Year 8, Day 334: Ecclesiastes 4

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I love the varied dynamics of Ecclesiastes 4.  We get a perspective on age and wisdom mixed with youth and receptivity.  We get chance to think about companionship.  There is a perspective on human oppression.  There is the natural continued perspective on toil.

Start there first.  We receive two pieces of wisdom regarding toil.  First, toil and work come from envy after what another one has.  While I’m not sure I quite fully buy into the absolute nature of this saying, I do think it has much merit. If I think about many of the things that I am good at doing, it is because I saw it in other people and I wanted to be good in it as well.  Most of my skills come because I saw them on display in other people.  On that level, the saying is true.

I like the second saying even better.  It is better to have a single handful of quietness than two handfuls of toil and striving after wind.  In other words, it is good to know one’s limitations and then accept them.  It is good to reach for the stars and know when you’ve peaked.  Striving after the unattainable is not striving at all.  It is an exercise in frustration.

Look at the perspective on companionship.  If a person falls into a pit and they are alone, what will they do?  But if they have a companion, they can be rescued.  It’s always good to have a second perspective.  When things go wrong, and they will to varying degrees, we want to be able to get advice, get help, and have some cheer for us and help us get back to our feet.  Companionship – genuine friendship – is a great blessing in life.

Then there is my favorite passage of the chapter.  A young an who can take advice is better than a wise old man who can’t.  So often we berate the young for their inexperience and foolishness.  Sometimes, it’s genuinely deserved.  Yet, there is something I’ve learned as a high school teacher.  My teenagers can admit when they are wrong and outclassed.  They can admit when they’ve gotten a thing or two to learn.  They can embrace their growing edges!  The danger with growing old is that we learn to be blind to our growing edges.  We think that in our wisdom our growing edges shrink.

In truth, They shouldn’t.  Think about a physical example.  Let’s say my maturity is equal to a sphere.  As I grow, the sphere becomes bigger.  But, that means that the surface area of the sphere because greater and a far faster rate than the radius does!  The bigger the sphere gets, the greater the need for more paint to cover it.  In other words, the greater the area for growth!

So it is with human beings.  As I get older, I get more experience.  Yes, I do become wiser in the ways that used to trip me up.  However, as wise as I get in the old struggles, I have that many more new areas in which to struggle!  Growing older is an excuse to become more receptive to advice, not an excuse to become less receptive.  I pray that I will always be open to a friendly critique.

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Year 8, Day 333: Ecclesiastes 3

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In Ecclesiastes 3 we can hear much of the same tone as was discovered last chapter.  Everything that is done is done best when it is partnered with God.  Toiling is best done when we toil for God.  Being joyful about our toil is accomplished when we focus on the Lord.  If we are looking for fulfillment, look first to the Lord and then go out and do.

Look at the opening set of verses for a deeper perspective on fulfillment.  Naturally, this is one of the most famous sections of scripture thanks to the Byrds.  There is a time for everything, of course.  Everything has its season.  There is more to this set of verses, though.  So often we like to think the God is in the good and Satan is in the evil.  That’s not nearly deep enough.  God is in everything.  When there is birth, God is there.  But when there is death, God is still there!  When things are being built up, God is there.  God is still there when things are being torn down and ripped apart, too!

It’s easy to see God in the fun places.  It’s easy to see God in the places of joy, happiness, and pleasure.  God is in the dark places, too.  When we stumble and fall, God is there to pick us up.  When the winter seasons come in life, God is there to carry us through and remind us that spring will come again.  There is a season for everything, but God is still a part of it all.

This thought brings light to the last paragraph in this chapter.  Everyone will go to the same end.  Everything that has known life will also know death.  Human beings will know life and death.  Animals also know life and death.  Even plants know life and death.  If this is our perspective, it is hard to have hope!  But when we remember that God is a part of it all, we can have hope.  On our own, the last thing that we will know will be death.  With God, though, our ending changes.  With God, the last thing that we known will be life – and life eternal at that!

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Year 8, Day 332: Ecclesiastes 2

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In this chapter, Solomon examines things that the world typically thinks are worth living for.  First, start with passion.  Solomon says that he didn’t hold back from anything.  Whatever he wanted, he let himself have.  He built great things.  He was master over many people.  He accumulated all kinds of riches.  In the end, Solomon considered it striving after the wind.  The pleasure was fleeting, unable to be grasped onto firmly like the wind.

Next, Solomon decided to live wisely.  We all know that living in wisdom is better than living in folly.  It might seem like more work in the short-term, but in the long term the wise life is far less work and far more greatly rewarding.  However, there’s a problem.  The wise and the foolish still end up in the same place: dead.  The wise and the fool are both doomed to die and be slowly forgotten.  Seeing this, Solomon asks what the point is.

