beginning.  I have a topic that is related to this Proverb, but not really directly about the proverb.  As I was reading through this chapter I noticed that here it says that wisdom sends out her maidens.  However, I know in the prior chapters it was wisdom herself that called out to the world.  This idea of multiple invitations by multiple invitees got me thinking of the parables in the New Testament where there is a prior invitation given and then the master says to His servants, “go out and invite and tell the invited guests that the banquet is ready.”

You see, in ancient contexts it was common for the master of the house to send word to friends and neighbors telling them that a feast was being planned.  Then, when the feast was ready, the master would send the servants to the invited people and tell them to come.  In a sense, we do this today when we send out “Save the Date” cards for parties like anniversaries and weddings.  We tell people in advance of the party to get ready; then we invite them in when the party is actually ready.

This is what God has done in Christ.  God sent His Law and Prophets to prepare the world for salvation.  Now that salvation has come into the world through His Son, salvation is ready to be received.  God now sends His followers out into the world to tell the world that the feast is ready.  We are the ones who declare to the world that God is ready to receive us.  God has prepared a table for us.  God is waiting with open arms for us to return to His table.  Much like the maidens of wisdom who do the follow-up invitation to her banquet, we do the follow-up invitation to the world for God’s banquet.

Before I leave this topic and return more diligently to the study of this specific proverb, let me offer a warning.  You don’t want to continue to ignore invitations.  We never know which invitation may be our last.  We never know when the banquet doors will be shut.  Heed the invitation from God; heed the call from his servants.  Come to the banquet now while the time is ready.

Simple

Okay, let’s turn to the proverb.  Notice to whom wisdom calls.  Many Bible translations use the word “simple.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean dumb.  Simple is a word that has more in common with “naïve” than “dumb.”  Simple is a word to describe an attitude rather than an intellectual condition.

If we look at the proverbs as a whole, we can tell that this is true.  How many times thus far in this book have we heard about the scoffers?  How many times have we heard about the fools who mock wisdom’s call?  God and His wisdom are more concerned with one’s attitude and approach to wisdom than they are concerned with mental capacity.

That is really what the middle third of this proverb is about.  The simple and those who lack sense can come and grow at wisdom’s table.  However, the scoffer abuses those who try to help him by sneering or poking fun at their ideas.  The wicked only look to take advantage of those who would come and offer support.  The fools don’t even know enough to accept the help when it is offered!

God’s primary concern with us is our attitude.  Do we humbly come to His table acknowledging that we are naïve?  Or do we scoff at His invitation?  Perhaps we simply look to take advantage of His love and mercy?  Maybe we ignore Him, not even realizing that we don’t understand what He has offered to us?  Much of our Christian walk has to do with analyzing our attitude and preparing ourselves to respond to God in the first place.

The Wise Man And The Foolish Man

As we conclude this chapter, we hear about the wise man.  The wise man accepts correction.  The wise man is always looking for ways to gain understanding.  The wise man understands the role of God in their life.  The wise man knows that it is only through God that our days are multiplied and it is only through God’s blessing that we find true satisfaction.  Again we see that wisdom is more about attitude than intellect.

We also turn and look at folly.  I’m not going to say much here.  But I will say this.  We know folly because it is loud and boisterous all the while not actually saying anything of particular relevance.  We know folly because it promotes living in inconsistent ways (stealing and doing things in secret).  We know folly because it promotes the glorification of one’s desires rather than the humbling of oneself.

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Year 2, Day 299: Proverbs 8

Blessed Contrast

Throughout the whole day yesterday my thoughts lingered again and again on the rich truth that was mined in Proverbs 7.  Thus, the words of that passage were fresh in my mind as I began to read about wisdom today.  Immediately a contrast jumped out at me.  Do you remember where the adulterer was said to hang out in yesterday’s reading? 

The correct answer is: lying in wait at every street corner. 

Where is it that Proverbs 8 says wisdom hangs out?

The correct answer is: at the crossroads by the front gate.

