June 14, 2024

Proverbs 29.11 (NIV)

A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Righteous wrath is no less noble than love, since both coexist in God.*

The literal translation of, “gives full vent to his anger” is, “utters all his mind.” Somewhere along the way, our society has come to believe that it is our right to share our feelings indiscriminately.  Everyone needs a piece of our mind, we believe, especially when it involves feelings of anger.

So you threw a little tantrum and said you just couldn’t help it. Hmm. Seems kind of “fool-ish.” We can’t always help getting angry but how that anger manifests itself is within our ability to control. While we cannot directly turn off our emotions, we can suppress the expression of them.* As someone has said, “Righteous people overcome their anger.”*

Please understand that the Bible does not tell us that anger as an emotion is wrong. But clearly our anger has the ability – and the strength – to lead us into sin if we don’t fight it. If you struggle with anger, claim God’s promise that he has provided a way to stand up under temptation (I Corinthian 10.13).

Surrender your anger to the Lord and allow his Spirit to transform your feelings into blameless behavior.

Many disputes would be settled if people intentionally overcame evil with good.*

June 13, 2024

Proverbs 26.4, 5 NIV)
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.

If the message is unwelcome, nothing that the messenger can say or do will be right.*

Webster’s dictionary defines a fool as a person lacking in judgment or prudence. According to David in Psalm 14.1, the fool says in his heart that there is no God. A footnote in my Bible says that the Hebrew word rendered “fool” in this psalm denotes one who is morally deficient. Like the song says, “Everybody plays the fool sometime;” but we aren’t all foolish in the same ways, and our enlightenment doesn’t arrive down the same path. But occasional foolishness isn’t the same as being a fool.

These two verses appear to have exactly opposite messages. They are probably meant to be “complementary, not contradictory.”* They underline the fact that one size does not fit all. While it may sometimes be “pointless to argue with a fool,” there are other times when his “false reason must be shown up for what it is.”*

Whether dealing with a fool or with mere foolishness, sometimes there is no right answer; occasionally, there is more than one. As in any instance of human interaction, it helps to have an understanding of the person – what led him to the point of foolishness and how he is likely to respond to you. Pray for discernment before applying either of these verses!

Without knowing the person, we are left simply to make sanctimonious comments out of ignorance instead of offering sanctified guidance out of inspiration.*

June 12, 2024

Proverbs 22.6 (NIV)
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

If every person were free to do whatever feels good, the result would be chaos because human nature instinctively gravitates to evil.*

I have always thought of this proverb as one that offers hope for the parents of a rebellious child. I saw it illustrated in a college friend. He had strayed far from the training he had received in his Christian home but he had finally returned to the Lord. When I asked him what caused him to turn his back on his sinful way of life, he said, “I always knew better.”

There is another school of thought that asserts that, correctly translated, these words are a warning.  “If” you train a child in the manner “in which he wants to be trained,” he will not turn from it.  In other words, parents must not be permissive with young children because this allows them to develop sinful habits and responses, which establishes a pattern into adulthood.*

Whatever interpretation you prefer, they are words to live by. One is a promise, the other is a warning. If you don’t give up on your children; if you don’t let them win in the war of wills, you are more likely to be proud of the men and women they become. If you let them have their way, they are prone to continue to take the path of least resistance for the rest of their lives.

Just loving and indulging your child will not guarantee godly behavior.*

June 11, 2024

Proverbs 22.2 (NIV)

Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the maker of them all.

“First Class” may get you a better seat, but you still arrive at the same destination.*

Before discussing what the rich and poor have in common, let’s talk about their differences. The rich have wealth and power, the poor do not. The rich may have gained their wealth and power through their intelligence, their hard work, good luck, or a life of crime, or through some combination of these methods. The poor have arrived at their sad state through foolishness, unwillingness to work hard, bad luck, or because they were victimized by another, or some combination of these.