Then, Solomon focused on hard work.  He reaped benefit of hard work, but the lesson didn’t change.  What, in all of that he accumulated, would persist in life, much less death?  In fact, once death comes doesn’t the hard work simply pass on to someone who didn’t work to obtain it?  It all seems kind of pointless, which absolutely is Solomon’s point.

What does that leave?  It leaves God.  The thing that everything has been missing up to this point was God.  There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life, but we should enjoy it through God’s grace and love.  There’s nothing wrong with wisdom, but we should be wise in the ways that God has for us.  There’s nothing wrong with working hard, but we should be working hard where God is also at work.  In the end, without God death is the great equalizer.  The only thing that brings us above the great equalizer of death is being in the Lord.

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Year 8, Day 331: Ecclesiastes 1

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Ecclesiastes is a book after my own heart.  Perhaps it is better for me to say that my heart is after a book like Ecclesiastes.  There is much wisdom in the book – the kind of wisdom that people often try to sweep under the rug.

For example, one of the most popular quotes of Ecclesiastes is that there is nothing new under the sun.  While there are certainly new applications – what did the world do before social media, right? – the reality is that the motivations and drives behind the so-called new things aren’t really all that new.  Why is Facebook so popular?  People need to be heard (for whatever reason, good or bad).  Why do we all carry cell-phones around with us when twenty years ago most people would have balked at the idea of being reached everywhere they go?  Because in the end we want access to everything we want in the moment and are fundamentally impatient at our core. The reality is that Human beings are inventive people and we keep inventing new things.  But the inventions are simply things that try to meet age-old issues within human beings.

It goes back to a great analogy that we find in the passage.  The rivers continually run into the ocean, yet the oceans are never full.  Think about that for a second.  Why are the oceans never full?  Scientifically, we understand the process of evaporation and rain and climate.  Metaphysically, though, why are the oceans never full?  They are never full because their job is to receive the water from the rivers!  They are never full because they aren’t meant to be full.  In the same way, human beings are always inventing new things because we are trying to fill needs that we are unable to genuinely fill forever.

There isn’t anything new under the sun.  Human beings are human beings.  We have needs that never remain satisfied.  This is the foundation for Ecclesiastes.

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Year 8, Day 330: 2 Timothy 4

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There are many memorable chapters in the Bible that were authored by Paul.  Some of them are in Romans.  A few are in Galatians.  Most Christians quote one chapter in 1 Corinthians every time they do communion.  Those, however, are significant because of the great theology that they teach.  This chapter is a great chapter from Paul for an entirely different set of reasons.

In this chapter we hear about Paul’s defeats.  He has every reason to be warn out.  He has had injustice after injustice done to him.  He can list his accusers personally.  He’s apparently lost some clothing and books – whether they were stolen, confiscated, burned, or something else we don’t know.  Even some of his own disciples are abandoning him.

With all of these negative thoughts, what is it that makes this such a great chapter?  Paul exhorts Timothy to keep on teaching.  Paul himself is not giving up.  Paul wants books and parchment so that he can continue his work.  He has every reason to quit and give up.  Nobody would blame him if he did.  Yet, here he is planning to finish his race strong and encouraging Timothy to keep running his race!  After all he’s been through, he’s advising Timothy to follow in his footsteps.

That says something special about what Paul is doing.  He’s willing to be persecuted for the sake of the Gospel.  He’s willing to endure hardship if Gentiles come into a knowledge of God.  He’s willing to deal with the scorn of the world for the peace of the Father.  In the end, it’s worth it.

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Year 8, Day 329: 2 Timothy 3

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People read 2 Timothy 3 and think that Paul is talking about the last days before Christ returns.  Truth be told, he could be!  I don’t think that this is the only way that it need to be read, however.  After all, think about the context out of which Paul is writing.  He is writing to Timothy, who is probably worried about the persecution that he hears is happening to Paul.

Paul tells Timothy to not worry about persecution.  After all, if we are to be with the Lord, then by definition we will not be with the world.  We won’t see eye to eye.  That doesn’t mean we need to go out and intentionally make enemies.  It does mean that we shouldn’t be surprised when enemies come our way.  It happens.

In fact, it is this realization that makes me consider that this passage isn’t just about how to read the signs of Jesus’ return.  Paul himself reminds Timothy how Moses was opposed.  The prophets were opposed.  We know that Jesus was opposed.  Paul is being opposed.  All of these events happened prior to Paul’s life, showing us that persecution is not just an end of the world kind of thing.

That being said, it does make sense to consider that as the time of Christ grows closer that persecution will about.  The time for Christ to return will be marked by more widespread rebellion against God.  As people find less and less room in their life for God, it makes sense to think that there will be less and less tolerance for God’s people, too.

