Be a Peacemaker

(Proverbs 15:1 KJV)  A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.

Again we see free will at work.  We are often confronted with situations that we do not create nor do we desire.  How often have you run into someone who is having a bad day and they are determined to pass it on.  You may have done everything you could be avoid the situation.  It still faces you with no escape.  Now the choice is yours.

Notice that it doesn’t say you will calm the anger.  All you can do is “turn it away” (7725).  There is another verse that this brings to mind. 

(Proverbs 25:21-22 KJV)  If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:  For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

The possibility offered is that your refusing to return the anger will get them to think and maybe get a little embarrassed.

So?  Whether it “works” or not we are still required to follow the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  That involves the other cheek and the extra mile.  Be a peacemaker. 

The Labour Party Platform

(Proverbs 14:23 KJV)  In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

 How does work “profit” (4195) us?  Our first consideration is that we earn our living by our productive efforts.  We might do this as farmers, miners, plumbers, teachers, pastors, the list goes on.  We find something to do that is of worth to someone else and the transfer enough wealth to make it worth our time.

There is also value in the “labor” (6089a) itself.  There is a dignity and a sense of responsibility that comes from effort.  This is why working for less than we think we are worth is still a good thing to do.  It teaches us that we should value the bread we buy.  It does not come easy.  I find that I would evaluate something’s financial cost in how long it took me to earn the money for it.  People who have never earned a salary or run a business don’t understand that.

So?  Work.  Produce.  Give to society and grow in your character. 

Make Them Work

(Proverbs 13:22 KJV)  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

I think it is interesting that the idea of leaving wealth skips the children.  Based on reading and listening from sources outside the Bible, I have heard people comment on how often children are spoiled by rich parents.  The parents knew how to work hard but too often they think they are going to do their children a kindness by sheltering them from that lesson.  Some learn it in spite of the handicap.  Others are weakened to the point of destruction.  When a child believes he is going to inherit a fortune, why would he put in the effort to train himself for success.  It is guaranteed. 

So?  Instead of making life easy for your children you should be preparing them for the trials and struggles ahead.  Then let them do the same for the grandchildren. 

On Whom Is the Joke

(Proverbs 12:20 KJV)  Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

Who are the biggest victims of “deceit” (4810)?  If you are on the short end of a con game you feel like you are the one who suffers.  That is true on today’s radar but if you learn from the experience you come out ahead.  The con artist goes on feeling like he has achieved a victory.

Deceivers think they are winners but what is down the road?  There is a good chance that prison or murder is in their future.  There will be a lot of fear and loneliness.  There lives are like I imagine it must be to have a drug habit with little money.  You have a brief high and then comes the desperate search for the next fix.  Deceit is like that.

So?  A number of things come to mind.  Get the last laugh.  Learn from your mistakes.  Feel sorry for the trickster wallowing in his desperation.  Pray for his foolishness.  Don’t feel like you will be happier if you join him. 

On the Record

(Proverbs 11:31 KJV)  Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner.

A recording “artist” comes to mind.  If I remember correctly he had a series of hits and became very successful.  Then at 26 years of age he committed suicide.  I don’t remember his name.  Neither will the world.  He got everything he wanted but it was not enough to keep him alive.  What destroyed him?  Was it the business executives that gave him millions?  Was it a type of music that I would consider ridiculous noise?  Ultimately it was his demand to get what he wanted instead of what he needed.

This picture is repeated with great regularity.

So?  Don’t be fooled by the facade presented by so many people.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God,...  You know the rest. 

The Victory Snooze

(Proverbs 10:5 KJV)  He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

This is not a condemnation of sleep.  Proof-texting can cause all kinds of problems.  Usually it is done by someone with an agenda.  Sleep is a necessary part of life when it is done at the right time and in the right amounts.  Here the problem is the right time.  When it is time to work, work.  When it is not time to work, sleep.  Other places in Proverbs sleep in the wrong amounts is one of the causes of poverty.

The victorious Christian life is not always a matter of what as it is when and why. 

So?  Seek balance.  Work on timing.  Live in victory. 

Fun Choices

(Proverbs 9:17 KJV)  Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

From what I hear, sin is fun.  Of course I have no first hand knowledge...., right.  One of the lines I have heard before is that if it is fun or enjoyable, it is a sin.  That is obviously not the whole story and impossible to be true.  Life is full of fun, fulfilling activities that we can participate in and still be righteous.  In spite of that we tend to focus on the few things that we are not allowed to do.

When I went to watch my daughter ride in a rodeo it was fun and up to God’s standards.  It wasn’t so much fun watching her fly off the horse and hit a fence, but no harm, no foul.  When my son beat the sox off of me playing fussball, it was fun and God probably enjoyed it more than I did.  He didn’t lose.  The list is only limited by your imagination.

So?  Keep the big picture in mind.  Sin may be fun now but the payoff has some serious drawbacks.