Contrast those two descriptions in your mind.  Adultery lies in wait everywhere.  Wisdom stands in the open and pronounces her righteousness.  Oh how many paces can we go just by comparing these two images!

However, here’s the first place my mind went.  Adultery comes like a predator stalking its prey.  It’s everywhere.  As soon as we let our guard down it is upon us and sinking its claws into us.  It comes to us when we drop our defenses for one reason or another.  On the other hand, we must go to wisdom.  We must pursue wisdom – although she’s not hard to find because we know where to find her.  We don’t have to worry about our defenses because it is we who go to her and not she who stalks us with an unknown agenda.  Unlike with the adulterer who takes advantage of our weakness, it is our move to seek after wisdom.

Extrapolate this back into the broad world of the analogy.  Compare and contrast God (righteousness) with Satan (sin).  Satan hunts us down.  Sin is at every corner.  Sin seeps into our life whenever we let down our defenses.  On the other hand, God calls us to Him – but we must heed the call.  We know where to find God, and we must go to Him.  Yes, He does beckon us – sometimes quite strongly even.  But God does not hunt us in any similar manner like sin hunts us down.  I think this is really important to contemplate on this day.  Sin will come into our life through no effort of our own.  Sin comes into our life because of a lack of effort to be righteous!  But it takes work to know God and live by His ways.

Associating With Wisdom

As we read through this proverb, look at all the things with which wisdom is connected.  In verses 6-11 we understand just how wisdom is connected to righteousness, truth, prudence, sense, nobility, and understanding.  Are there any bad qualities on that list?  Are there any qualities on that list that you would say, “Do I really have too much of that in my life?”  I doubt it.  The more of those qualities we have, the better off we are.  How do we get them in our life?  We must learn to pursue them.  We must come at sit at the feet of wisdom and glean.

In verses 12-21 we hear that wisdom is connected to prudence, knowledge, discretion, fear of the Lord, good counsel, insight, strength, justness, true wealth, honor, and righteousness.  Again I ask: is there any of those qualities that you would ever say, “Maybe I have too much of that in my life?”  I don’t think so.  That’s an incredible list of characteristics right there.  The more of those qualities we can have in our life the better off we would all be.

I encourage you to read those lists of attributes in each of the last two paragraphs again.  Imagine a person who had all of those qualities in plentiful supply.  Now imagine that you had those qualities in plentiful supply.  Would life be better?  What in your life might be different?  Do you want that?  No, seriously.  Do you want it or are you just saying that you want it?

Take another look at Proverbs 8:17.  There is our answer.  “I love those who love me; those who seek after me diligently find me.”  There is our key.  Anyone can say, “I believe God is real.”  Anyone can even say, “I believe Jesus was real.”  Anyone can say, “I believe Jesus died on the cross.”  At no point do any of those confessions indicate that a person is pursuing God.  At no point do any of those confessions indicate that a person is in love with God.  At no point do any of those questions indicate that a person is diligently seeking the Lord.  Those confessions are simply a historical confession that an event occurred.

Those who pursue God make comments like “I believe this behavior in my life is sin, so with God’s help I am casting this out of my life.”  Those who are diligent in their pursuit of God are perpetually active in the process of allowing their life to be conformed to His ways.  Those who are seeking out God and His wisdom do not hide behind His grace and they do not allow sin to continue in their life because they know they can be forgiven.  Rather, those who are seeking out God are actively casting sin away from them and humbly coming before God in a repentance that brings about change.  Those who are genuinely pursuing God place trust in the fact that their satisfaction will actually increase when they cast away the sinful desires of their heart.

Wisdom Is With God

As this chapter concludes, we hear all about how wisdom was with God from the very beginning.  I couldn’t help but read these final dozen {or so} verses and not also hear John 1:1 and John 1:3 echoing loudly in my head.  While I am not absolutely certain that it is fair to say that Jesus is the physical embodiment of “wisdom” in this passage, I do think it is fair to say that when we pursue Jesus we pursue God and His wisdom.  So do that.  Pursue Him.  Don’t just believe He exists.  Don’t just believe His grace is sufficient.  Pursue that grace.  Pursue His righteousness.  Seek after Him with everything you’ve got.  You will not be disappointed with the results.