How do we respond?  There is only one legitimate way to respond.  Stay firm in the faith.  Draw closer to the faith that got us where we are.  Christ was persecuted, but He did not abandon the faith.  If we are to imitate Christ, we need to be ready to imitate Him in faith in both the good times and the bad.

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Year 8, Day 328: 2 Timothy 2

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In this chapter, Paul emphasizes the need for Timothy to focus.  This is great advice.  How often do we set out with great ideas and great potential only to find ourselves distracted?  The next thing you know, the focus has been shifted in the distraction.  More distraction happens, and the focus shifts once more.  Soon the goal of our great ideas don’t even look the same as they did in the beginning.  Often when we realize that the goal shifted, we can’t look back and point to a specific moment where we went astray.  Usually it is a small moment of transition followed by more small moments of transition.  We lose focus and our direction chases.

More specifically, Paul hits repeatedly on the idea that Timothy should focus on avoiding foolish controversies.  I have a hate-hate relationship with foolish controversies.  Religious people love to foolish controversies.  Is baptism a sprinkling with water, full emersion, or only valid if done in moving water?  Is communion real bread or wafers?  What about the great grape juice or wine debate?  Should the color of the carpet always be red?  Is church only valid on Sunday morning?  Can I actually use a version of the Bible other than the King James or whatever the pastor preaches from?  Can pastors marry or not?  Can women actually preach and hold positions of influence?  What the instruments allowed in church?  Should kids be allowed to stay for the whole service?

I can keep going, but I think the point is clear.  Human beings – Christians among them – love to draw distinctions and get wrapped up in arguments.  It is how we show our identity.  In a sense, human beings find out who we are by setting up walls that indicate who we aren’t.

I love the words that Paul uses when he speaks about people who argue about foolish debates: gangrene. (Warning: I may have gotten that word from the ESV translation)  It’s a sickness that spreads.  It’s a disease that infects and causes death unless it is treated or cut off.  It saps our strength until we no longer have the strength to carry on.

Instead, we should focus on righteousness, faith, and love.  These things inspire us to do more rather than sap our strength.  Ever do something nice for a person and see their smile?  That makes you want to do it again.  Ever be there when someone needed you?  That grows trust.  Ever do the right thing when nobody is looking?  That makes you realize God in each of us.

Stay away from foolish quarrels that sap the love within.  We are not defined by that which separates us from one another.  We are defined by the God who desires to bring people together.

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Year 8, Day 327: 2 Timothy 1

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Paul’s second letter to Timothy is written during a low spot in Paul’s life.  The churches in Asia – what we would call Turkey today – have begun to turn against him.  We know about the struggle in Galatia and how the Jews began to infiltrate and teach that unless the converts followed Jewish laws like circumcision and kosher that they wouldn’t really be pleasing to God.  I remember back to how Paul had Timothy circumcised when he joined Paul and I can’t help if Paul regrets that decision and the precedent that it made.

That being said, I love Paul’s focus.  He tells Timothy to rejoice.  In the midst of the persecution, Paul says to rejoice.  When his world is crashing around him, Paul tells people to celebrate.  It is an incredible focus.

The second thing that we hear Paul tell Timothy is to not be ashamed.  It is very easy to doubt when people turn against you.  It is easy to change one’s story when we start to make enemies.  Who wouldn’t want to make friends instead of enemies?  Paul turns to Timothy and makes sure that he understands to stay strong in the faith rather than pursue the popular decision. 

This takes us back to where Paul left of in chapter 6 of 1 Timothy.  We shouldn’t be pursuing wealth or popularity of ease of lifestyle.  We should be pursuing the truth.  We should be after righteousness.  When the chips are down, we should have what it takes to stay focused on God and join Him in His work.

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Year 8, Day 326: 1 Timothy 6

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I love what 1 Timothy 6 has to offer.  It begins with a quick discussion about bondservants who are under Christian masters.  Note that Paul tells them to serve even more hard and not become bitter.  Clearly Paul is sending a message that it is far more important for us to do the work well that is set in front of us than get hung up on the fairness and equity in life. 

The reality is that life will never be fair.  There will always be someone who has to work harder than me and not get as much as I do; there will be others who work less hard than I do and who get more.  What’s important isn’t any of that.  What’s important is that I make the best of the opportunity that is in front of me regardless of whether it is an easy or a tough situation.

Then Paul turns back again to a discussion about staying the course in faith.  I always feel nervousness when I read through passages like this because I tend to look for things that are broken and fix them rather than play the traditional safe route.  I tend to be a boat-rocker who thinks outside of the box instead of a person who looks nostalgically at the awesomeness of what is.  So I hear Paul’s words about sticking to truth and sound doctrine and I wonder what it looks like to go astray.  It’s easier to stick with the comfortable tradition, but it isn’t in me to not always be looking for what could get even better.

