Proverbs 14:1-17

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

Proverbs 14:4

Or how about a Bluegrass equivalent: “You don’t win the Kentucky Derby without shoveling a lot of horse ____.” (I’ll let you fill in the blank with whatever term you like.) Yes, real success requires dealing with messes, a truth that is apparently lost on much of our modern society.

Many people today do not seem to have a clue about where their food comes from. For them, the answer is, “Duh! The grocery store!” They don’t understand (or want to understand) that the meat they eat was once a living animal, nor do they realize that their bread is made from grains that grew from the soil. Seriously.

They want low prices for their food, but vilify the petroleum industry that produces the diesel fuel that powers the farm equipment. And their supposed solution for lowering fuel costs? Produce more ethanol, which means using corn (requiring more diesel and increasing the price of corn), so we burn down the rainforests (simultaneously producing massive carbon emissions while eliminating the greatest scrubber of carbon on the planet) to clear land for corn and other crop production. Seriously.

Don’t get me wrong. I am very much in favor of a clean planet. I think I would also like a clean manger. But that would mean no oxen…

Proverbs 13:14-25

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 13:20

It matters whom you hang out with.

But that begs the question: how is it that one “falls into” a given crowd? We do not always get to choose our associates. In particular, we don’t choose our family of origin, so for the first few years of life we have virtually no choice in the matter whatsoever. But insofar as we have a say, we should choose our friends wisely. (Of course, that presents a bit of a Catch-22 scenario, requiring at least some wisdom in order to choose wise friends so as to become wise…)

In any case, our associates tend to rub off on us, for good or ill, for wisdom or folly. And these days our associates are not limited to face-to-face physical encounters. We can be “friends” with people all over the world, and we are deluged with information through the media, mainstream or otherwise. So take some time and make the effort to evaluate your associations and sources of information. Which ones are wise and which are foolish? Which present a biblical worldview? Which present an anti-Christian worldview, even subtly?

It matters whom you hang out with.

Proverbs 13:1-13

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Proverbs 13:4

My guess is that Solomon primarily had material supply in mind here, where being a sluggard results in poverty, but diligent effort results in material gain. I think we can all attest to the truth of this proverb in that context. We have probably all known individuals who find every excuse to avoid work but who are always complaining about not having enough, always wanting what others have, but not getting it — and never acknowledging that their own lack of effort has anything to do with their lack of resources. And we have probably all likewise known folks who have worked hard all their lives and have done quite well for themselves — perhaps not billionaires, but comfortable nonetheless.

Note, though, that this proverb applies to just about anything, not just making a living. Success in anything requires at least some effort. Natural talent goes only so far. Show me an Olympic champion who never practiced his or her sport. Show me a concert violinist who performs but never practices. Michelangelo broke a lot of rocks before sculpting his “David”.

And, of course, the same is true in the spiritual realm as well, yet we often seem to think that knowing God should “just happen”. Just say “the sinner’s prayer” and that’s all there is to it, or maybe just go to church once a week. Never mind that the Church has advocated spiritual disciplines from the beginning to help equip the saints for the work of ministry. For example, most of you know that I am a fan of memorizing Scripture, which I have mentioned here a couple of times. But whenever I suggest it, the response is either silence or, “That’s too hard.” Likewise, I dare you to suggest fasting! (Just ask Deacon Todd about that…) The point is simply this: if we want to grow spiritually, we are likely going to need to work diligently for it.

As for me, I need to heed this proverb as much as anyone, for I am spiritually much closer to the sluggard than to the diligent.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Proverbs 12:15-28

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 12:15

We can probably all relate personal stories where we’ve seen the truth of this proverb, particularly the first half. How many parents have witnessed their children making stupid decisions, refusing to take any advice from their “know it all” elders? How many of us have been those headstrong fools ourselves?! And, of course, this proverb cuts across all social and political lines, from the common “man on the street” to national leaders, from rich to poor, from liberal to conservative, across all races, and across all time.

