Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 14-17.

When I started reading the Book of Proverbs this year I became convinced that the link between foolishness and moral depravity which is implied by the Hebrew words used for “fool” and for “the simple minded” provided a key understanding of this book.  The wise build up, the foolish tear down.  Many of the ideas expressed in the proverbs in today’s passage relate to that idea.  Fools use their words to lash out at those whom they perceive as being in their way, while the wise choose their words in order to build others up.  Throughout today’s passage the writer contrasts the ways in which wise and righteous people speak to the ways in which foolish and wicked people use words.  I want to point out that to the writer saying wise and righteous is redundant, as is saying foolish and evil.  Being evil is foolish and wisdom teaches us to do what is right.  There is another word which the writer uses that our society views differently from the writer.  That word is “mocker”.  The writer considers a mocker to be a wicked person and a type of fool.  Whereas our society often admires those who mock others.  Mockers hold people up for scorn, while the wise seek to teach those who have made foolish decisions.  Wisdom teaches us to choose our words with care and to be silent when unsure of what to say.  The temptation to speak when we should remain silent sometimes leads us to say things which make matters worse.   There is one other important, and related, point which the writer brings up in today’s passage.  The wise seek to avoid quarrels and settle quarrels which come up between others.  Fools like to stir up quarrels between others and sometimes find amusement in angering others.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 14-17.

I found today’s passage challenging to write on because it is composed entirely of some of the proverbs for which this book is named (I know, I write this every year).   For the most part, these proverbs do not have a theme and are all useful lessons in wisdom.  However, there are a few ideas which the writer comes back to again and again.  The writer tells us that wisdom teaches us to control our tempers and not allow ourselves to let anger, or other emotions, control our actions or our tongues.  For that matter, the writer reminds us that wisdom teaches us to choose our words carefully.  Throughout the Book of Proverbs, the writer uses the word “mocker” as a synonym for fool.  It is worth noting that other translations use the word “scoffer” where the NIV uses “mocker”.   In this particular passage, the writer tells us that those who mock others, or scoff at them, have trouble finding wisdom, but those who seriously listen to others gain knowledge and wisdom easily.

The writer tells us that while we may plan our course, God determines how things work out.  If we plot evil, we will find everything going astray.  On the other hand, if we plan to do good, good will come of what we do, even if our plans do not work out as we intended.  Throughout the Book of Proverbs the writer teaches us that we should seek wise counsel when making plans, but here he reminds us that the wisest counsel includes allowing for God to direct us down a different path than what we planned to take.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 14-17.

Today’s passage contains so many proverbs which sum up key points of wisdom in simple sayings that I never quite know how to write a blog on it.  I am going to try and find a few themes which I think are addressed from different viewpoints in several of these sayings, maybe I will even be able to connect these themes together.  First of these: the wise do constructive things which build up people, things, and organizations, making them better, while fools tear down people, things, and organizations.  Those who tear down often claim that the tearing down must be done in order to build back better, but a careful examination will usually reveal that they have no plans for what to do after they have destroyed whatever they claim to desire to improve.  One example of this comes from examining some companies which laid off employees in order to cut costs.  They cut staff to save money without ever truly understanding who their productive employees were.  I was reminded of that by this proverb: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
    but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.”                        The point of this being that the most efficient way to keep the manger clean is by getting rid of the oxen which soil it, but without the oxen you cannot harvest the crops which provide you with income.  Related to this we often find those seeking to destroy dishonest and deceitful, while those seeking to build honestly portray the risks they propose we take.  The former despise God, while the latter fear and honor Him.  Which brings me to the final point I want to cover from this passage: those who fear the Lord use restraint when speaking, while the destructive use words as one more tool to destroy and break down.  The wise wish to communicate clearly so they are careful to use words which mean what they wish to say, and which will not bring unnecessary hurt to the listener.  The foolish use words which cut  and can be easily misconstrued.  This truth is such that even the foolish appear wise when they keep their mouths closed.  In fact, if you fear that you are foolish a good way to gain wisdom is by listening to what others have to say while keeping your own thoughts to yourself.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Proverbs 14-17.

I could do my entire blog on just a couple of these proverbs, and that is what I am going to do.  I prefer to find themes for the entire passage, or something which links everything together.  However, today I am going to pull just a couple of these proverbs out and talk about them. So, let’s start with this one:

“There is a way that appears to be right,
    but in the end it leads to death.”

This one is perhaps the scariest.  It tells us that there are paths we can follow which seem right, but are not.  However, this reminds me of one of my hobbies, playing Tabletop Roleplaying Games.  In such games one of the players is known as the Gamemaster, whose job it is to tell the story for the rest of the players and act as a referee to ensure that the players are following the rules. From time to time in describing the situation the players must take part in the Gamemaster will say some thing like, “The room APPEARS empty,” or “The chest does not APPEAR trapped.”  Most players have learned to treat such things as a red flag and be on the alert for what comes next.  In much the same way, the proverb writer is warning us to be alert when something feels right,  when our emotions tell us it is the right thing to do.  That is when we must engage our logic and compare it to what God says is right.  Which leads us to the second one of today’s proverbs I want to write about:

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
    and he will establish your plans.”

We cannot go far wrong if we seek with all of our actions to bring glory to God and not to ourselves.  If you do whatever you do in order to bring glory to God, with no thought to your own interests, you will avoid the path which the first of these warns against.  in fact, the third of the proverbs which I wanted to write about today expands on this them:

“Better a little with righteousness
    than much gain with injustice.”

Seek righteousness rather than reward and you need not fear that you are on the wrong path.  I started out thinking that what I would write on each of these proverbs would stand alone, but, as you can see, once I started writing I realized that they linked together to teach us.

I want to leave you with a thought from the proverb writer which challenges me every time I come across it:

“Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent,
    and discerning if they hold their tongues.”

As you might guess, keeping silent is not one of my gifts.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Proverbs 14-17.

Today’s passage contains a collection of pithy sayings which sum up wisdom.  Of course, that makes it hard to write a blog entry on it.  However, there are a couple of things which the sayings repeat in different ways.  One of those is the importance and value of choosing your words carefully.  Wisely spoken words can accomplish much to make your life better, but foolish statements will come back to haunt you.  The wise use few words, meaning that even a fool can appear wise if they limit what they say.  In fact, if a fool keeps quiet perhaps it is because they are learning wisdom.  The wise speak sparingly because in their humility they realize that they have nothing useful to say.  Closely related to that, the wise choose both their words and actions with care.  They do not rush in before they understand the situation.  Which leads us to the advice on controlling your temper.  Allowing anger to control your words and/or your actions will cause you to say or do foolish things.

Another set of thoughts contained within today’s passage to which, while related to the previous paragraph, I cannot easily transition follows.  If you look for trouble, or reasons to be unhappy, you will find them, but if you seek good and happiness you will find that instead.  Related to that, those who seek understanding and self-control will be better off and happier than those who seek wealth and power.  Which leads that trading time with those you love, and who love you, for wealth and power obtained by spending time with those you despise and who despise you is a loser’s game.  The advantages of wealth and power gained dishonestly are not worth the loss in self-respect and integrity.