This is when I remind myself that sound doctrine is different than tradition and history.  When Jesus came and taught, He rocked quite a few boats and made a good number of people mad.  He stood up for righteousness, not tradition.  I’m not saying that we are wrong if we aren’t rocking the boat.  What I am saying is that our teaching should be focused on Christ.  If that rocks the boat, then so be it.

As we move to the end of this passage, I think we get to the crux of the issue for Paul and Timothy’s context.  We shouldn’t be loves of money.  The love of money is the root of all evil.  It is for this love of money that people wander away from the truth.  There are people who are changing their teaching so that they make people happy by letting them hear what they want to hear.  When people hear what they want to hear, they are happy and they tend to be more supportive and generous.  What Paul is concerned about is that people are teaching for the audience rather than for the truth.

In the end, we should be pursuing righteousness.  We should fight the good fight.  When we stand before God, it won’t matter how popular we are.  It won’t matter how many friends we made along the way.  Like I said in the very beginning, what will matter is if we made the best out of the situation that God has given us.  Did we do the right thing and preach truth in every circumstance?  That’s what will cause God to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

Of course we are saved through God’s grace and not through our works.  That being said, I still want to be a part of doing the will of the Father.  I can’t save myself, only God can do that.  I can focus on doing what I can do in looking for where God is at work and joining Him there.

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Year 8, Day 325: 1 Timothy 5

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In many respects, being a part of the church should be the easiest and most natural thing in the world.  After all, being a part of the church should be no harder than participating in the best thing.  Being a part of the church shouldn’t be any harder than finding where God is at work and joining up with that.

As an example, Paul tells Timothy to care for the widows.  We should be concerned for those people who do not have a means to support themselves or have a voice in the community.  Caring for such people should be a natural extension of what it means to be the body of Christ.

As another example, caring for those in our midst who are doing so much ministry that they don’t have the time to care for their own needs.  If someone is spending themselves caring for others, shouldn’t we want to care for them?  Shouldn’t the example of the selfless ministry inspire us to participate in selfless ministry of our own?

Unfortunately, the reality is that belonging to a community of believers is no easier than belonging to any other organization of human beings.  Paul warns Timothy about widows who will look to take advantage of being cared for by becoming gossips and lazy.  There will always be people who bring charges through their own jealousy or envy against those in leadership, which is why Paul recommends to Timothy that such charges need to be sustained by multiple witnesses.

In the end, Paul simply is encouraging Timothy to do what makes sense to do within God’s will.  Care for people.  Love people.  Show them grace and mercy.  Do the things that make sense.  Do the things of which Jesus would approve.  However, don’t be naïve.  Understand that even in the church people will take advantage.  Do ministry that makes sense, but don’t set up circumstances for people to take advantage and walk into sinful habits.

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Year 8, Day 324: 1 Timothy 3-4

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The two chapters for today are all about sensibility in leadership.  Paul sends these words as guidance to the fledgling church.  He also sends these words as guidance to the young Timothy.

Overseers – what some people call bishops – should have a level head about them.  They shouldn’t be tempted by alcohol.  They should be self-controlled.  They should be in a monogamous relationship.  They should be respectable and hospitable.  In other words, they should be able to tend to the matters of their life sensibly.  People should know what to expect from them and they should know that they cannot be bought or tempted into bad decisions.

Likewise, deacons should be level-headed as well. They should be able to make sound decisions.  They should also be respectable and reliable.

As I read through the paragraph for deacons, however, I noticed that the paragraph on deacons specifically calls out that they should keep to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.  Looking back, I realized that they paragraph for overseers actually doesn’t say anything about spiritual matters (other than teaching, but that’s a very generic reference).  It could be that Paul is making an assumption that we all know what overseers do; it could also be that overseers are for the more practical areas of leadership while the deacons have a more spiritual bent.

Moving into chapter 4, Paul gives more advice to Timothy.  Note that Paul advises Timothy to stay strong in his faith and to not be led astray by more legalistic people.  Paul encourages him to be an example for others.  In this light, he encourages him to not be ashamed of his youth as well as to not neglect his gift.  In short, Paul is advising Timothy of the same things that he has spoken about for overseers and deacons.  Timothy needs to be level-headed and lead by example.  He needs to practice what the Gospel that they preach.

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Year 8, Day 323: 1 Timothy 1-2

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The book of Timothy is a portion of a letter sent from the Apostle Paul to Timothy, one of the people that Paul has been mentoring.  Timothy joins Paul in the town of Lystra during Paul’s second visit to the city (Acts 16).  During Paul’s first visit to the city, he was taken out of the city, stoned, and left for dead (Acts 14).  Timothy either saw Paul’s willingness to die for the faith firsthand or at the very least heard about it through people who saw it with their own eyes.