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Year 2, Day 298: Proverbs 7

Emptiness

Today we have the fulfillment of the “adulterer” section that we started in the last chapter.  This is really an incredible chapter for the person who enjoys psychology.  The author of Proverbs really paints a portrait of the adulterer’s mindset.  It begins along this line of thinking: The prostitute seeks to empty your change purse while the adulterer seeks to empty your life.

Think about this for a second.  Yes, in God’s eyes both are indeed sin.  Sin is sin.  I’m not going to say one is better than the other.  Both are sex outside of the marriage bond and I believe that the Bible is clear on the point that such an activity is against His desire for us.  So fundamentally hear me argue that prostitution and adultery are both wrong.

However, the prostitute does what he or she does for the sake of money.  They aren’t looking for a relationship.  They aren’t looking to consume your life – they are simply looking to consume a small amount of time with as much passion as possible so that the payout will be as high as possible.  The prostitute is motivated more by money than by relationship.

However, this is not true about the adulterer.  As we see painted in this chapter, the adulterer desires to keep you for the night.  The adulterer wants more than just passion and money – they want relationship as well.

But the relationship is not genuine.  Look at the words that the author uses to describe the set-up of the encounter. 

• “My husband is out of town.”  In other words, the adulterous relationship is not a genuine relationship because the relationship can only exist at specific times.  Depending on the circumstance, the relationship exists or is denied.  Relationships that are situationally dependent are not true relationships.
• “I had to offer sacrifices” and “Today I have paid my vows.”  In other words, by day the adulterer appears religious and appears to know God.  But the night exposes that the adulterer is not genuinely seeking after God.  In this particular case, the woman makes a good show at the temple with sacrifices, but they are merely “dues” that she pays to buy off her conscience at night.  The relationship of adultery is shallow because it is something that has to be hidden and disclosed since it is different than how people act “when others are watching.”
• “At every corner she lies in wait” and “she seizes him.”  The adulterous relationship is often born out of one person’s scheme.  Sure, it may eventually work into both participants equally participating in the relationship – but it usually begins with the adulterer looking for an opportunity.  The adulterous relationship is not born naturally – two people growing closer together through a mutually shared and growing relationship.  Adultery begins with the married person actively looking for something else besides the one to whom they are married.  Adultery begins out of human agenda – not spiritual relationship.

In fact, as I was researching this passage I stumbled across a neat book called Opening Up Proverbs written by Jim Newheiser.  In it Jim makes a really neat analogy.  His development is far too long, so I’ll paraphrase.  But the credit really goes back to Mr. Newheiser.

Jim claims that verses 6-23 reads more like a nature film than genuine human interaction:

• Verses 6-9: Here we see the prey victim.  He has strayed too far from “the pack” – that is, the wisdom and security of his parents/family.  He unknowingly walks too close to the adulterer’s house.  Instead of seeking the company of the “herd” that can protect him, he strays away into the “tall grass” where danger is far more easily hidden.
• Verses 10-20:  Here we see the chase.  She lies in wait.  At every corner she is looking for that prey to walk by.  When the prey is in range her claws of seduction sink in deeply.  She assaults his eyes with her perfectly proportioned body no doubt aided by the clothing she has chosen.  Her painted eyelids seek to capture the attention and the eyes of the prey (Don’t believe me, look back at Proverbs 6:25!).  She sinks her claws into his pride by flattering him with her silver tongue. She tells the prey that she has come for him specifically.  She knows that the way to capture a man is through physical attraction and a gentle stroking of his ego.  She proves to the prey that the visual promise that her attire presents is able to be fulfilled when she kisses him.  She promises the allure of safety by explaining that the prey won’t get caught.  Her attack is complete.  She has stalked the prey, attracted the prey, convinced the prey that it is really safe, and she now sinks her teeth and claws into the prey.
• Verses 21-23: Here we see the kill.  Notice how the author of Proverbs talks about the kill?  The young prey … er … man … is like a dumb ox going to the slaughter.  The ox thinks he’s going out to pasture only to find himself meeting the butcher.  In this case the young man thinks he’s going to find genuine relationship only to find a shallow sexual experience that has no chance of being the true relationship that God desires for a man and a woman to have.

