Stolen Water is Sweet

 Read Proverbs 9

Solomon had more wives and concubines that we can imagine.  He also introduced us to many women.  He used women to personify the good and the bad.

The first was Lady Wisdom but he also introduced us to adulterous women and prostitutes, with warnings attached, of course.

There is another woman that we should come to recognize.  She is the woman Folly. She is known by her lack of discipline and lack of knowledge.

Those shortcomings don’t stop her from advertising.  She calls out to any who will hear to come and sample here ways.

She promotes theft and deceit and surely wickedness.

“Stolen water is sweet;

    food eaten in secret is delicious!”

Maybe the modern-day equivalent is by Dire Straits.  Get your money for nothing and your chicks for free.

There is an allure to getting something for nothing.  The sinful human nature causes us to consider how much sweeter stolen money or goods are than having to work for them.

Something for nothing—or at least not having to work for it—tickles our sinful nature and the woman that Solomon personifies as Folly beckons you to try her ways.

Folly is something of a crack dealer who runs a crack house for her customers.  The first hit is free.  Then you might get a BOGO—buy one get one. Everything seems good at first, but if anyone had looked around when they entered the house, they would have seen people who are dead or dying.

The writing on the wall proclaims death.

The wise would not go it, but if they glimpsed inside, they would say, “I see dead people.”

Folly leads to destruction.

The easy way is often the deadly way.

Minefields are set on the easiest paths.

Folly is a drug dealer and the drugs will kill you.

 

Amen.

Leave Your Simple Ways

 Read Proverbs 9

Solomon touts the value of wisdom once again.  It’s a sales pitch to the simple. Leave your simple ways—stop drifting through life—and come to me.

If you do, you will live and live blessed by understanding.

Now to a nugget of wisdom.  Do not correct a mocker.  Do not waste your time correcting one who mocks God and God’s wisdom.  There is no good return on investment.

Invite them to know God and know God’s wisdom but do not correct their errant ways.  The only response they know is to return hate for love.  They reject your counsel and return abuse.

They don’t care what you have to say or what God has to say and they will defend their ignorance to the death.

Did anyone see the old movie War Games?  It’s where a computer has been given control over our nuclear arsenal and is about to launch all of our missiles.  It can’t be stopped so a kid and the computer’s creator get the computer to play tic-tac-toe, a game in which there is no winner if both parties know how to play. They get the computer to play itself and run through thousands of scenarios in seconds.

The computer then runs all the scenarios for Global Thermal Nuclear Warfare and after running all the possible scenarios in a few long seconds, spits out in its computer-generated voice:  Global Thermal Nuclear Warfare—the only way to win is not to play.

It’s the same way with trying to correct one who has rejected God and his wisdom.  Invite them to know God and receive his wisdom, but do not correct them or they will respond with the only things they know—ignorance, hatred, and abuse.

The only way to win is not to play.

On the other hand, the wise person loves correction and instruction and as we learned earlier—discipline. Wise people like to have their thinking challenged for it will be the catalyst for more knowledge and more wisdom.

I love to write and I do write, but one of the things that I miss is an editor.  An editor does more than notice the sins of the keyboard.  An editor says things like cut 200 words, rewrite this section, or don’t bury the lead.

You could take offense, unless you wanted to improve your writing, your story, or your article. Then, correction is more welcome than accolades.

On occasion, people have asked me to edit their work.  Make no mistake, editing is work, so I always ask a question first.  Do you want me to edit your writing to make it better or do you just want someone to tell you that you did a great job?

Don’t feign modesty thinking you have written Pulitzer Prize quality material on your first draft.  Your heart will be broken.

But if you really want correction and challenge, then get an editor.  Only the person seeking wisdom wants correction.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

    and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

There is God’s way and there is everything else and the blessings lie in God’s way.  One of those blessings is understanding.  The more that we seek God and his wisdom, the more we will understand it.

We start out with little understanding.  We know that the only fear that we have is the fear of the Lord, but we don’t quite understand all of his ways. If we stay the course, we will understand more and more of the Lord’s ways.

This part ends with a basic dichotomy.  Gain wisdom and be blessed.  Mock God and suffer.  It’s meant to be an easy choice.

Amen.

Wisdom as the Ultimate Plank Holder

 Read Proverbs 8

Solomon is still convincing us that this journey is worthwhile.  If you have already reached that point, don’t be bored.  Just know that you are blessed but some need a little more urging.

There is a basic dichotomy here.  Love wisdom and enjoy God’s favor.  Hate wisdom and know death.  That’s some basic stuff right there.

Let’s move beyond critical thinking.  Solomon takes a different tact to get our attention.  Do you know what a plank holder is?

It’s someone who has been around forever, maybe from the beginning.  We had better ask Joe before we do anything.  He was here when they built the place.

We should consult Sue.  She’s older than dirt.  We had better check with her.