One of the problems of social media is the tendency to develop “echo chambers” where the only people anyone listens to (or even hears at all) are people of like opinion. When the fool is right in his own eyes, and he is in an echo chamber, he has little chance to get any real advice. So don’t be such a fool. If you are in an echo chamber, break out of it, and broaden your horizons. Change the channel. Listen to what others have to say, even (or perhaps especially) if it makes you uncomfortable.

Proverbs 12:1-14

No one is established by wickedness,
but the root of the righteous will never be moved.

Proverbs 12:3

I hope we can all agree that this proverb should be true. Yet as we observed in our study of Job, things do not always work out so nicely in this life. Sometimes (oftentimes) the wicked prosper; sometimes (oftentimes) the righteous suffer horribly at the hands of those wicked. So, discounting the idea of an afterlife and where the righteous and wicked end up in eternity — an idea that is not at all self-evident from observation — how would anyone come to this conclusion?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Proverbs 11:16-31

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

Proverbs 11:28

I find it interesting that this proverb contrasts trusting in riches with being righteous. With a little life observation, I think most of us would fairly readily agree that trusting in riches is unwise (though the vast majority of us do it, at least to some extent), but I am not so sure that we would so readily conclude that trusting in riches is unrighteous. One needs a deeper understanding of righteousness to reach that conclusion (i.e., that only the Lord is rightly worthy of such trust).

We should again notice what this proverb does not say. It does not say that having material wealth is inherently evil. Wealth itself is not the issue. The downfall is in trusting in that wealth. It is all too easy (especially in our culture) to fall into the trap of finding security in wealth. That applies to both rich and poor alike. The rich trust in what they have; the poor look toward what they don’t have. But any such trust (or hope) in riches is misplaced.

I am no exception. It is easy for me, sitting in a position of relative wealth, to pontificate about such things. It is much more difficult to truly divorce myself from what I have and put my full faith and trust in the Lord alone. How about you?

Proverbs 11:1-15

A false balance is an abomination to the LORD,
but a just weight is his delight.

Proverbs 11:1

How is it that we all understand what is meant by a false balance or why it would be an abomination to the LORD? Why is it that we need laws governing weights and measures and product labeling? As we can infer from this proverb, the notion that in the sale of a commodity one person might cheat another by deceit is obviously ancient, yet it has not disappeared at all. We just come up with new and imaginative ways of doing it. (“Shrinkflation” comes to mind, which, though legal, still has the same goal of hoping you don’t notice that you are getting less than what you expect…)

I doubt any of us have intentionally miscalibrated a scale at the farmers’ market or fiddled with a gas pump so that it measures more or less fuel. But this proverb also presents a broader, more general principle beyond buying and selling: honesty and integrity throughout life. And there’s the real challenge. Are we truly honest? Do we maintain real integrity?

Proverbs 10:17-32

When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Proverbs 10:19

Hmmm…

As you can see, we are back to Proverbs for the next few weeks. Before we dive back in, here’s a quick recap of Proverbs 1-9 : Wisdom is good; folly is bad. I think we can all remember and agree that the first nine chapters contain a good bit more than that, but if we come away from them with that much, we’re off to a reasonably good start!

Now we dive into the part of the book that truly consists of proverbs, those short sayings that convey nuggets of wisdom or observations on life. For the most part, each verse is a separate self-contained proverb. Perhaps that would be the best way to read them: one verse at a time. But no, we’ll be charging through about half a chapter at a time, giving us about 15 different proverbs to look at each day.

That goes to say that I am at a loss as to how our discussion might go. My guess is that I’ll just pick one or two verses to comment on each day — certainly not all 15 or so! But that should not constrain you. Feel free to comment on whatever verse or verses strike you. So here we go…

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Proverbs 10:1-16

A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.

Proverbs 10:15

I do not think this is the most profound proverb from today’s reading. It does not tell us how to get rich or how to avoid poverty. (Pr. 10:4 says a little something about that, as does Pr. 10:5.) Nor does it tell us whether the rich should or should not trust in their riches. Nor does this proverb say that wealth is morally better than poverty — or vice versa. It is simply a (morally neutral) observation of life that wealth offers tremendous practical advantages, and poverty tremendous challenges. And it illustrates how we need to be careful in reading these proverbs, careful to see what they say — and what they do not say.