Dare to be a Cotter Pin

(Pro 28:20 KJV)  A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

This verse should be read in the context of the preceding verse.  Context is not always important in Proverbs but here it applies.  Previous verses have talked about violence, crookedness and sloth.  They are condemned.  They are not to be a part of the Christian life.  Now Solomon adds the problem of fickleness. 

It is important to be “faithful” (530).  This means that you can be counted on.  It would be the aspect of being a pillar of the community.  It is the husband who would not consider cheating on his wife or stealing the food from his children’s mouth to be the big spender at the bar.  It is the wife who pours her life into her children.  It means being steady and dependable.

It is a choice.

So?  Make the godly choices when it comes to what you face today.  What is best for your family, your church, your community?  Who will be devastated if you do not hold true?  Be a cotter pin that holds things together even if it is not noticed. 

Goat Cheese for Breakfast

(Pro 27:27 KJV)  And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

I came across this theme a few days ago.  “Enough” (1767) is enough, right?  But do you really like “goat’s” (5795) “milk” (2461)?  How about goat cheese?   What do you do when God says, “Eat goat cheese” and you really wanted Gouda?

Sometimes it is difficult to know the line between being satisfied with things as they are and striving for something better.  Do you go for a better job?  Do you send back the spaghetti that was cold when served?  Do you go to the protest over the latest attempt to push homosexuality?  It isn’t easy living a vital Christian life.  It involves study, prayer, thinking and decisions.

So?  Understand that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.  On the other hand, just because someone says you can’t doesn’t mean you should not try.  This is where the daily walk and listening to the word are so important.  Just remember that goats don’t decide when they will be milked or what the milk is used for.  We are not domestic animals.  We are the family of God.

Foolish Theme

(Pro 26:5 KJV)  Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

If you were listing great themes of the Bible you probably would not come up with the “fool” (3684).  That might be because you listen too much to the modern culture and not enough to the book of Proverbs. 

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, one of my software sources, says there are three words translated “fool” in our English Bibles.  The one used here and throughout this chapter,

“has at its root the notion of grossness, the dull and heavy habit of one whose heart has waxed fat, whose ears are slow to hear, and whose higher perceptions and nobler aspirations have succumbed to the sensual and earthly nature.”

What does that say to us about people in the world, in the church and about ourselves?  It is very easy to slide into dullness and sensuality.  All you need to do to see this is go out and listen to the general conversations around you.  I recently rode on an elevator with four young men.  We were only together for five floors yet I could tell you they were fools by this definition.

So?  Make sure that you are kept sensitive to all the glory of life and of our holy God.  Find a time to focus on Him every day so that you don’t slip into dull foolishness. 

Enough Is Enough

(Pro 25:27 KJV)  It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

My first reading of this unconsciously inserts another word in the text.  When I read it I think “too much” instead of “much” (7235a).  This seems to be a step farther than moderation.  As legalists by nature we always want to know how much is too much.  When we know where the line is our tendency is to push right up to that point. 

Maybe I am speaking only for myself.  As a diabetic I am trying to watch what I eat.  I am counting calories.  As the day draws to a close I don’t ask myself, “Have I had enough?”  What I do is look at my tally and ask myself, “Can I have a little more?”  I have the idea that if I come in one calorie below my goal, I win.  When I started that may have been good enough but by now it is time to grow up.

So?  Do you also have areas in your life where you need to get out of legalism and into Holy Spirit sensitive control?  It might not be in your diet.  It might be TV or reading.  Give it a thought.  Enough is enough. 

Imagined Sins

(Pro 24:9 KJV)  The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

It is easy for me to see your “foolishness” (folly NASB) (200).  You are the first one I picture when I read verses like this.  I would venture to guess that if you knew me you could see how obvious my shortcomings are.  We are always good at seeing where others could do better.  The problem we have is in seeing our own foibles. 

This is another place where we see the principles of the Old Testament taught by Jesus in a way that people think is new.  Here Solomon is saying that silly pastimes are wrong even when we are just thinking about them.  Jesus may have had that in mind when He was teaching.

(Mat 5:27-28 KJV)  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

So?  Guard your fantasy life and flights of imagination.  God wants to be Lord there too. 

Beating the Hades Out of Him

(Pro 23:14 KJV)  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

You have heard people use an expression like “beat the hell out of him.”  That type of approach is not what is being advocated here.  This is saying that pain is a legitimate teacher.  Fear of pain is a tool of emotional and intellectual growth.  You don’t believe it?  How many times do you have to bump your head before you learn to duck.  When I got my first bifocals it took me several major raps on the head to learn to duck when I went into the garage.  The garage door does not need to smack me any more.  I have learned my lesson.

Discipline teaches that there are consequences for bad behavior.  We teach children this principle on the small issues of life.  If they learn it, they transfer the lesson to the eternal issues.  They are saved from experiencing eternal head bumping. 

You are beating him out of “hell” (7585), not beating hell out of him.

So?  Ignore the social workers.  Ignore the culture.  Draw lines for your children and don’t let them cross without an awareness that there are consequences.  If you can’t understand the difference between legitimate discipline and brutal abuse then maybe you shouldn’t have or deal with children.

A Sloth in the Livingroom

(Pro 22:13 KJV)  The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

The “slothful man” (sluggard) (6102) is another classification that our culture has rejected.  We cannot point out that some people are just lazy.  It is a fact presented clearly in the Bible and known by our ancestors.  It is a word you can’t use today. 

It has ramifications that are more serious than obesity and poverty.  It has eternal consequences.  It has spiritual stopping power.  I think about all the time I have wasted from sloth.  It is scary.  There is a reason it is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

So?  Do some self examination.  Have you been blaming others for failures that are really the result of lack of effort or persistence?  If you don’t change, your situation won’t change.