Choice Ignorance

(Pro 7:7 KJV)  And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,

Two kinds of people are commented on in this chapter.  The first, who gets the least attention, is the son who is being told to listen to the commandments and wisdom.  The one mentioned here, and by extension the woman he has an affair with, are rejecting that advice.

Two descriptions are given.  First, he is “simple” (naive NASB) (6612a) and second he is “lacking” (2638) “sense” (3820) or “void of understanding.  If you follow to the end of the chapter you find out that this guy is bound for hell.  That is a significant difference but it is caused by the real difference.  The reason he is bound for hell is he refuses to engage with the truth that is offered to him.  He probably thinks he is smart enough to avoid the pitfalls.  He would have to play all kind of mind games to say he didn’t know anything about it, after all, he lived during the time period when Solomon was building the temple.  It was not a time of ignorance about the law and God’s expectations.

So?  We all have opportunities.  We all have the necessary knowledge for how things go for us in eternity.  Some people, no matter how much they are talked to, will refuse to listen.  They don’t want to hear it so they don’t.  I trust we will make better choices. 

Measuring Truth

(Pro 6:19-20 KJV)  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.  My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

Most people will admit that telling “lies” (3577) is a bad thing.  When it comes to their own speech, though, the definition of a lie goes through a metamorphosis.  They aren’t lying, they are exaggerating.  They are editing.  They are interpreting.  They are many things, but not lying.  Here we come again to the dividing line between the people of God and the forces of the enemy.  You cannot be a child of God and continue to distort the truth.

How do you know what the truth is?  This is important for what we say and what we hear.  The next verse gets into that.  It brings up the commandments and the law.  Truth is measured by comparing it to reality.  If you are telling a tall tale and everyone understands that is what you are doing then you are free to range across the possible story lines.  I remember someone getting into an argument about where Paul Bunyan came from.  It is hard to know since he never existed.  

So?  If you have decided that you want to be on the side of the angels then it would help to know what the angels know.  That is the only thing that will help you discern truth from falsehood.

Join the Resistance

(Pro 5:10 KJV)  Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;

Proverbs continues to describe two types of people, the righteous and the wicked.  One of the differences that is described in this chapter is the question of whether you are a giver or a taker.  In warning his son about the pitfalls he faces in life, Solomon warns him that there are people who are looking to suck the life out of him.  They are not going to work on their own.  They are going to take his “strength” (3581b).  Here the NASB is better.  

The evil in the world are not just trying to live well on your labor, they want to dominate and destroy you.  The totalitarian regimes of the world are not content to control people’s behavior and prosperity, they want to control their thinking and minds.  This is why we are seeing so much censorship all around us.  It isn’t just the government.  It is every major social media network whether it is the news or a place where you can throw out 140 characters.  You are encouraged to participate as long as you think the way they want you to.

So?  Again, take warning.  God has given us the ability to think.  He has given His word to read and study.  He has even given us the writings of people long dead.  And the reason these things can be effective is a combination of our free will and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Resist evil. 

Plans for the Day

(Pro 4:16 KJV)  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

“Have a nice day.”  How many times have you heard that this week?  How often have you said it?  Usually it is in the category of Automatic Social Response like “Hi.  How are you?”  Neither means a whole lot.  If it did, what would it take for you to have a nice day?  This chapter dwells on the two spiritual types.  

The godly are seeking to know more about God and how He wants them to live.  For them a good day is one where they learn something to advance that goal or they actually do something that makes the world a more righteous place.  That is what the first part of the chapter is about.

On the other hand you have the people described in this verse.  When these people go to bed and look back at their day it causes them to toss and turn if they were not able to do some damage.  They might look back at an opportunity to humiliate someone or a chance to gum up the works that was not taken.  They hate themselves for not hating enough.

So?  These are daily choices we make.  They make a difference.  They broadcast what kind of person we are and lay the tracks for our eternity train. 

Not an Orphan

(Pro 3:24 KJV)  When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

At this stage in my life I generally don’t have a lot of trouble getting to sleep.  I wake up a lot because my bladder likes to talk to me, but I go back to sleep.  Part of it is because of the situation found in this verse.  It stood out to me as I was reading today and then by what some call coincidence I read this in Isaiah,

(Isa 8:12 NAS77) "You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.

What I responded to was the second part of the verse.  

I am looking at differences between believers and the rest of society.  There is a lot of fear out there.  I see people wearing masks and some have a haunted look in their eyes.  Others are worried about the black helicopters coming for them.  Then there are the people who worry that a 1/10th of an inch rise in the oceans is going to destroy civilization.  We are to be different.

So?  Fear the Lord, not the multitude of other proclamations that are trying to manipulate you.  Yes, lock your doors.  Look both ways before you cross the street.  Wash your hands.  Have food on hand.  But do it is a precaution and a steward, not as a panic stricken orphan.

The Overthrown

(Pro 2:11-2 KJV)  Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:  To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;

This chapter has several comparisons between the righteous and the wicked.  Verse 11 comes at the end of a long description of people who make daily choices and those choices lead them toward Godliness.  The next verse points out that people who want to walk upright lives are constantly in the presence of people who want the crooked path.

Beware of the “froward” (perverse NASB) (8419) mentality that is all around us.  There several different words translated “perverse” or “froward”.  This one comes from a root to overturn or overthrow.  I think it is warning us that there are people and forces that are working to overthrow our loyalty to the God of the Bible.  It does not matter if it is deliberate or coincidence.  It doesn’t fit into a conspiracy theory.  It is real.

So?  Look over the first part of the chapter.  Take it to heart and apply it diligently.  Disappoint the perversity around you.

The Beginning

(Pro 1:7 KJV)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

As I begin to read Proverbs again I come with some baggage.  In Proverbs, Psalms and the rest of the Old Testament there is constant reference to the law and our attitude towards the law.  I have serious discussions with people who get focused on the 613 laws of the Old Testament and how they are impossible to keep.  I won’t go into the artificial number of 613 at this point or on this blog.  The point that we must deal with is that God has certain standards and behaviors that He expects of us.  Even die-hard, five point Calvinists are guilty of living by this higher standard.

What I want to try to do this month is focus on the two sides in this plan of salvation.  This is the first verse in Proverbs that brings up the two sides.  This month I will try to remember to look for those differences.  Here we have those who “fear” (3374) the Lord as opposed to those who are called “fools” (191).  The first six verses point out the benefits of fearing the Lord, which means listening and following His direction.  The others are fools.

So?  Start the month by asking yourself if you are a God fearer or a fool.