Bong, Bong, Bong

(Proverbs 7:24 KJV)  Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.

The KJV uses a term that is not really archaic if you are paying attention.  Instead of the “listen” (8085) of the NASB it says “harken”.  Why do I say it is not archaic?  If you go to a church that realizes there is anything besides songs written last week you would be familiar with the Christmas carol that begins,

“Hark,” the herald angels sing, “Glory to the new-born King.”

Now I know that some of you grew up thinking the angel’s name was Hark but it really means, “Wake up and pay attention.”  If you go to public school you would recognize it as the “bong” that comes over the PA before the principal shares some vital bit of information.

So?  One of the messages of the Christmas season just past and the new year that is upon us is, “Wake up and pay attention”.  If you are not paying attention you will never know when it is time to play trump or turn in your library books.  Life has consequences.  Be aware. 

The Frown of God

(Proverbs 6:16 KJV)  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

We need to work at forming a Biblical view of God.  Yes, God is love. 

(1 John 4:8 KJV)  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

The sinful, wicked part of us responds to that because we have had our minds warped by a romantic hijacking of the word “love”.  We think Hallmark movies or Fabio.  We think Romeo and Juliet.  We think wrong.

Love is not the only word used to describe God and the definition we use for it is not the one used in the Bible.  God is also holy,

(Leviticus 19:2 KJV)  Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.

We could go on with a lot of verses that give a picture of a very complex God, not one who is defined by “Love is never having to say are sorry”.

So?  When you get flippant about who God is think about the word “abomination” (8441) and how a holy God will respond to our corruption of His character. 

Careful of the Cookies

(Proverbs 5:8 KJV)  Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:

It has been a long time since I have seen the invitation to meet beautiful Russian women looking for a serious relationship.  I don’t think about the lack, but this brings it to mind.  Why am I not being invited any more?  Have they run out of beautiful Russian women?  Did they find out about my bank balance and lose interest?  What I think has happened is that I have not responded so the algorithms have looked for other things to try to sell me. 

I am told that certain adds are called “click bait”.  It doesn’t have to be something as full of danger as a Russian scam.  It could be anything that the cookies in your computer say you are interested in.  Keep in mind that Satan has those cookies planted all around you.  He knows what will catch your eye.  On the positive side you know what you should avoid and the Holy Spirit has alarms ready to go off if you have signed up for that service.

So?  Avoid danger spots.  There might, notice I said “might”, be a bit of a thrill but is it really worth your eternal soul? 

Pick a Door

(Proverbs 4:20 KJV)  My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Have you ever heard someone say, “I ‘incline’ (5186) toward believing him”.  Often in life there is an intangible something that makes us lean one way or the other.  Sometimes it is just an unknown quantity because we have to make a decision.  I don’t know how many times my wife has announced that she wants to go out to get something to eat and then when we get in the car she says, “Where do you want to go?”  The short answer is, “Nowhere.  I have plenty of food in the house.”  If you are married you know that is not acceptable.  Your inclination in that situation may simply be the first thing that pops into your mind.

In other situations it is more important to make the right decision.  Is it time to change jobs?  Is it time to look for a new church?  Should I ban some of my children’s friends from the house?  Should I worry about too much salt in my food?  You may not have any clear indication but still have to make a decision.  The point here is that if you have been listening and studying there will be some indication of which way you should go.

So?  Invest the time now for the decisions that will come later.  Trust me, they will come.

Payback

(Proverbs 3:28 KJV)  Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

I think this applies to our business dealings as well as our tendency to hoard.  Proverbs often warn us about loaning money, borrowing money and cosigning on loans for people.  This could apply to a situation where we have ignored that.  Picture a situation where you have borrowed from a friend or family member with certain terms of payback that could run from $10 a month to whenever you can afford it.  Now they are in need, you are doing well and they come asking to have the balance to get through their crisis.  You have the money available but have it in a nice CD that has a penalty on it.  For your own personal profit you refuse the request.

Bad news for everyone.  You have allowed the desire for profit to override your moral obligation.  They have lost what they though was a friend.  Two hearts are hardened.

So?  Every “deal” we make needs to have the holiness test.  I don’t mean whether you can justify it in a court of law but whether you can still look into the face of God and say, “I have loved my neighbor”. 

Conditions and Context

(Proverbs 2:6 KJV)  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

This sounds like a glorious promise.  God will deliver.  We like this idea.  The popular understanding of Christmas reinforces it.  Jesus was a gift.  Grace is undeserved.  God loves us and wants us to have wonderful lives.  That is good as far as it goes.  But remember the three most important values in real estate:  Location, location, location.  Bible understanding is the same only we would say, “Context, context, context.” 

If you read back through all of the glorious promises you find that at the beginning is the provision for personal discipline and study.  If you seek, you will find.  If you knock it will open to you.  Someone said that once.

So?  God has many gifts to give us.  We do not deserve them.  We cannot earn them.  If you had two children, one brilliant and lazy, the other disciplined and focused and you could only send one to college, to which would you give the gift?  What seems obvious to me might not be to you. 

Even Arbitrary Has a Beginning

(Proverbs 1:22 KJV)  How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?

We start off the new year with three personality traits that are condemned:  Naivety, a critical spirit and ignorance.  Proverbs assumes that these are bad and that we can do something about them in our lives.  The hardest for me is in the area of being overly critical.  Some call me a cynic.  I call myself realistic.  The Bible uses “scorner” (scoffer NASB) (3917b).  It seems to me that being critical is part of avoiding “simplicity” (naive NASB) (6612a).  Obviously by this verse that is not true.  But we can do something about it.

And of course the question is “How long?” (4970/5704)  Isn’t that always the question?  How long can we expect God to be patient with us.  He is much more patient that we would ever be but contrary to some teaching, He will not wait forever.  If you don’t believe me, then read a few verses further and find out the harsh truth.

So?  It is the beginning of a new year.  That is totally arbitrary like the length of an inch, but it is useful for measuring.  Take a deep breath and get on with it.