 

What the rich and poor have in common is that we all have the same creator; we all are sinful; and we all die. Whether we lead our lives with lots of money or none, we all came from the same place. There may be social differences among people but we all have the same rights and “mutual obligations of respect and kindness.”* We all are guilty “at the bar of God’s justice.”* The rich will not be judged by a different standard than the poor.

 

Paul points out something else that we have in common, no matter what our station in life: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3.28) I think that covers rich and poor, too!

Jesus didn’t just go looking for poor, disenfranchised people to hang out with. He didn’t come to include the outcasts and exclude the “in crowd,” and he didn’t come to help the poor at the expense of the rich.*

June 10, 2024

Proverbs 22.1 (NIV)

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Death terminates all wealth.*

We have heard of people who have “made a name for themselves.” Generally, it implies something good and positive. God’s name represents who and what he is, and ours should, too.*

Anyone who prefers riches to a good reputation is being short-sighted. We can do good works with our riches but a good name gives us influence and glorifies God. Wealth, as someone pointed out, brings stress, exposes us to danger, and adds no value to the person.*

Paul’s list of qualifications for elders did not include the requirement that one had to be rich, but he did insist that the candidate for the position have a good reputation with outsiders. (I Timothy 3.7) In Luke 2.52, we read that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. If it’s important for Jesus to enjoy a good reputation, it’s important for us.

 

A final word of caution: while a good name is desirable and to be sought after, we are not guaranteed that people will speak well of us. After all, “Jesus didn’t instruct us to go into the world and create a positive image,”* he told us to go into the world and preach the gospel.

If the world responded as it did to the life and teaching of Jesus, then we shouldn’t be surprised or discouraged when we fail.*

June 9, 2024

Proverbs 19.21 (NIV)
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

My schemes have been the planning of fools, assuming my way is better than God’s.*

We have to make plans sometimes. Today, I planned to keep my appointments with the podiatrist and the hairdresser. Tomorrow, I plan to deliver Meals on Wheels in the morning and get a mammogram in the afternoon. Planning doesn’t come natural to me but because I crave order, I have learned to plan. It was necessary for my job and I actually came to enjoy the process. I found that even when things didn’t go according to the plan, I was in a better position to wing it from there.

In my personal life, making appointments is one thing; looking ahead to the future is another. When my plans go awry, so do I. I have learned that it’s better for my mental health if I don’t make plans. As it turns out, Solomon seems to believe as I do - that it is better to be flexible and let the Lord’s purpose prevail.

In James 4.13-15, we read, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow . . . Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” It is when we make plans outside the Lord’s will that we get into trouble. Before we get too carried away with elaborate schemes for the future, we should stop and ask for God’s direction and blessing.

How many times have you manipulated and schemed to make something happen when God’s blessing was not on it? How satisfying was the experience? 

What should we desire, but that all our purposes may agree with God's holy will?*

June 8, 2024

Proverbs 18.13 (NIV)
He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.

Listen twice as much as you speak.*

In his Proverbs, Solomon has provided us with some words to live by. The words of this one could easily have been penned by a secular writer. There are lots of wise sayings out there that can help us lead better lives.

Listening before we answer can save us from stupidity and shame – and rudeness. According to Emily Post, “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter which fork you use.” Are good manners a spiritual discipline? Perhaps they are, in light of Philippians 2.3, which tells us that in humility we should consider others better than ourselves. Doesn’t that sound mannerly? Perhaps we would be better listeners if we weren’t so busy phrasing our clever responses before the other person has finished speaking.

 

But beyond bad manners, failure to listen can lead to poor judgment, bad decisions, and un-Christian behavior. How can we expect our choices to be well-informed if we have jumped to conclusions? James tells us in Chapter 1, verse 19, that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.  Did you notice the progression of actions there? Listen, speak, act. As Matthew Henry wrote, “It is folly for a man to pass sentence upon a matter which he has not patience to make a strict enquiry into.”*

Listen. Get your facts straight. Ask God to give you discernment. Listen some more. Then you may or may not have something to say.

I believe we could change the world if we would listen instead of planning a response.*