In the letter to Timothy, Paul is very concerned that Timothy pay attention to people and their teaching.  Paul wants to make sure that the teaching that is happening is genuine theology, based on a true Gospel.  In other words, salvation comes solely through Jesus Christ.  We cannot earn our way into salvation.  We do not gain salvation by acting a certain way.  Jesus Christ came to save sinners.  If we could save ourselves, then Jesus did not need to come.

The kind of thinking that Paul fears is insipid to humanity.  We want to believe that genuine faith is not just capable of being imitated but it is capable of being duplicated.  It is this step into duplication that we lose true perspective.  When we imitate others, we look for what we value and then assimilate it into our own life in a way that is genuine to ourselves.  When we simply duplicate, we act a certain way as a copy rather than bringing it into our life because it is genuine.

As an example, how many people replace what should be a genuine relationship with God with a strict observance of Sunday church attendance.  Instead of finding ways to genuinely connect with God, they do their duty and go to church regularly without considering the meaning behind it.  Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with attending worship regularly.  The point is that it should be done for the right reason, not simply in a vain attempt to duplicate what holiness looks like.

As another example, how many people act differently when they are around people of faith than they do when they are by themselves or in a non-religious crowd.  In that sense, isn’t the behavior among the righteous a simple shell of duplication?  If that was who the person truly was, would they behave that way all the time instead of just in certain circumstances?

Paul’s point in this chapter is that we need to promote genuine faith and not behavior through legal mandates.  We should do things because Christ saved us and changed us rather than putting on an external shell in an attempt to look righteous.  As His followers, we should be about genuine imitation rather than forcing behavior.  Jesus died for sinners so that we might become more like Him.  Our behavior follows our salvation.

Having said all of this, I find it interesting to turn back to Acts 16.  When Paul begins to mentor Timothy, Paul has him circumcised.  Look at the reason.  Paul doesn’t have Timothy circumcised because Timothy needs to be.  Paul doesn’t do it because he believes Timothy can’t be saved without it.  Paul has Timothy circumcised because of the Jewish crowd with whom Timothy will come into contact.  The act of circumcision is for the sake of ministry, not some blind obedience of the Law in order to make the outward façade appear to be faithful.  Paul doesn’t do this for Timothy’s sake at all!  Paul does the act for the sake of those who in their childish faith won’t be able to overcome the fact.

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Year 8, Day 322: Proverbs 31

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I find proverbs 31 to be a perfectly fitting end to the book.  In this proverb, we have a pair of passages, one directed about the male and the other directed about the female.

The first passage are words of advice from a queen to her prince (who then became king).  What is the main thrust of the proverb?  Don’t let alcohol spoil your life.  If we dig a bit deeper into the undercurrent of meaning, though, we find a more generic truth.  People need leaders who are level-headed.  People need leaders who will guide them in honesty.  People need leaders who will have access to their faculties and who will be able to find words of wisdom when they are needed.  People need leaders who are role models and icons – people who genuinely practice the morality that they preach.

The second passage is full of words about the strong female leader.  What makes a great female leader?  This is the woman who is confident of her worth.  She knows her assets and is confident that she can do her tasks well.  She works hard, understanding her role in partnering with the husband to have a positive home.  She is also dignified, much like we already spoke about with the male leader.  She is also wise, much like we spoke about with the male leader.

In the end, we get a great glimpse of human leadership.  Both men and women need to be strong in character, wise, grounded, confident, able to listen and give sound counsel.  The different genders may go about it in different manners, but the goals and outcomes are the same.  But then again, it isn’t really a gender thing, either.  One strong woman will lead differently from another equally strong woman just like one strong man will lead differently than another equally strong man.

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Year 8, Day 321: Proverbs 30

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This chapter of Proverbs is unlike any other.  The author is different, and that becomes obvious as soon as you read.  The tempo of the words is different.  The formation of the stanzas are different.  The point of the sayings are different.  This is a unique chapter pulled out of a very unique book.

I love where the author starts.  He begins in humility.  He acknowledges that there is a whole host of things that he does not understand. There is much that he cannot comprehend.  I personally feel that the beginning of understanding is always the recognition of that which we don’t know.  The reason I love this idea is because it genuinely blends into what the Bible says is the beginning of wisdom.  The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  Why do we fear Him?  We fear Him because we realize that we have limitations and then realize that He does not.  We begin the walk of our own understanding when we acknowledge our own lack of understanding; we begin our own fear of the Lord when we recognize He does not suffer from the same lack.

