Tuesday,  June 24th
Reading for today:   Proverbs 25-26


There's no question that Solomon was a wise man, perhaps the wisest man who ever lived.   Since he was so wise, his words are to be considered carefully.   The wiser you are, the more you can say with a few words.   We all have friends who have no problem making conversation, but if you listen carefully they aren't saying a great deal more than those who talk less.   I think that Solomon might have valued quality over quantity.

So the main topics appear to be the wise/righteous, the fool and the wicked.   It makes me think that you can be a wise christian, or an unintelligent one, and vice versa; you can be wise and wicked (crafty) or ignorant and wicked (brute).     Of course the goal is to be righteous above all else, because only the righteous will see God and spend eternity with Him.   So once I have established that I am going to live my life for Christ, then I need to work on being wise about it.    Last Sunday I spoke about "getting smart".  It seems that is the main theme in the first few chapters of Proverbs...perhaps for the whole book.

The wise person will think before they speak, not involve themselves as a third party in quarrels.  They will not make a nuisance of themselves, but instead will find opportunities to praise others, and will make an effort to refresh others as often as they can.   They will be people of restraint, not giving in to every temptation.   They will be generous and humble.      Okay, here's what strikes me about this section:   there isn't one thing in here about knowing calculus or solving complicated problems in your head.   Solomon's opinion about who is wise has more to do with knowing how to have a relationship than it does anything else.   I suspect that there are a few people who are wise in God's eyes that we have overlooked.   Hmmmm.

Now, will that same idea hold true for the fool?   Let's see.   The fool magnifies honor given to him, doesn't share well and does not show any restraint or self control.   The fool doesn't take instruction well and doesn't apply himself.   When it comes to communication, the fool thinks he is the smartest person in the room, he speaks without thinking, often hurting the people around him.  He gossips and whispers, and tries to get arguments started.      Okay, that hold true to the pattern.   What makes us a fool is the way we handle praise, how and who we praise, how quickly we learn to relate well to others, so on and so forth.

The malicious man seems to be clever, but evil deep within.   He lays a trap for others to fall into, and he moves the boundary stone in hopes that he will receive something he hasn't worked for.    Reserved for the crafty wicked person according to Solomon is the following judgment:   the snare you try and spring on others will end up catching you.

My friends,  above all, let's be honest, humble and hard-working.   (hey, there's a good three point sermon in there...)


Blessings,

PR