Doesn’t this proverb read more like a nature film than a truly human experience?  Is not the description of the adulterer more like a predator stalking its prey than two humans coming together according to God’s desire for true community?  Is this not a fair statement about the perspective of sex that the world has to offer?

I have one final comment that I will bring out before finishing.  This proverb has much to say about topics that apply to today’s culture.  We live in a culture where women are taught at a very young age that their job is to “attract the man.”  Women – young girls, even! – dress in clothes that are designed to leave nothing of their physical body to the imagination.  Women and girls alike are trained how to wear facial make-up to attract the eyes of others to their own eyes.  Women and young girls are being trained to use scent to help capture the attention of others.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that women (or men, for that matter) are to strive for a plain frumpy look.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice and presentable for one’s God.  However, I think in our culture we need to think long and hard about whether our appearance makes it easier for other people to focus on God or focus on ourselves.  If we are dressing and presenting ourselves in such a way as it draws people to focus on us instead of God – do we not have much in common with the tactics of the adulterer in this passage?

For the record ... the author ends this with a haunting note.  The ways of the adulterer lead to Sheol (The place of the dead).  When we act in common with these ways, we too are following the path to Sheol and not the path to God.

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Year 2, Day 297: Proverbs 6

Mothers and Fathers

Okay, just as a total aside … I love how in Proverbs 6:20 we hear about the combination of the mother and father in the parenting role.  A few days ago I posted a lot about fathers and apologized for not being able to speak to mothers.  Here in this verse, I love how the author ties the work of the mother and father together so nicely!

Practical Warnings

As I now turn to the rest of Proverbs 6, I will separate this post into two sections as the author separates this chapter into two sections.  The first section contains what the Bible headings often call “Practical Warnings.”  The opening part of Proverbs 6 is a list of honestly practical advice about how to get through life.

What is really neat for me to see as I read through this is just how much of the advice is based on community.  The opening set of verses speaks about what to do if you are caught in the grasp of your neighbor.  Perhaps you did something wrong and got caught.  Perhaps you didn’t intend to offend your neighbor but in one way or another you accidentally did.  Whatever the case, we can’t help occasionally offending our neighbors as we go through this life.  Of course, this leads to the New Testament question: Who is my neighbor?

The author gives some great advice.  Go to your neighbor.  Plead with your neighbor.  Seek peace with your neighbor.  Life is always much easier when two people come together and are able to work through their differences by themselves.  Life gets really ugly when people hold grudges.  Life gets really ugly when people cannot resolve their differences and the courts must get involved.  Life is far better when an offending person tries to make amends as soon as possible after recognizing that an offense has in fact occurred.

Or as the author of this chapter speaks of next, perhaps a person is suffering from laziness.  Perhaps a person is never prepared.  It begins to affect a person and affect their relationships with the people around them.  Have you ever had to work with a naturally lazy person?  Have you ever had to work with a person who lived with a “Why do it today when you can put it off to tomorrow” kind of attitude?  It’s frustrating to have to work in that manner. 

Therefore, the author of the proverb gives good advice.  Prepare yourself.  Do the work that is expected of you when it is expected.  If you are willing to do the simple work when it is expected, you won’t be caught unaware.  And for the record, when you do the work that is expected of you people don’t genuinely mind helping you out when you need it, too!

Then we get this wonderful passage.  I will confess to being amused by the last few verses of the opening section.  There are 6 things the Lord hates, but 7 that are an abomination?  Which one does the Lord hate that isn’t an abomination to Him?  {I know, that’s not what is being said here.  This is a linguistic tool used to build suspense in the listener.  But it does sound funny.}  The 7 things that the Lord hates are pride, lies, murder, deception, lust for evil, false witnesses, and people who intentionally sow discord.  What is the common theme through all seven of these qualities?  All seven destroy community.  All seven destroy relationships.  All seven are deadly to us being at peace with God and at peace with one another. 

