Proverbs 31
Beauty, beauty, beauty. We live in a culture obsessed with beauty, and it is getting more obsessed all the time. Author Regina Franklin wrote about that in her book Who Calls Me Beautiful? In 1951, Miss Sweden weighed 151 pounds and was 5′7″. By 1983, Miss Sweden measured in two inches taller at 5′9″, but 45 pounds lighter at 106. Clearly, the standards of “beauty” change from generation to generation!
Proverbs 30
In recent times, there have been few television news programs you could watch without regularly hearing something about the rich and the poor, about extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Of course, folks on both sides of the issue tend to throw those words around without much definition, although we make a habit of talking about them in very clear-cut, black-and-white terms.
Proverbs 29
I don’t think I’ve yet seen in the Bible a better description of the fate that awaits the wicked than this: “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.” (vs 1) This is what Romans 6:23 calls the “wages of sin.” It is destruction that comes as a result of a stubborn insistence to continue in sin, not as a result of something God does to you!
Proverbs 28
At the beginning of this chapter was an interesting proverb dealing with fear: “The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (vs 1) Those who don’t know God (or choose to go their own way despite knowing Him) live in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety. Those who do know God stand their ground no matter what.
Proverbs 27
A few months ago during a Bible study, a friend of mine said something that has been nagging at me ever since: We don’t often know what love is. He said that in the context of discussing how to be loving toward people, and he suggested that there might be many times when we wouldn’t immediately recognize what would be the “loving” course of action in a given situation.
Proverbs 26
…or does He? That’s what you might have thought if you read the chapter for today. How could you miss this? “Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are.” (vs 4) And on its heels: “Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.” (vs 5)
Proverbs 25
This chapter begins in a very intriguing way: “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.” (vs 2) To conceal a matter… hmmmm, perhaps like the meaning of this proverb? Whatever could this mean? It has been my habit to praise God for His commitment to self-revelation. Why would Solomon say that God not only conceals things, but that it is His glory to do so?
Proverbs 24
I love it when Bible verses make me laugh out loud. This one caught my fancy today: “Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.” (vs 17-18) I just had to laugh right out loud. A call to not gloat over your enemies—not because it’s the right thing to do, but so you can keep your enemies in their troubles longer!
Proverbs 22
It seems that, time and time again, I run up against things in the Bible regarding the “rich” and the “poor” that just aren’t as clear-cut as our modern thinking tends to be. Take this verse from today’s chapter, for instance: “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.” (vs 2)
Proverbs 21
For a long time now, I have believed that the only thing God requires for salvation is a willingness to listen. Why? Because, as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” The good work is God’s, and He will complete it in us in His time—as long as we are willing. He won’t force Himself on us, so we have the ultimate say-so over whether we will allow God to do His good work in our lives.
Proverbs 20
Alright, let’s start today’s blog with a pop quiz. It’s been a while since we studied Psalm 16. Do you remember this verse? “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. In Your right hand, there are _________ _________.” (Ps 16:11) Can you fill in the blank without looking it up?
Proverbs 19
One of the proverbs in today’s chapter was very encouraging to me—very encouraging because I care about doing the Lord’s will in my life, but sometimes I question whether I really understand what His will is. That’s why I liked this verse: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” (vs 21)
Proverbs 18
When you grow up in the church, you realize (once you’re an adult) that you are familiar with many phrases from the Bible that you’ve never actually thought about before. That happened to me today as I read this chapter of Proverbs. Had you heard this verse before? “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (vs 10)
Proverbs 17
Especially in America, we spend much of our lives in the pursuit of getting. We work at getting an education, getting a job, getting job security, getting a house, getting a car, getting love, getting a retirement plan—getting, getting, getting. And in Proverbs, I believe Solomon’s main point is, In all your getting, get wisdom. In all your getting, get the things that are important. In all your getting, don’t pass over the permanent for the perishable.
Proverbs 16
There seems to be a recurring theme in this chapter—that our human judgment is often skewed. Verse 2 says that “a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD.” Later, we are warned that pride, while it may make us feel confident, “goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (vs 18)
Proverbs 15
When our first daughter was about seven months old, we hit our first parenting “challenge” — sleep training. The difficult part of that came when Caroline just didn’t want to go down for her nap or when she became so tired that she would have trouble falling asleep. So, in order to help her learn to go to sleep on her own at that age, we decided to adopt the “Ferber method” of sleep training, which includes allowing your child to cry for very short intervals of time and not picking them up, but reassuring them that they are okay and safe.
Proverbs 13
You can’t get very far into the Bible without realizing that words are to be taken seriously. In fact, imagine having the kind of word-power God has: the Bible begins by explaining that whatever God spoke suddenly appeared! “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Gen 1:3)
Proverbs 12
One of my favorite television programs to watch is Judge Judy. Judge Sheindlin is a no-nonsense judge who doesn’t hold back what she’s thinking from the litigants who come into her courtroom. And one of the things she says often (especially to people who have lied or are trying to lie to her!) is, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to have a good memory.”