Every organization has a plank hold or two left.  They may or may not have the best answers, but you had better listen to what they have to say.

Wisdom is the ultimate plank holder and always has the best answers.

I was there from the beginning.

I’m not just older than dirt, I was there when we made dirt. 

I was a craftsman at the side of the Creator. 

I am not a fad.

I am not the flavor of the month, year, or millennium.

Find wisdom and find life.

Find wisdom and find blessing.

Ignore wisdom and miss out on life.  Everything that you know and do will be within the confines of your own understanding.  You will never know the divine part of this life.

Wisdom is the one plank holder that you ignore at your own peril for wisdom was there at the beginning and is woven into the fabric of the universe.

Solomon has taken a full chapter to convince you that the journey before you is worthwhile.  It’s time to buy into this journey with heart, soul, mind, and strength.

If you revere God so highly that the fear of anything in the world pales in comparison, you have begun a journey that leads to knowledge that leads to wisdom that embraces the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

We are 8 chapters into this journey.  It’s time to commit to the entire trip.  Read your chapter every day.  Meditate upon it. Set your heart upon seeking God and his kingdom and his righteousness and his wisdom.

Seek wisdom.

Amen.

Wisdom, Prudence, Counsel, and Sound Judgment--Quite a Package

 Read Proverbs 8

Solomon says let’s do a cost-benefit analysis.  OK, let’s talk about orienteering.  We will get to that later.

What should you be willing to pay for wisdom?  Everything.

What do you get in return?

Wisdom—that one was obvious. But Solomon broadens the concept of wisdom to include prudence.  The original word was ormah. In basic terms it means good sense but it also means crafty.

Hold your holy horses.  Were we not just warned about the crafty woman with evil intentions?

Yes.  But you can employ craftiness with godly intent.  Wisdom equips you to match wits with those who oppose you.   You can see the traps that are set more clearly. 

Long ago and far away I went to the Karass Negotiating seminar where I learned over a dozen negotiation techniques, most of them manipulative.  Near the end of the seminar, the instructor said that we should never use these techniques.  Only the win-win works well in the long term.

Then why learn the techniques?  So that you have eyes to see when someone is using them against you.

How about Prudence in its modern application?  What is prudence?  It comes from the Latin providentia meaning seeing ahead.  It’s foresight.  It’s sagacity.  What is sagacity?

Keen foresight.  Prudence enables us to take careful steps because we see what lies ahead.  We have already been warned about rushing into evil.  Now we are counseled on the virtue of carefully directed steps.

Wisdom gives us the skills to see and bypass the traps and take the best steps.

Knowledge—that’s awareness, understanding, and practical value.  In Solomon’s earlier proverb, knowledge preceded wisdom.

Discretion. It’s the ability to act on one’s own authority and judgment.  It can lead to efficacy.  Efficacy is the power to effect desired change.

What else?

Sound counsel and judgment.

Understanding.

Legitimate power.

Righteousness.

Justice.

Those are all good things, but when you seek wisdom, you also receive disdain for:

Evil.

Pride.

Arrogance.

We are charged to love those who seek wisdom, for they are surely seeking God and his ways.

We are promised that if we truly seek wisdom, we will find it.  God is not playing games with us.  He wants us to both seek and find wisdom.

Has anyone ever done orienteering?  It’s competitive land navigation.  The best competitions that I ran involved teams.  Each team reported to a check-in station at a given time.  Their clock started running.  They looked at a map with multiple checkpoints, usually more than most teams could get in the allotted time.

The team leader copied the points, developed a plan, and then went in search of these points on the ground.  Each point had a marker of some sorts that was unique to that point.  Each checkpoint was given a different value—more points for those checkpoints that were hard to find or in difficult terrain.

Teams were usually spaced 5 minutes apart and times were kept for each team.  If two or more teams tied by points, the one that took the least time became the winner.

There was only one scorecard per team and it had to go to each checkpoint to get its unique mark.  Team members could scout ahead but there was only one card.

The team had to use its discretion, judgment, understanding of land navigation and the terrain itself, and the team leader had to exercise sound leadership.  His decisions might include input from many, but when he made the decision, everyone sprang into action.

Orienteering allowed team members to practice wisdom.  They took what they knew, the counsel of others, envisioned what was ahead and how they would get there, and did what they needed to do to achieve the desired results.

Besides learning how to navigate better, this was fun and developed wisdom and leadership.

God has already done the front-end analysis.  He has given you a map and compass. Solomon expounded upon the benefits to seeking wisdom.  The real work is already done.  Seek wisdom.

Seek wisdom.

Amen.

 

More precious than Rubies

 Read Proverbs 8

We are eight chapters into the Proverbs and still Solomon is making an introduction to Lady Wisdom.  There are plenty of nuggets to come, but Solomon finds it fitting to consider the value of gaining wisdom once again.