After this, the author moves into a great perspective.  Keep me from lying and falsehood.  In other words, keep me from sin.  Keep me from doing things that I shouldn’t be doing.  Keep me from things that I think will lift me up but in reality they will only end up tearing me down.  That’s a genuinely brilliant thought right there, and I bet that’s a thought that is easy to understand.

The rest of the verse is more brilliant and more complex.  Give me neither poverty nor riches.  That’s a nice middle ground, isn’t it?

Why don’t we want poverty?  If we have poverty, we may begin to doubt the provision of God.  If we have poverty, we might be tempted to steal.  If we are in poverty, it will make it harder to practice what we preach.

Why don’t we want riches?  In a phrase, if I have everything what need do I have of God?  If all of my wants are satisfied, what purpose will my mind find for God in my life?  If I have everything, it is easier to put God out of my life in the first place.

What we actually find in this verses, Proverbs 30:8-9, is a brilliant balance.  We need to have a life that knows the provision of God.  We need a life that has enough to know the provision of God but not so much that we are convinced that the provision of God is really our own provision.

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Year 8, Day 320: Proverbs 29

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Reading through this chapter, it is easy to pick up on the theme of community.  It is especially easily to look at the governance of community.  God cares about how communities are managed – or mismanaged.  Leadership is always important to God.

For example, look at verse 7.  A righteous man knows the rights of the poor, but the wicked has no such knowledge.  This proverb is clearly telling those who are righteous to look out for those who will have a harder time defending themselves.  In fact, those who are righteous will stand up for the rights of others because it is the right thing to do.  The wicked, however, only think of themselves. They won’t think of the rights of others.  They won’t think about how their actions impact the others.  They simply lack the knowledge needed to care.

Take a look at verse 14.  If a king judges faithfully over the poor, his throne will be established forever.  I find it interesting that the Bible doesn’t tell us that the king will have his throne established by flattering the powerful and the rich.  After all, the powerful and the rich are looking for their own gain.  They won’t be won by faithfulness, they will take advantage of things like faithfulness and loyalty.  On the other hand, the poor will absolutely respect faithfulness and loyalty.  The poor will support those who look out for them.

The way that this chapter ends is also a great verse.  An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked. I love this thought.  The Bible is telling us that un-justice and righteousness are diametrically opposed.  One cannot be unjust and still be righteous.  Someone who is unjust makes the life of the righteous harder because the example of the righteous is hidden.  When someone acts unjustly, we are tempted to respond in like kind instead of continuing righteous!  In the same way, the righteous are an abomination to the wicked.  When a righteous person comes by, the actions of the wicked are challenged and put to shame.  It is more difficult to continue in one’s wickedness if an example of righteousness is also around.  The wicked and the righteous truly are an abomination to one another!

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Year 8, Day 319: Proverbs 28

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Proverbs 28 brings the challenge.  Take verse 9.  God thinks that the prayers of the person who turns away from the Lord are an abomination.  Naturally, this makes sense.  Why would God listen to a person who has turned away from Him?  Would you listen to a person who made it obvious that they didn’t care about that for which you stand?  Of course not!  The point of this proverb, though, is to make sure that we don’t become that person.  If we want God to listen to us, we need to live in such a manner as to demonstrate that we care about what He has to say.

Verse 13 also brings challenge.  The person who conceals their transgressions won’t prosper, but the person who confesses them with find correction and mercy.  This is contrary to our human nature.  We want to be perfect.  We want to show our best side.  We don’t want our bad choices to show.  But that is not the point of the proverb.  The proverb tells us that in order to know grace and mercy – and the growth that goes with it – we must be open to confession.  We don’t necessarily need to broadcast our flaws to the world, but those who can mentor us and those who we wrong do need to hear our confession.  It is through the humbleness of confession that we know grace the fullest.

I also think verse 23 brings a large challenge.  The person who rebukes another will find more favor in the end than the person who flatters.  This also seems counter-intuitive.  We don’t want to be rejected, so we think that we need to say things that others want to hear.  We don’t want to hurt people, so we don’t make them uncomfortable.  Yet, what growth occurs when we are comfortable?  What growth occurs when people are telling us that we are perfect?  Do we really love and respect the people in our own lives who simply give us platitudes?

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Year 8, Day 318: Proverbs 27

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Proverbs 27 is another one of those highly random chapters.  For example, I love Proverbs 27:7.  Whoever is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.  What can this teach us about life?  We learn that life is about perspective.  Take a person who has everything.  They tend to be satisfied with nothing.  However, take someone who has nothing.  They tend to be very easy to satisfy.  Often times our reactions to something reveals more about where we are in life than the thing itself.

Or, take the second half of Proverbs 27:10.  Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.  What can this teach us?  Human beings are relational.  We need one another.  When we need help, we are more readily helped by a person who can be present for listening or assistance.

