Cumberland Presbyterian Ponderings: Proverbs Review

Let’s try this in the New King James Version.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Why this version? It seems that the words pack a lot more into them than some translations. What does it mean to walk circumspectly? That’s a term we don’t use much, but perhaps we should.

It is to live considering all factors, consequences, and sequels. You remember look before you leap, right?

Paul’s counsel is to look, consider, analyze both consequences and sequels, and be sure—let’s go with fully convinced in your own mind—that the course you are embarking upon is the one directed for you by the Lord.

To walk circumspectly is to have considered the full biblical witness, the leading of God’s own Spirit that resides within you, and to have held every thought captive until it is obedient to the Lord. Then you discern where God is directing you.

What dichotomy does Paul proffer? Foolish and wise are the two choices. There is God’s way and there is everything else. Paul says stay out of the everything else and live God’s way and do it every day.

Now we come to another interesting phrase—redeeming the time. Other translations say making the most of the time or most of every opportunity. Those are good translations, but consider what it is to redeem.

It is to make good out of something damaged or broken. What could be broken? The days are evil.

Evil abounds in this age. It’s here in our presence. It’s in our face. Evil does not hide. It lives in the open and entices many to join forces with it.

The everything else is everywhere.

But we who seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness are counseled to walk circumspectly. We consider all factors before we take a step. We step out confidently when we know it is the Lord directing our steps.

We are to live as wise not unwise people. That’s every moment of every day. That’s a challenge but not a challenge that we who seek God will back away from.

How do we live as those who are wise? It’s a lifelong commitment, but we need to start somewhere. Get you a handful of proverbs that you will claim as your own. All of God’s wisdom is available to you, but you are wise to carry much of it with you.

Don’t wear it like a phylactery. Write it on your hearts.

Here are some suggestions. Many will already sound very familiar.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

That’s Proverbs 1:7. I think most of you already know this one. God’s people desire knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and the Lord’s discipline. Fools do not.

You will know this next proverb as well.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

I have said before that I can connect almost any message to either the Parable of the Talents, which we will read next week or to Proverbs 3:5-6. Many connect to both but you should have this proverb in your heart.

Why? Much of what you wrestle with in life involves dissonance between God’s way and your own understanding. This proverb which you should always have at the ready reminds us that God has already done all of the analysis and his way is always best. It is for our own good, and leads to blessings for us.

We don’t go much farther for the next piece of counsel that I suggest we keep on tap. It’s Proverbs 3:9-10.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Whatever we have gained in this life comes from God. Honor him with what we have received in tithes and offerings and generosity. God will keep on blessing you. God will continue to bless you.

I’m jumping over big sections on the 3 metaphorical women—Wisdom, Folly, and the Adulterous woman and going to Proverbs 10:4.

Lazy hands make for poverty,

but diligent hands bring wealth.

We get this several different ways over the course of 31 chapters, but the quality of industry is valued. Laziness leads to destruction. Remember:

God’s Way – Everything Else

Industry – Laziness

Let’s jump to the fourth verse in the next chapter.

Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,

but righteousness delivers from death.

We are told that hard work pays off. Sometimes we are told it brings riches, but riches are not the goal. Riches are not the objective. Riches are incidental to hard work, but we are working towards righteousness. We want to be in right standing with God.

Today, we know that only Christ can bring us to right standing with God, but we want to live in such a way that our example honors God and brings glory to his name. Our very lives are our best offering to God.

When it’s all said and done, our money won’t count for squat as far as being right with God goes. What we did with our money and riches and everything else that God gave us will say a lot about whether our response to God’s great love brought glory to his name.

Long story short—you can’t buy a stairway to heaven. Good song. Bad theology.

Let’s jump to the beginning of chapter 12.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but whoever hates correction is stupid.

We caught on early that those who seek God and his kingdom and his righteousness love knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and discipline. Those who are not seeking God don’t want to be corrected.

Remember, fools despise wisdom and instruction or wisdom and discipline. This proverb reinforces one of the first that we learned, but notice the harshness of the language.

If you are headed to the everything else and someone who cares for you tries to help—we will call it correction—and you reject that help, you are stupid.

Now, we have told our children not to call anyone stupid. That’s good counsel, but it does not apply to wisdom. Wisdom calls it as she sees it.

Mama always said, stupid is as stupid does.