As a bit of an aside, I am curious in noting that no form of avarice or greed made this list.  Isn’t that interesting?

Warning Against Adulterous Action

As me move to the second section, we begin a conversation that we will carry on tomorrow.  The author begins talking about adultery.  I’m going to speak about adultery and fornication together.  While the Bible speaks in this section about adultery (sex by a married person outside of the marriage covenant) I think the lessons here apply to any sex outside of the marriage covenant regardless of whether the people involved are married or not.

I really love how the author writes in verse 27 about this idea of sex apart from one’s spouse.  Can a person hold fire next to their chest and not get burned?  Can a person be on hot coals and not scorch their feet? I love that description.  It makes such a great connection between the physical analogy and the emotional reality.  Sex is a powerful event.  Spiritual and emotional bonds of vulnerability and trust are created between two people and God during a sexual encounter that should never be violated. 

Yet, when we have sex outside of marriage we are perpetually in danger of having those emotional and spiritual bonds violated.  Honestly, think about that. 

• In the case of adultery, the adulterer is putting all those bonds with the true spouse in serious jeopardy.  The adulterer is also creating false bonds that will never be able to be realized in truth with their adulterous partner.  Adultery smashes and mocks – nay, burns - the spiritual and emotional bonds that God genuinely desires to be between two people during a sexual encounter.
• In the case of fornication, the sexual act still creates spiritual and emotional bonds that do not genuinely have the safety net of “marriage” to support them.  When two people have sex – a bond is created.  But when that bond is created outside a genuine marriage it is easily forgotten, tossed aside, and violated.  Soon people learn to not create that bond because it hurts to have that bond go unfulfilled.  People begin to view sex as an activity, not as a genuine act of spiritual formation between two people.

I agree with the author of Proverbs.  Sex is a powerful thing.  The bonds that are created during a sexual encounter are some of the strongest bonds that a person can experience.  When we play with sex outside of the security of marriage where God intended it to reside, we are asking to get burned.  Usually, we get burned quite badly.

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Year 2, Day 296: Proverbs 5

The Nitty-Gritty Truth

As we begin to look at proverbs 5 I think we have a literally analogy that has far reaching truth if we also accept it as a figurative analogy.  The words that jumped out at me as I read this were: “the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil.  But in the end she is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two edged sword.”  I love this description.

I love this description.  I love it on a very gritty, real, physical level.  How many of us know the temptation of a physical forbidden fruit!  For us men, how many of us can say that we’ve never wanted that intimate moment with woman that catches our eye?  How many of us men cannot honestly confess that our eyes have lingered longer – far longer than they should – on that woman with whom we have no right to let our eyes linger?  How many of us men cannot confess to having thoughts in the back of our mind for far longer than we should allow them to take up residence?  {And for the record, I’d ask the same of women … but being a man I only know what tempts a man.  So women, I’m going to trust that you can ask yourself a similar set of questions appropriate for that which women lust after.}

What is the fruit of such lust in our eyes and our mind?  Is it ever good?  Does anything good ever come out of looking too long at something that is forbidden?  Fundamentally, does anything good ever come out of lingering on something that is inherently rooted in the flesh?  When we truly pursue the desires of our own fleshly heart, do we not always end up with a bitter and unsatisfied taste in the end?

This leads me to the more figurative understanding.  Is it only a physical lust to which these thoughts apply?  If we were to change this to “money” instead of women, is the teaching any different?  What about “cars?”  What about “shoes?”  What about “jewelry?”  What about “the size of my house?”  What about “clothing labels?”  What about “vacation destinations?”  What about “education level?”  Is anything of this world exempt from leaving a bitter taste if we pursue it apart from God’s will?  If I long for – or lust after – something that God does not desire – thus, forbidden – will I not always taste the bitterness of life and feel the double-edge sword?

Then we are to hear that we are to not go near to “her.”  {Or figuratively, “it.”}  That path leads to Sheol {The place of the dead.}  The pursuit of things that are apart from God is a path of death and a life lived in which true life is not even the goal!  The pursuit of things that are apart from God is a path of un-discipline.  It is forsaking the very attributes in this life that make things like community, fellowship, and peace even possible.

