Proverbs 26 – 27

Verse 26:4 reminds me of many arguments I have been in:

Never answer a fool on his own foolish terms,
    or you will become like him;

Most arguments are over pride and winning, not actual content. Often times we get into battles and it becomes controlled by the lowest common denominator. When we get sucked into a fools fight we become the fool! This reminds me of quotes often given to us growing up, “don’t stoop down to their level” or “keep the high road.” We need to understand that some people just want to “debate” until they are blue in the face.

I am constantly getting into online debates with “intellectuals” who have just gotten out of school and have no experience, but the debate rages because I become like them and just debate for debating sake. It becomes an incredible waste of time and gets me focused on things not important.

Verse 26:13 looked familiar:

A lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the road!
    A lion in the streets!
    Another good reason to stay in today.”

If this looks familiar it is … Proverbs 22:13 which I commented on a few weeks ago is almost an exact quote. As reading these Proverbs and the Psalms I notice many are repeated either in the same book or in other places in the Bible.

Verse 26:20 is one of those Proverbs that James probably took to heart:

When there is no wood, the fire goes out;
    when there is no one to spread gossip, arguing stops.

James in his book talks about the tongue and the power of it. Think about this, if gossip stops, most of the time arguments stop because it’s forgotten. In the case of gossip, that is the “spark” James is talking about that can start huge fires. We tend to focus on others and not look in the mirror. Maybe it’s to cover our ugliness.

Verse 27:1 is another familiar passage:

Don’t brag about what may happen tomorrow
    because you have no idea what it will bring.

We see in Matthew (6:34) and James (4:13-14) this advice rephrased. We can’t brag on something that has not happened yet. I know when I have, the opposite tends to happen which me has worried about today. Often we do the same but the other way, we don’t brag but rather worry. See how we can flip-flop between the two or get stuck on one or the other? I tend to do both without thinking. I get wrapped up in events only to have them go a different way from either my worry or boasting. Fortunately in most cases the path has been a beneficial path that neither changed. They key is don’t worry or brag about something that you have no control over in the first place. Just do today what you can for the kingdom.