Detesting and defying good correction is just stupid. There is no figurative language. There is no sugar coating.

Rejecting people and counsel that attempt to rescue you from the everything else and bring you into God’s way is just stupid.

Let’s move on to Proverbs 13:14.

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

turning a person from the snares of death.

Correction from a wise person is not for self-righteousness. It offers the hope of saving someone from the everything else. So stupid is as stupid does, but some may listen to the teachers of wisdom and decide to turn their lives around.

Let’s not forget the comparative proverbs. Here is one from chapter 15 that hits home with many.

Better a little with the fear of the Lord

than great wealth with turmoil.

Better a small serving of vegetables with love

than a fattened calf with hatred.

What’s better: God’s way and love or great wealth and feasting with hatred?

For most, this is a no-brainer. Sometimes, we need an affirmation that what we have though it may seem little is so much more valuable than what the world desires and serves up with contempt and hatred.

Here’s a corollary from the next chapter.

Better a little with righteousness

than much gain with injustice.

Think to what Jesus said in his parable of the bigger barns or the rich fool.

A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

His counsel further instructed us to be on the lookout for all sorts of greed. In Proverbial syntax, watch out for things that lure your heart into the everything else.

Chapter 17 begins with more along these lines.

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet

than a house full of feasting, with strife.

Proverbs tells us that peace is more important than perceived prosperity. There is nothing wrong with prosperity, but when it is accompanied by strife, hatred, and contempt, it’s hardly worth it.

At this point, I’m going to tell you that the proverbs that I selected may not be the ones that you selected as your favorites. To which I say, good!

I do hope that you have half a dozen or so that you have memorized and another dozen that you keep at the ready. Proverbs must not be a book that we read and then moved on. It must be something that increased our hunger for wisdom.

I hope you are hungry for wisdom.

Here’s food for thought from Proverbs 19:19.

A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty;

rescue them, and you will have to do it again.

What do you get when you never let your child face the consequences of his or her bad decisions?

Answer is: An adult who expects to be rescued from his bad decisions.

We must learn to deal with our anger, temper, impulsiveness, poor thinking skills, and other things that lead us into the everything else. If you won’t let your kids face the consequences of their actions, they will expect rescue from them as adults.

If you rescue them as adults, you have signed up for a lifetime subscription.

Let’s jump to one that most of you know by heart. It’s Proverbs 22:6-7

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

The rich rules over the poor,

And the borrower is servant to the lender.

I made the point when we went through this chapter that these two are linked and that link is most applicable in our time. What is missing from so much godly instruction? Our relationship with money. We must be the master.

Debt reverses that relationship.

I’m jumping a few chapters to one of my favorites, Proverbs 27:17.

As iron sharpens iron,

so one person sharpens another.

We as the body of Christ should encourage and pray for one another. We must love one another, and if we apply this proverb, we sharpen one another.

We help each other grow by challenging each other to do better. Just as you lifting budding pushes you to do one more repetition, so too do we challenge each other to grow in God’s grace.

I will wrap this up with the fifth verse from chapter 30.

Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

How can we trust in the Lord all the time? We must know that every word of God is flawless. God doesn’t write “Oops!” in the margins.

We can trust completely in him and his word and we can take refuge in him when the world is set against us.

My hope is that I touched on some of your favorites and skipped over some as well. For those who earnestly embraced the daily reading of this book of wisdom, you are blessed and you will return to them on your own. Continued study of God’s wisdom will continue to bless you.

My hope is that you won’t put Proverbs in the rear-view mirror; instead, you will continue to consult them on a regular basis. Long ago and far away, my biblical wisdom professor challenged us to make a covenant with her that we would continue to read wisdom literature for the next year.

We put our thumbprint into a piece of clay and she shellacked it and mounted it on a piece of wood so we could put it somewhere that would remind us of our commitments.

I offer you the same challenge. Commit to reading the Bible’s wisdom literature for the next year. You might find it turns into a habit.

I don’t have clay or a kiln, but I do have Facebook and will post recurring reminders to read God’s wisdom literature. Remind each other. Teach this wisdom to your children. Talk about it instead of the ball game or the weather.

Remember, as those who seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, you are people who hunger for knowledge, wisdom, instruction, and discipline.

Amen.

Consider the following links as you review the Proverbs.

Proverbs 1

God’s way and everything else

Listen to mom and dad