Wow.  That last sentence really hit me as I finished it.  I’ve known it for a long time, but I guess I haven’t pondered it for a while.  The reason we do not have peace with ourselves and with one another is because we pursue things that are not of God.  We do not have peace because our hearts are focused on our own desires.  I think that point is readily clear with respect to peace with one another.  Whenever I lift up my so-called rights/desires above your so-called rights/desires conflict is inevitable.

But what really struck me today is the application of that thought inward.  For decades I have struggled with depression.  At a few points during my teenage years, my depression almost got the best of me.  It has been a lifelong struggle that I fight and have resigned to likely fight all of my life. 

I’ve heard it said that depression is anger turned inwards.  Today, that phrase makes a ton of sense.  For me … why am I depressed?  I am depressed because I see my choices and how I’ve failed.  I’ve failed because I’ve chosen to pursue things that are apart from God.  I am angry with myself for not being able to choose the paths of God like I should.  I am not at peace with myself because there is a part of me that enjoys choosing a path apart from the love and truth of God.

In the end, I think the author of this proverb speaks well.  In a literal sense, the advice is for people to long for the ones that are not forbidden.  A husband is to long for his wife.  A wife is to long for her husband.  That is phenomenal spiritual advice!

On a figurative level, it is also great advice.  We should long for that which is not forbidden.  Desire the things, people, and thoughts of God.  Drink from the cistern from which He desires you to drink.  This is wonderful, wonderful advice.

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Year 2, Day 295: Proverbs 4

Gender Reality

As I began to read this chapter, I began to read the words through a potentially sexist lens.  Why is all the talk about fathers and sons?  What about mothers and daughters?

Then suddenly it hit me just how much living in a modern context with a modern lens was affecting me.  The talk is about fathers and sons not to the exclusion of mothers and daughter at all!  This is a man writing!  He only knows what it is like to be a son and to be a father.  He can’t speak to being a mother or a daughter.  So why I am concerned about it?

That led me to what I think is a very healthy place of thought about this proverb.  The neat thing is that I also know I get to preach to the choir for a second.  Preaching to the choir is always fun!  So here’s my thought as we open this chapter in Proverbs.

Do you notice the importance of the inclusion of the father in the development of the children?  So often in the world fathers consider themselves the “bread-winner,” the “handyman,” or even the “chauffer.”  It is easy for the father to assume that the mother always knows more about rearing kids than they do.  So fathers often step back and take a less active role in the rearing of their children.  It’s completely understandable from a psychological standpoint.

But from a spiritual standpoint nothing could be worse!  This person writing this proverb (assumed to be Solomon) is who he is because when he was young his dad took him aside and spent time with him.  His dad taught him right from wrong.  His dad taught him obedience.  His dad took time and taught him just how important he is in life.  I don’t mean this to minimize the importance of mothers at all.  But I cannot stress how much the opening of this proverb has shown me the importance of reinforcing the father and his role as well.  Today I am going to spend a good deal of time remembering and honoring my father’s role in my life and praying for all the fathers I know.

Gaining Wisdom

As we progress through this chapter, I think there is another theme that can really speak to our current age.  Notice the emphasis that the author puts on valuing and gaining wisdom.  There are only two ways that I know of for gaining wisdom.  One is experience.  You can only gain experiential wisdom based on the experiences you have.  However, you can also learn wisdom by being around other people who are wise.  I think this is the path that the author is speaking about.  The author is encouraging us to value our time sitting and learning.

This made me think about the culture in which I find myself.  What is this culture known for?  What are the younger people in our culture skilled at doing?  How many of our young people can play video games in ways that older people have no hope of doing?  What about young adults?  How much of our culture is based on the mobility of our young adults and running people to this event or that? 

