No Mystery

(Pro 7:25 KJV)  Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths.

How do you think this young man responded to this warning?  My guess is that he was just like us.  He ignored the word of the wise.  Do you think that he didn’t already know that sneaking off with another man’s wife was wrong?  Really?  Keep in mind he was not raised watching modern television and attending public schools.  He was raised in a Jewish culture.  He probably could have repeated the Ten Commandments to you including the one that involves adultery.

He made a choice and he wasn’t in a listening mood.  

So?  This can obviously be said about the many choices we make that are less destructive than adultery.  The general problem is not that we don’t know but that we choose.  Choose wisely. 

The Three Step of Holiness

(Pro 6:23 KJV)  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

Here we see a convenient three step aid to living righteously.  Two of then involve Hebrew words you might be familiar with.  First we have the “commandment” (4687) which is [mitzvah].  This is the broadest of the terms.  You are familiar with it in the term bar mitzvah which a Jewish boy goes through as a rite of passage.  That might be translated as “son of the Law”.  Then comes the “law” (teaching NASB) (8451) or [torah] which deals more specifically with the law itself.  The third term, “reproof” (8433b) includes the idea of discussing or arguing about what is right or wrong.

So?  You start with the word, move to the law and then sharpen the truth you find.  This will give you a blueprint for living well.  All it takes is some focus and effort, and of course the grace of God working through the Holy Spirit. 

Look Around

(Pro 5:14 KJV)  I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.

This is a word of testimony.  I think it might also be a word for those of us who are not going through this struggle.  It occurred to me that one way I might spend the quiet moments on Sunday morning would to be looking around and asking myself if anyone I see is going through this kind of moment.  Or perhaps there are people who should be going through this kind of moment.  Maybe we should work to have some quiet time instead of socializing before the service starts.

So?  It would be good for me to get to church a little early, sit down and pray for those who might be sitting around me.  I might have a specific target but usually I will have no idea of the masquerading that is going on.  God does not have that limitation.

Crystal Clear

(Pro 4:19 KJV)  The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Recently I watched a short video of this principle in action.  A young woman went to walk through a door and alas, it was not a door.  It was a pane of glass.  After rebounding and rubbing her nose she took two steps to the left and tried to go through the door again.  Alas, again it was a pane of glass.  I think she finally found the actual door on the fourth try.

Notice that this does not say that evil is “darkness” (653) but is “as” darkness.  In this case the problem was crystal clear.  The problem was in the mind of the walker.  She could be forgiven for the first error.  I imagine we have all done it.  The real error comes when she did not learn and put a hand out to check the next panel.  

So?  The difference between those who are genuinely evil and those who simply have a bad day is that the person seeking to live a righteous life can learn from his mistakes and get on with the task at hand.  The evil continue on their path in spite of running into doors.  It is often not a problem of vision but attitude. 

Timing

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

The word for the day is “timing”.  One of my favorite words is “tomorrow” (4279).  What I like about it is not the definite limitations of the next day, which is the most common translation, but the part that means “time to come”.  In other words, tomorrow never comes.  I am sure you have heard that.

The direction given to us here is “now”.  The context here is helping someone in need but the principle is sound.  One of my big sins is procrastination.  I don’t think I am alone in that.

So?  Today.  How nefarious that sounds.  Now.  That is even worse.  It is still an idea who’s time has come. 

Glory Pills

(Pro 2:1 KJV)  My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;

How do we “receive” (3947) the wisdom that God wants us to have?  It would be great if there was some form of spiritual osmosis in which we could set a Bible on the table by our recliner and while be take a nap all that glorious truth slips into our minds.  How about the ability to sit in church “listening” to a sermon while our minds were on where to go for lunch and by some mystical process our soul was enriched with truth.  I could go for a glory pill that, taken once a day, would enrich my understanding of the things of God.

It will never happen.  

So?  If you want to receive what God is offering you have to really listen and engage.  The promise is there.  So is the demand. 

The Second Edge

(Pro 1:11 KJV)  If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

The final phrase of this verse is a double edged sword.  Unfortunately the translations only seem to bring out one edge, the question of whether the person attacked deserved it or not.  That in itself is significant.  It is one reason we are told in the Sermon on the Mount to turn the other cheek.  We are not to rush into things like retaliation.  

But there is another aspect to this.  The closest translation I could find in my software to my point was the International Standard Version,

(Pro 1:11 ISV) If they say, "Come with us! Let's lie in wait for blood; let's ambush some innocent person for no reason at all.

The element missing is doing things without thinking through the goal you have in life.  Thus when we have a slick salesman who gets us to buy something we often don’t seriously ask ourselves, “Do I really need this?”  Often we buy things we have no real use for or that we would admit we will never use if we were honest.  Think of all the unused items in your garage and closets, or things you only used once.

So?  In addition to being kind to strangers this is also a call to stewardship.  Both are common problems in life.