Year 2, Day 308: Proverbs 17

What The Lord Cares About

The crucible is for silver.  The furnace is for God.  But the Lord tests hearts.  Proverbs 17:3.  This is an incredibly true Proverb.  What is it that God cares about?  God cares about our hearts.  God cares about our motivation.  God cares about why we do what we do.  He wants our heart.

Although this proverb seems a little bit scary at first – after all, He can see everything so I know what He is going to say after looking at my heart – it is also very comforting, too.  God cares about my heart.  He doesn’t care about my possessions.  He doesn’t care about my station in life.  He doesn’t care about my lineage.  He cares about my heart.  It’s great to have a God who cares about something like my heart – which He can help me work on to improve!

Insulting God

Without saying much on it, note that the Proverbs repeat in 17:5 what we first discovered in Proverbs 14:31.  Whoever looks down upon the poor insults God.  I find this verse as stunning today as I did a few days ago.

Strife Starts Slow, But Builds To A Flood

Proverbs 17:14 is a great verse.  “The beginning of strife is like letting out water.  So quit before the quarrel breaks out.”  I have been able to watch water break free of ice, or a small dam, or other such circumstances.  It starts slowly.  It appears only a harmless trickle.  But soon the flow of water tears more and more of the support structure away until the trickle becomes a stream, the stream becomes a current, and the current becomes a torrent.  If left unchecked, the breach destroys the whole structure.  So it is with strife.  If strife comes into our midst, we have a choice to immediately nip it in the bud or we can ignore it.  It might seem easier to ignore strife at first, but it will always be harder to live with strife later than it ever is to deal with strife in the moment.

Making Pledges

Proverbs 17:18 makes a very difficult statement – especially in the traditional church mindset.  “One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.”  Just out of curiosity, how often in our church do we ask people to make pledges?  What is this proverb saying?  The fool makes a pledge because he assumes he knows the future.  The fool makes a pledge because he makes an assumption about the future without knowing it.

This proverb is not so much about the ill of making a pledge as it is about humanity’s ability to assume it knows what is going to happen.  People who make pledges assume they are going to have a job for the length of the pledge.  People who make pledges assume that they are going to have their health for the length of the pledge.  We need to trust in God and know He can provide; but we need to also live in the truth of today and not the blind dream of tomorrow.

Think Before You Speak

Proverbs 27 gives me two phrases that I love.  The first is a phrase that I have spoken much about in this study of the Proverbs.  “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge.”  The wise person thinks before he speaks.  The wise person listens before speaking.  The wise person surveys the room, ascertains the crowd, and looks for a way to accomplish their goals.  The wise person plans – perhaps saving the words of victory for another day when the battlefield has changed.

The second half of Proverbs 27 is a proverb that I need to ponder because it really hits home.  “He who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”  Sometimes my spirit is cool.  But sometimes my spirit is very much not cool.  Sometimes my spirit is quite fiery.  Sometimes I am quite passionate.  Sometimes that passion is called for.  But quite often that passion is not called for.  Quite often my life and my work would be better served if coolness took precedence over the passion.  These are words that I need to hear.

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