I also like the way that this chapter ends.  We hear about knowing one’s flock instead of pursuing one’s riches.  The author then goes on to say that riches fade and come out of season, but one’s flock can feed and clothe you forever.  I think that there is something to this.  There is a lesson on prioritization.  Chase after that which can satisfy life, not satisfy the fleeting lusts of the heart. 

I think there is also a lesson about having a realistic perspective.  Other places in the Bible speak about that which we treasure being connected to our heart.  With what are we willing to be satisfied?  Are we content with that which sustains life, or do we look past that which sustains us in search of value where it cannot be found?

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Year 8, Day 317: Proverbs 26

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While this whole chapter is not devoted to the fool, a good portion of it is!  The fool is the antithesis of the content in the book of Proverbs.  The fool is the person that the advice in the book of Proverbs is meant to change.  As we draw near the end of the book, examine the fool, for the Proverbs grow blunter.

Honor is as fitting for a fool as snow belongs in summer or rain belongs in the harvest.  Snow in the summer is more than just an anomaly or a paradox.  Snow in the summer means an abnormally low range of temperatures.  That means it could stunt the growth of the crops.  It could even kill the crops.  Snow in the summer can be outright dangerous to a pre-modern society!  For that matter, think about rain in the autumn.  Grains can’t be gathered effectively in the rain.  Instead, the crops sit in the field.  They may overripen.  They may spoil.  What is the point of this?  Giving honor to a fool is about as dangerous as snow in the summer and rain in the harvest.  When a fool is given honor, we send the wrong message.  Other people will imitate the behavior of the fool.  The fool certainly won’t learn from any mistakes!

Another pair of interesting proverbs about the fool are found in Proverbs 26:4-5.  In verse 4, we hear that we are not to answer a fool according to his folly.  In other words, we are not to lower ourselves to their level.  We are not to respond to the fool in foolishness.  When we stoop to the level of the fool, we actually honor his methods.  We don’t need to do that.  Yet, in verse 5 we hear that we are to answer the fool according to his folly.  What this means is that we shouldn’t be afraid to show the fool why he is foolish.  Often, we put the fool in their place so that they can see the error of their ways.  We don’t answer the fool foolishly lest we honor them, we answer them in such a way that their foolishness becomes crystal clear.

Finally, my all-time favorite proverb.  As a dog returns to its vomit, so is a fool who returns to his folly.  I’d never understood what this proverb meant until I owned dogs.  More than once I’ve had a dog eat their meal and then a few minutes later they throw it up.  Unless the dog is stopped, within seconds the dog will re-consume the food, stomach acid and all!  I find it utterly repulsive, but I cannot deny it happens.  The author of the Proverbs tells us that the fool is no different.  The fool goes to repeat the same behavior that caused them to be sick in the first place.  In other words, they re-consume the same things that made them ill in the first place.  There is no learning, just instinct – and bad ones at that.

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Year 8, Day 316: Proverbs 25

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I think the main point of today’s chapter is self-control.  Verse 16 leapt out at me today.  “If you find honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit.”  How true is it that human beings tend to binge on things that they like until they can’t stand them anymore?  Haven’t we all had the experience of eating too much to the point of being sick?  Haven’t we all had the experience of being obsessed with something and then by the same time next year we don’t even care about it?  This is the point of the Proverb.  Moderation is a key to happiness, not gluttony.

Another way of looking at this is verse 17.  “Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.”  This is the same kind of thought.  People need space.  We are communal beings, but too much of a good thing is no longer a good thing.  It is good for neighbors to get along, but it is not good for neighbors to be so close that a feud breaks out.

I think this idea is one of the most easily misunderstood elements of marriage.  When two people get married, they decide to spend the rest of their life together.  People think that often means spending ever moment of their marriage together.  I don’t agree with that.  My wife and I do spent a good amount of time together.  But when we are together, we aren’t always talking.  Sometimes we are in the same room for hours and we don’t say a word to each other; we just enjoy each other’s presence.  Sometimes we are in the same house but in different rooms.  My point is that even in marriage some of the healthiest choices are for us to not have too much of a good thing.  My wife is my best friend, for sure; but I respect and honor our mutual need for space.

This chapter ends by telling us that a person without self-control is like a city without walls.  When we don’t have self-control, our joys and passions are always being stolen and fading away.  When we don’t have self-control, we are taken advantage of by others.  When we don’t have self-control, we can actually give too much of ourselves and drive others away.  Self-control is a significant part of being the person God desires us to be.