I could go on with a few other examples, but I hope that I have made my point.  Our culture has gotten good at diverting our attention away from learning – or at least learning wisdom.  We are far more “busy” than any culture that has come before us.  I’m not really sure we’re actually any more productive – just busy.  We also are far more into learning things that don’t particularly make us wise.  We are consumers of skills.  We are always learning new skills.  But are we actively learning things that make us better people?  Sure, we may be more versatile than any generation that has come before us.  But are we any better?

Witness

As I close my reflections on this chapter, I am struck by the analogy that the author makes about the way of the righteous being like the sun.  It shines brighter and brighter until the full day (what we would call noon).  That’s a really neat analogy in my opinion.  It is an analogy that simultaneously promotes a public witness while also embracing the idea that one’s witness must grow.  We aren’t born with a strong witness for God.  We aren’t born with an innate wisdom.  We are born with the capacity for those things to grow.

I think that I am really going to hold onto that analogy.  In fact, let me state a few facts.  Sunrise for today was at 7:15 and I am currently 37 years old.  Therefore, to apply that analogy to my life (using noon as the point of death – the point when growth has hopefully been maximized) … I am currently only at about 9:00 A.M.  If I’m only at 9:00 AM … think about how much more growth I can accomplish before the Noon Hour of my life!  That’s a really neat way of reinforcing the idea that I “haven’t arrived” yet.  You “haven’t arrived” yet, either.  We all still have time left to grow in the Lord and increase our wisdom in Him.

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Year 2, Day 294: Proverbs 3

Straight

We hear Proverbs 3:5 quoted all the time.  Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Lean not onto your own understanding.  That’s absolutely good advice – I’m not going to talk against that at all.  The less we lean on our own ability to understand the better.

However, I wonder how often we take the very next verse to heart.  It’s almost like we get so excited about verse 5 that we put verse 6 in its shadow and ignore it.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.

Let me say that again putting emphasis on a couple of words.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.  Yes, the Bible does say all your ways.  That’s the key.  What happens to Christians when they acknowledge God in some of their life but have another part of their life that is kept separate from God?  The part of life that is kept separate usually takes over the part that isn’t.  Soon we find ourselves having less and less of our life acknowledging God.  Soon we find ourselves living a life that is focused on our own desires.  It may sound trite to say, but we either give everything to God or we end up giving nothing to God.

But that’s not all.  Note that it is God who makes our way straight.  It is God who is responsible for making our life work out so long as we give everything to Him.  But who else can really do the task?  Clearly I can’t make my ways straight – I’ve got plenty of sin to prove that thought false.  I can’t trust anyone else to make my paths straight.  So if God is the only one who can make my paths straight, why would I not give Him everything?  Why would I not acknowledge Him in everything I do since He is the only one who can make my ways straight?  As the writer of Proverbs goes on to say, such a decision will only lead to our healing.

Praise Versus Correction

Then we come down a few verses and we hear about not despising the Lord’s reproof.  Earlier in Sunday School we got an opportunity to talk about Ecclesiastes 7:5.  It is better for a person to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.  In both of these contexts we hear about how we as human beings should be appreciative of constructive criticism, discipline, and reproof.

This is completely contrary to human nature.  Don’t we all love praise more than correction?  Don’t we all love to hear an accolade far more than we hear something that we could do better?  Don’t get me wrong.  We do all need to hear some good stuff. 

But don’t we actually learn better when people honestly sit down and evaluate a performance rather than just simply tell us how great we are?  Isn’t it far more meaningful to hear an honest evaluation of what went well and what could have gone better than it is to hear how awesome something was?

Remember that this proverb is specifically talking about rebuke from the Lord.  If we cannot trust that the Lord’s correction is good whose can we trust?

Do’s and Don’t’s

Then we turn to a fairly good list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” 

• Don’t promise something to your neighbor when you have it today.  This isn’t so much about a policy of “perhaps not being able to keep your word tomorrow” as much as it is a policy of selfishness.  Why would you hold onto something you have planned on giving up if you can give it up and help your neighbor today?
• Don’t plan evil against those who trust you.  In other words … don’t make an enemy out of a perfectly good friend.  That makes sense, doesn’t it?  But how many of us actually live our life making enemies out of perfectly good friends?
• Don’t envy the ways of the wicked.  But wait, there’s more.  Don’t envy the ways of the wicked … because a devious person is an abomination to the Lord.  From a relationship angle, this makes a ton of sense.  What is a devious person?  A devious person is someone who secretly plans the downfall of another.  It may be for selfish reasons; it may be for anger.  But in the end, deception and devious behavior destroys community.  God is about building up people.  God is about building up communities.  God has no part in the destruction of those things.