First, God has not hidden wisdom from the world.  Wisdom calls out in the open for people to respond.  Wisdom is not found at the end of some Indiana Jones quest and then stored in some massive warehouse never to be seen again. 

Wisdom calls out.  Understanding shouts and not just a voice in the wilderness as with John the Baptist.  Wisdom presents herself at the high traffic points—crossroads, gates, and entrances. 

Wisdom is like the clever Girl Scout Troops that sets us a cookie stand next to the Marijuana dispensary.  It’s location, location, location.

What’s the point of these figurative depictions?  Wisdom is there for the taking.  God wants us to receive his wisdom.  He has not hidden his wisdom from those who truly seek him.

You don’t have to scale a high mountain in the Himalayas to get wisdom.

For those seeking a magic elixir, that’s another story; but for those truly seeking God and his kingdom and his righteousness, wisdom is offered generously.

It is not only offered to us, it is measured as more valuable than silver, gold, and rubies.  This is Solomon once again telling us to pay attention.  Wisdom is worth it.  The wisdom of this chapter is to seek and gain and embrace wisdom.

It’s sort of a sales pitch.  Think to how the salesperson keeps coming back to things you agreed with earlier.  Solomon is still doing his best to sell you on wisdom.

There is God’s way and there is everything else.  God’s way comes with blessings.  Everything else comes with peril. This sales pitch is not a con job.

God’s way—blessings, everything else—peril:  It’s just that simple.

An occasional misstep is to be expected, but our sights must be set on wisdom.  Think to Michael Jordan.  For those who don’t know, he is the NBA GOAT.  You can disagree, but you will just be wrong.

Michael Jordan missed more shots than I ever tried to make.  He didn’t miss because he was looking at the cheerleaders or smiling for the cameras or he wanted something from the concession stand.  Sometimes you just miss. But his focus was always on the basket.  He was not distracted.

OBTW—he also scored more points than I could in a lifetime even if I was not defended.

Our focus must be on God, his kingdom, and his righteousness.  Wisdom keeps us pointed in that direction.  Wisdom is one of the most valuable things that we will ever possess.

We will miss the mark sometimes, but we never lose focus.  Wisdom is always front and center in our lives.

Silver, gold, and rubies are valuable but not as valuable as wisdom.  Solomon goes beyond these tangible commodities to say that nothing that you can desire compares to wisdom.

We want to seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness and Solomon tells us to invest in wisdom so that we can find our way.

We will get to specific nuggets of wisdom, but 8 chapters into the Proverbs Solomon still felt it necessary to convince you that this is a worthwhile journey.

Get wisdom. It’s worth it!

Amen.

Deer in the Headlights

 Read Proverbs 7

If we stay on course, we will get to the proverb about bringing up a child in the way he should go in early December, but Solomon has done some prep work already.

First, let us consider the directions at the beginning of this chapter.

Keep my words.

Store up my commands.

Keep my commands.  Not only know what to do but do it.

Store up my teaching as your prized possession.

Bind them to your body.

Write them on your hearts.

Embrace wisdom as your sister.

Know that living by wisdom will keep you from many traps.

Solomon then says, “Once upon a time…”  Those are not his exact words, but he chose to teach using a literary tool that best resembles a fable.

Once upon a time, there was a young man who had not been educated in the ways of God.  He was simple and had no compass as to how to make everyday decisions.  He was ignorant of his God-given purpose, and he was just minding his own business as he drifted through life and as it so happened along the road that went by the crafty woman.

This woman had no doubt of her intentions and they were not of God.  She had made her choices as to how she would live her life and she would claim all of her victories and treasures in this world.

The young man that approached had the look of a deer in the headlights.  He had nothing to steer him clear of the danger that lurked in perfume and fine linen.  It was a most excellent trap for the naïve young man.

With persuasive words she led him astray;

    she seduced him with her smooth talk.

All at once he followed her

    like an ox going to the slaughter,

like a deer stepping into a noose

    till an arrow pierces his liver,

like a bird darting into a snare,

    little knowing it will cost him his life.

As in a fable, this story which has led to the destruction of a young man, has a moral. 

What moral?

Listen to my commands.  Embrace wisdom.  Do not just drift through life as there are many traps set especially for the naïve.

Here is your God-given map and compass.

Here is the macro-moral.  There is God’s way and there is everything else.  Learn God’s way early and stick to it all of your life.

There is something of a corollary in the beginning of chapter 6.  Do you remember?

If you find yourself in a trap, your first priority has become to get out of that trap.  Better yet, don’t wander into a trap. But if you find yourself there, chew off a leg if you have to and get out!

So, what’s in this for us?

I return once again to the most boring of topics—front-end analysis.  Victory in good decisions comes on the front end of the process.  God has already done the front-end analysis.  We don’t need to apply our own understanding to verify his analysis.  He got it right.