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Year 8, Day 315: Proverbs 24

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The proverbs in this chapter are all over the place, although like much of the proverbs they do all share the idea of wisdom and righteousness.  By wisdom a house is build.  With knowledge a house is filled.  Wisdom gives us strength; knowledge increases our might.  After all, how many times is the victory not the one who is physically strong but the one who is mentally strong?  Who become the commanders and generals?  Is it those who are physically strong or the ones with enough wisdom and intelligence to rise to the top?

In the middle off all of these proverbs on wisdom and knowledge there is a challenging passage.  “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let knot your heart be glad when he stumbles.”  Proverbs 23:17 gives must of us more challenge than we can handle.  Isn’t it our human nature to celebrate when those who are most opposed to us go down?  Isn’t it our human nature to cheer when those who stand in our way get knocked down a few pegs?

While it is in our nature, Proverbs 23:18 puts a great light on our nature.  “Lest the Lord see it and be displeased.”  Remember, we are all sinners in the eyes of the Lord.  As Paul teaches us, no one is righteous – not even one.  None of us can truthfully claim to deserve God’s love.  If we were all to be judged on our merits, we would all come up guilty.

Yet, God loves us all.  We all make mistakes.  Sometimes we place ourselves in opposition to other people.  We assume that means that God chooses up sides, too.  The truth is, He doesn’t.  He desires for all of us to know Him.  He is rooting for us all in our fight against sin.

Don’t get me wrong, though.  God does occasionally come and punish.  He does come and lay out consequences before the stubborn.  I’m not saying that God is not a God of justice.  The Bible tells us that, “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.”  But the truth is that what God really wants is repentance.  What He wants – even from the greatest sinner on the face of the earth – is for that sinner to look to Him and say, “I was wrong, please forgive me.”

If God is cheering for our enemies, shouldn’t we be doing the same?  No, we don’t need to root for the products of their sin.  But should we not be cheering for their repentance and forgiveness?  Should we not be rooting for even our enemies to come to know God and to see life through His eyes?  We should not rejoice at the downfall of our enemy, we should prepare to rejoice at his redemption.

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Year 8, Day 314: Proverbs 23

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Proverbs 23 starts off with a few neat verses about wealth.  We are not to toil hard to amass wealth.  In fact, it is even better that we not see it!  For when we look upon it to attain it, it shifts away and stays out of our grasp.  If our eyes are desiring of wealth, we will pursue it forever and never truly attain it.  How many people in this life have died pursuing the easy life of wealth yet never attained their goal?

The author says similar things about the food of the stingy – and let’s face it, often the wealthy are among the stingiest!  The person who is stingy tell you to eat and drink, but inwardly they are calculating about how much you have taken from them and how much you are growing into their debt.  Your time and your friendship is wasted upon such a person.

If we are to be wise, we should set out heart on wisdom and righteousness.  If we act and speak in righteousness, then the Lord will be with us.  If we gain wisdom, we will be able to know right from wrong.  We will be able to avoid the pitfalls of sin.  When we do these things, the Lord will have reason to take notice and uphold our cause.

In fact, when we are wise and righteous we make those people around us rejoice.  We make our parents proud.  We make our friends glad to know us.  We make our God look down upon us with joy.  We make the lives of those whom we do not know better!  When we live a life of righteousness we benefit the community around us.  This is why it is better to pursue righteousness and wisdom than set our eyes upon wealth or other sins of the world.

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Year 8, Day 313: Proverbs 22

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Looking at Proverbs 22 gives us many words on wisdom and how we conduct ourselves.  I find the words about the poor to be especially drawing today.  How we handle the poor – for that matter, the rich, too – speak deeply about who we are as people.

Proverbs 22:22 tells us to not rob the poor or crush the afflicted because the Lord is the one who pleads for them.  Why would we want to make an enemy of God?  Why would we want to make the one who is in charge of eternal life an enemy?

What I find more interesting is that the Lord should identify with the poor and the oppressed.  Sure, this is a theme throughout the Bible.  The Lord is the advocate of the poor and oppressed.  He always has been and He always will be.  What I find so interesting is that the author of the Lord should care about them at all.  After all, what can the poor and the oppressed give to God?  It isn’t what the poor and the oppressed bring to God that matters, actually.  What matters is that the poor and the oppressed have no other defense.  The point of all of this is that the Lord isn’t interested in what we can do for Him.  While we are interested in such details, the Lord is not.  The Lord is interested in righteousness and justice.  To be righteous means to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves.

It is for these reasons that we have verse 16.  “Those who oppress the poor to increase their own wealth will come into poverty.”  This is also why we have verse 2.  “The rich and the poor meet together, but the Lord is maker of them all.”  The Lord does not take it lightly when we take advantage of those who are lower in station than we are.  Anyone can kick someone while they’re down.  That shows no righteousness.  In fact, it only invokes the wrath of the one who defends them for the sake of righteousness: the Lord.

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