Proverbs 29 – 30
Verse 29:1 provides some retrospective to how we live life:
He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
How many times do you get reproved each day? How to you respond each time you are reproved? Do you even know what it means to be reproved? Let me answer the last one first, since reprove is not a common word today. According to Merriam-Webster to reprove is “to scold or correct usually gently or with kindly intent.” As I have changed over the years my discipline has become more like this and less like a volcano. Unfortunately the response is a “stiff neck” since the volcano rarely was accepted and that is what is expected still.
I think the biggest key here is to grow and accept punishment as a learning experience. Honestly I my life I can only think of one specific time I was punished and did not deserve it. One time I was trying to find my seat in class and since there was a substitute teacher many of the kids swapped assigned seats, someone was in mine and I waited for them to move. They didn’t and I was tagged as a disruption immediately and sent to the principles. Otherwise, all other times had merit and learning associated with them. Key is to realize there is almost always a reason and to learn why so not to repeat.
Verse 29:20 is a great lesion I am still learning:
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Those who have spent time with me know that I still have not learned this completely. I tend to open my mouth and just start talking. Most of the time the only harm I cause is confusion because I will usually start a stream of though in the middle or end without setting up the whole thought process. Often these comments seem out in left field and require significant time to unpack how I got there, when being silent would have saved everyone the heartache of my mindless ramblings. Now where this becomes a problem is when insults or opinions are hurled in a non-diplomatic fashion.
This is really where the problems come and often we can dig ourselves into a deep hole. I can’t think of specifics right now, but I know my words come back to “haunt” me years and sometimes decades after they were vomited out, reminding me of the damage a thoughtless word can cause. Similar to the carpenter’s motto of “measure twice cut once”, we should think twice so not to cut at all.
Verses 30:8 & 9 has an interesting prayer:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the LORD?”
or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.
Often times we ask for riches or fame and never receive them. This causes us to question God and wonder why he blesses Charlie, but not me. Also, we assume that the riches bestowed on Charlie are a blessing and not a curse. If we have just what we need than our relationship with God is not interrupted or distracted. God says he will give us what we can handle and maybe we can’t handle a lottery jackpot! Think about how your life would quickly become filled with idols or toys that would eventually rip you away from God. You would ask “Who is the Lord?” At the same time God does not want you to the point of justifying stealing to survive. So maybe we all need to remove our expectations on what we want and be happy with what we have.
There are so many levels you could look at these verses on, but I think the key is don’t envy. That is a trap that most damages our relationship with our Father in Heaven. Wanting is what drives us to work and excel, obsessing quickly drives a wedge in relationships with friends, family and God. Once they blessings arrive, if they arrive too early, they become a distraction away from God. Suddenly that weekend in the country outweighs the desire to worship God in church. Be satisfied and thankful for what you have … NOW I MUST DRILL THIS INTO MY HEAD!!!