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Proverbs 12

February 16, 2009 in Proverbs with 0 Comments

Today (Feb 12) is Rachael’s birthday. We have Micah’s birthday and our anniversary coming up over the next 10 days.

Here are some thoughts on chapter 12 as I continue reading through Proverbs:

A noble wife is the crown of her husband, but the wife who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. (12:4)

This is so true (and timely with Valentine’s Day nearby). I can’t think of a time when Saralynn acted in a way that truly embarrassed me. Sure, she does stuff that I think is goofy, because it’s not my personality. But she is my “crown”, my pride. (I wish she could always say the same about me.) Love you, babe!

A righteous person cares for the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel. (12:10)

Argh! I’m constantly threatening our dog, Roger. And the kids have picked up on it. Probably better change that. (Who knew that dealing with pets was in the Bible?)

The righteous do not encounter any harm, but the wicked are filled with calamity. (12:21)

The only way that can be true is if we approach life with the right perspective. Jesus said:

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life? Mark 8:35-36

If our lives are wrapped up in what happens in this world instead of the next, we will not be able to believe this proverb. However, if we believe that everything in this life is designed to grow us into eternal Christ-followers, it makes a lot of sense.

Proverbs 11

February 11, 2009 in Proverbs with 0 Comments

Continuing my reading through Proverbs this month, and today I’m in chapter 11. These were important to me today.

The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but an accurate weight is his delight. (11:1)

People tend to hate big sins and let little ones slide. This verse reminds us that God hates the little ones, too. When the butcher is weighing the meat, he may be able to over-charge a little bit and get away with it, but someone’s going to notice if it’s even a half-pound too much.

God isn’t interested in just the sins people see. He hates the ones that are deep inside, that no one else notices. It’s a matter of integrity.

When a wicked person dies, his expectation perishes, and the hope of his strength perishes. (11:7)

We all have expectations. Everyone wants to do better, to some day get it right. But when life comes to an end, only those who have followed God’s way have any hope. For those who have tried to do life on their own terms, their hope and expectations are all lost.

When the righteous do well, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there is joy. (11:10)

This reminds me of a passage I read a while ago in Jeremiah 29:7:

Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the Lord for it. For as it prospers you will prosper.

If we are working for the betterment of the city where God has placed us, we will both do well as God continues to bless his work.

It’s always a win-win situation when God’s people do God’s work in the place God put them.

 

What did God tell you in your time with him today?

Proverbs 10

February 10, 2009 in Proverbs with 0 Comments

I am becoming convinced that the traditional method of Bible memorization (that I grew up under) is detrimental to deep Bible knowledge and understanding.

Growing up in church and a Christian school and attending a Bible college, I memorized a lot of verses. But not a lot of Bible sections. I’m pretty well familiar with a great deal of the New Testament, but not as much of the Old.

I have come to know several individual Proverbs over the years (even if not always their locations). But I just today realized that the collection of proverbs doesn’t even really start until chapter 10. I’m actually embarrassed for myself.

(I think a much better method of Bible study would be to work on large chunks at a time until we really know them, before moving on to others. If anyone wants to do this with me, let me know.)

Anyway, since I am now into the actual proverbs themselves, here are the ones from chapter 10 that jumped out at me today, and some related thoughts.

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the reputation of the wicked will rot. (10:7)

How we will be remembered is almost solely dependent on the lives we live, not what we get accomplished. This is big for me, because I’m very much an “accomplishment”-driven person when I don’t keep it in check.

When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise. (10:19)

Just had this discussion with the kids at supper last night – “a wise person doesn’t tell everything he knows”. So keep your mouth shut unless you have something of value to add to the conversation and help grow people (see the next one). Paul is all over this one in the New Testament, too (Ephesians 4:29)

What the righteous say is like the best silver, but what the wicked think is of little value. (10:20)

I have said this for many years (and it’s always come across as arrogant). If you’re being stupid, what you have to say has absolutely no value to me. Of course, this applies both ways. Too often, I don’t add value.

The blessing from the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow to it. (10:22)

This is the verse that Dave Ramsey uses when his callers tell him that the cool stuff they just got that put them deeper into stupid debt were from God.

Proverbs 1:6

February 3, 2009 in Proverbs with 0 Comments

I have never been a big fan of Proverbs in the Bible. I’ve always attributed it to my analytical, linear thought process.

Growing up in church and a Christian school, I’ve memorized lots of one- or two-verse sections from Proverbs. But when I tried to read them in context – with their surrounding verses – I figured out why we learned just one or two at a time.

In a given chapter we might memorize verse 10. But many times it didn’t have a lot to do with verses 9 or 11, much less verses 1 and 25! And that really bother(s/ed) me! It’s too disjointed, too disconnected.

But I finally decided to read through Proverbs for the first time in a very long time – one chapter per day (probably shouldn’t have chosen February!). And, being the (usually) logical person I am, I read chapter one on Sunday.

I had to laugh when I got only six verses in (using the NET Bible). The writer, Solomon, introduced his collection of proverbs with four purpose statements in verses 1-6. Here’s the fourth purpose:

To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles. Proverbs 1:6

Get it? He wrote them the way he did to help us understand old people! No, wait. That’s not right.  : )

He wrote them in a style that would cause us to think and ponder life from a different perspective.

He wrote them to get people like me to think differently – outside the box, if you will.

He wrote them to show us that there is more than one way to look at things and only fools refuse to consider other options.

Ouch!

Looks like I’m behind the ball on this one. It’s way past time for me to dig into this book.

And, yeah, Proverbs will show up in upcoming weekend messages as God talks to me through this book I don’t know as well as I thought I did.

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