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Year 2, Day 293: Proverbs 2

Context of Proverbs

Before I talk about the text, I need to talk about the context.  The book of Proverbs is generally attributed to Solomon.  Now, we know the story of Solomon.  He asked God to be wise and God blessed him with wisdom. 

But we also know that the man had multiple hundreds of wives and concubines.  I’m talking about 700 wives and 300 concubines.  Honestly, we do know that many of them were not marital wives as much as they were political arrangements.  However, I do think that it is fair to say that Solomon had more than one woman with whom he had marital relations.  There is more than one woman that he let get close to him and influence his heart greatly.  We know this to be true because of 1 Kings 11:1-8.  We also know that because of these wives, concubines, and political arrangements that Solomon chased after foreign gods.

As we read this second chapter of Proverbs, we should not forget that it is not only important to learn these lessons when we are young but that we should also adhere to these lessons as we grow older.  Mature followers of God are just as susceptible to sin as anyone else.  These words could have saved Solomon from pursuing foreign gods.  As Proverbs 2:16 says, had Solomon remembered these lessons himself – had he heeded the advice of Proverbs 2:1-3 – he could have been delivered from forbidden women.

Wisdom From God

Looking at this chapter of proverbs, the one theme that jumped out at me is the understanding that wisdom comes from God.  Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom as we learned last chapter.  It is when we humble ourselves to God that we genuinely grow in our faith.  It is when we accept, believe, and act as though God is the source of what we need in life that we truly live.

It is the Lord who guards the paths of the wise.  It is the Lord who enables people to walk in righteousness.  It is the Lord who plants wisdom and understanding into our spirit.  It is the Lord who gives us the discretion to overcome the influence of evil.  It is the Lord that enables us to not get sucked into the plots of evil.  Wisdom – and a good life – are found in God, not anywhere else in this world.

Forbidden Women

As we move to the end of this string of proverbs, I want to return more generically to the topic of the “forbidden women.”  Notice the dangers that are presented here.  The forbidden women are the ones who turn us away from the faith of our youth.  The forbidden women turn us away from our covenants with God.  The paths of the forbidden women sink down into the earth, departing from the high road of the righteousness of God.  Those who fully go to the forbidden women do not return to the path of life.

What a wonderful analogy for the world – especially for the world’s influence of sin. 

• I remember being very young – less than 10 years old.  I was so on fire for God.  I was memorizing scripture.  I was helping in the church.  I wanted everyone to know about Jesus.  
• Then I hit puberty.  Suddenly girls were more important than God.  Suddenly television was more important than God.  Suddenly going out cruising on Friday nights was more important than God.  Computer games, social networking, and being entertained were more important to me than God.  Making money was more important than God. 
• As I went to college, there was a bunch more stuff that was more important than God.  In fact, almost everything was more important than God.  The “forbidden women” – the lust after the things of this world – nearly dragged me down into the pit of the earth.  I consider myself favored – only by the grace of God! – to have played so fervently with temptation and not gotten permanently pulled away from God.

As I read through this set of Proverbs, that is the message that resonated with me.  It is easy to be passionate about God when we are young and dwelling in the protection of the maturity of our parents, pastors, and faithful adults that surround us.  But the temptation of the world is strong.  It is so easy to be pulled into the world.  Once a person is pulled into the world, it is quite difficult for them to be extracted out of the world.

This is all the more reason to walk in the integrity of God.  This is all the more reason to talk to our young people about how much we have struggled with the world.  People need to hear how difficult it is.  People also need to hear about those who have overcome by the grace of God so that when they fall they know to whom they can turn!

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