In Other Words

(Pro 1:2 KJV)  To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;

I decided this month to pull my old Living Bible off the shelf and read Proverbs from its perspective.  I like the Living Bible.  I have no use for the New Living Translation, or whatever it is called.  One reason is a lack of pretense.  The Living Bible on its title page declares “Paraphrased”.  It does not make any claim to be a “translation” like so many of the modern opinion translations do.  It is called honesty.

I enjoyed reading verse 2,

(Prov 1:2 LB) He wrote them to teach his people how to live - how to act in every circumstance,

The Bible is not really written as a history book or a theology text.  It is a How To book.  It contains history and theology.  It even contains advice on health, but it is primarily God speaking to His people about how they should live.

So?  Let the Bible speak to you.  It doesn’t hurt to refer to some of the modern loose translations as long as you keep coming back to something like the KJV or NASB to get a more accurate understanding.  On to a new month.

Giving

(Pro 30:15 KJV)  The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:

I am sure that everyone who believes that tithing is part of the legalism of the Old Testament loves this verse.  They use it to repudiate calls to “give” (3051).  In so doing they become the “daughters” (1323).  The issue here is not the giving or the call for giving.  The issue is the self-centeredness of the transaction.  I think it is safe to assume that these young women were not know for their generosity.  They were probably the last ones to come to work day or to contribute to the food bank.  They are not the people you would come to when you are down on your luck.

These are the people who complain that the A/C is not cold enough when they put nothing in the offering.  I am reminded of the woman who said she would be glad to give to the Easter offering but she would take it out of her tithe.  The double whammy on this is she was not tithing.

So?  Be a giver. 

Versed in Memory

(Pro 29:12 KJV)  If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

We are moving toward the midterm elections.  This will involve political offices from school boards to the Senate.  We need to understand that the values of the leaders will be applied to that which they lead.  It is not always clear how to apply this.  It might help to realize that the issue here is honesty not whether taxes should be raised.  It is time to put our roots down into the word of God so we can understand truth and pray that our memories would be accurate and long.

This also applies to church elections.  Some churches give the people in the pews a say in how things go.  If you are a part of such a congregation you need to apply the same standards.  It may not be a Biblical issue if your pastor or church board allows coffee and shorts in the sanctuary.  It is an issue if they reject the divinity of Christ or the inspiration of the Bible.

So?  Get those brains turned on before it becomes illegal.  I guess this is also a recommendation that we be honest ourselves.

Looking Cool

(Pro 28:26 KJV)  He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

Another way of expressing “trust in your own heart” is to do your own thing.  That is a popular phrase today.  We want to be independent and not manipulated.  What usually ends up happening is that we get manipulated into conformity.  Non-conformists have a uniform.  Somehow they have talked themselves into thinking they are being different but they just become the same.  Who is the brain child that came up with the idea of wearing a one-size-fits-all baseball cap backwards?  It keeps the sun off your neck and awards you with a little tan triangle on your forehead but other than that, what is the point?  Think of the denim you have seen in the store that looks like it came from a second tier thrift store.

This verse is talking about bigger issues than wardrobe but the principle is the same.  Don’t do your own thing.  Don’t trust your own taste.  Don’t be satisfied with your own truth.

So?  Don’t be a fool.  Trust in something bigger than yourself, God maybe? 

Time for a Little Talk

(Pro 27:5 KJV)  Open rebuke is better than secret love.

There are many teachings in the Bible that conveniently get overlooked.  Sometimes it is because of political pressure about things like homosexuality.  Sometimes it is the requirements of the doctrinal system the church has embraced.  Sometimes it is simply to keep people in the pews happy.  Sometimes it is all of the above.  That is where we find ourselves on issues like “rebuke” (8433b), reprove and correction.  

There is a good chance that your church has accepted the definition of love dished out by your local cable company by way of Hollywood.  In doing so you have ignored the repetitive call for the church to live in righteousness and for believers to hold each other accountable.  It is not a popular teaching but it is in good company.  People don’t like to hear about sin in any form.

So?  If your pastor won’t touch on such things it does not give you an excuse for ignoring truth.  Read and study on your own.  It may be you need to have a talk with the pastor.  That is called rebuke.

Lazy Liars

(Pro 26:13 KJV)  The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

I wonder if lazy people are poor liars.  This guy is making a claim that can be easily checked.  Lions did exist in the Holy Land.  Remember Sampson made a riddle about one.  Being caught out in such a simply checked bit of foolishness seems counterproductive.  

I would assume that lazy people don’t care what people think.  That kind of attitude is obviously being spoken against.

So?  I would assume that we don’t want to be liars.  It is a real issue with God. 

Time to Harden

(Pro 25:19 KJV)  Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Misplaced “confidence” (4009) can be a tragedy.  Sometimes trusting the wrong person is unavoidable.  People are very good at covering up their true character.  I wonder how often the real reason we are fooled is because we don’t want to make the hard calls.  The modern church has adopted “Judge not...” as their go to verse for daily living.  We have been told time and time again that we are not to be critical but to accept people as they are.  To me this has obviously been overdone.

It is time for us to move people with the gift of mercy to an advisory position in the church instead of putting them in charge of the order of service.  We need to seek out people with discernment and allow them to exercise their gifts.

So?  We can do a lot better job of picking our leaders and deciding whom to support but it will take some effort and risk at being called hard-hearted.  It is time to move the pendulum back to the middle.