How do we accept his analysis and embrace God’s way over everything else?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  Fools despise discipline.

If you revere God so highly that the fear of anything in the world pales in comparison, you have begun a journey that leads to knowledge that leads to wisdom that embraces the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

How do we decide to embrace God’s ways?  It begins with the fear of the Lord.  We know that fear is not our destination.  Perfect love casts out fear, but it is the beginning.

So, what is the lesson of this lesson?  Bring up your children in the way they should go.  Equip them to avoid the traps set by the world and to escape sooner than later if they wander into them.

What does it mean to work on the front end of the process?

For ourselves, we store up God’s commands and embrace his wisdom. We trust God and his ways over our own understanding.

For our children, we bring them up in the way they should go and we do it with passion and purpose knowing that there are traps in this world, but we can prepare them to make good decisions.

Those good decisions come based in trusting in the Lord and embracing his ways.

That means that our children don’t get to decide their own gender.  The one assigned by God is just fine.

Our children don’t get to define right and wrong.  God has done that. That doesn’t mean that there are not some hard lessons to be learned along the way.

We don’t leave our children to wander through the world.  We prepare them for the world with God’s instruction.

We will give them room to live, but not to wander aimlessly. We don’t kick them out the door with a good luck and hope everything comes out ok.

They may make some bad choices, but they won’t be out of ignorance of God’s ways.

We will always love and forgive and embrace our children, but we do bring them up in the way they should go and give them more than a fighting chance as they go into the world.

We teach them that the fear of the Lord is their starting point for knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and discipline.

Like Solomon, we charge our children with these or similar words.

Keep my words.

Store up my commands.

Keep my commands.  Not only know what to do but do it.

Store up my teaching as your prized possession.

Bind them to your body.

Write them on your hearts.

Embrace wisdom as your sister.

Know that living by wisdom will keep you from many traps.

We will talk more about this down the road, but for now, consider that it is our job to teach our children God’s ways.

The world does not hesitate to teach its ways and it will teach your child its ways at some point.

Will he or she already know the truth or will they be simple and vulnerable.

Our job is to help our children write God’s commands on their hearts.

Amen.

Easy Targets

 Read Proverbs 7

Solomon again devotes most of a chapter to the adulterous woman. Let’s focus on verse 15.

So I came out to meet you;

    I looked for you and have found you!

This is targeting, but who is the target.

We talk about Satan targeting believers.  We talk about temptation working on us as we strive to live in our new nature.  We talk about having trouble in this world but taking courage because Christ has overcome this world, but what Solomon was talking about is targeting the least equipped among us.

We may call them the simple.  We can call them those who live in their own understanding, but those who would trap these people simply call them targets.

Do you know who else uses these targeting measures?

Terrorists.  The terrorist does not want to fight strength against strength but wants to find the most high-profile target that can be attacked with the least resistance.

If you walk in the ways of the Lord, Satan might just try to trip you up.  You have the name of Jesus to combat him, but you should still put on the full armor of God.  We know this.

Sometimes we wrestle with our own sinful nature.  We must remember:  He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  We know this.

The person without God or who claims there is a God but really doesn’t want to know him or follow his ways, is a vulnerable target.  He or she is unprepared for the ways of the world.  He walks into the ambush of the adulterous woman. She has set her trap on the path that leads to destruction.

While Solomon spoke of a vulnerable young man and a crafty and experienced woman; treachery comes in both genders.  Vulnerability is not restricted to young men.

Realize that as a follower of Christ Jesus, you are a target for the enemy.  If you are living without God, you are an easy target for the enemy and might not even notice you have been trapped until it’s too late.

For most who are considering these words, you fall into the former category.  You follow Jesus and you put on the full armor of God as you face the enemy. You will still have spiritual battles, but you arrive at the battlefield prepared.

For those who are adrift without responding to God’s call and surely not seeking his ways, they need our help.  Our mission once again is to call the lost to come home.

Repent and believe the good news.  Some will not hear you, but our call to them goes out anyway. This is not fashionable in our day. The world has proclaimed that anything goes, except what God has prescribed, but we call the lost nonetheless.

Our actions stand in contrast to this world. We do not belong to this world and we owe no loyalty to its ways.

We would not be silent if someone stepped in front of a tractor-trailer doing fifty miles an hour through town and we must not be silent as people drift aimlessly through the world and into its traps.

We are fully equipped for every good work but some people live with a target on them that says, “I’m an easy mark.”

Wisdom, love, and empathy prompt us to reach out to them before it’s too late.

The traps of the world have been set.  We stay vigilant, but we also warn others who are not yet prepared for the battles with the world.

The enemy will target you, but you must not be an easy target. Love compels us to help others to know the strength of the Lord and help them take the bullseye off their backs.

Amen.