Proverbs 17 – 18

Verse 17:6 talks about generations:

Grandchildren are the crowning glory and ultimate delight of old age,
    and parents are the pride of their children.

This of course assumes the child is not drifting into a life of crime and sin. Even still children light up our lives with joy and pride. Family is more of a bond than anyone can imagine until they have children of their own. We bond to our parents and grandparents, but it’s very different the other way and I can’t explain it well. But I did not understand what God’s love really was until I held my first child. It didn’t matter what that blob of flesh we called Veronica did, I loved her unconditionally to the point it hurt. Even “falling in love” does not equal the love for a child!!

Verse 17:7 talks about words from fools:

Elegant speech sounds odd when it comes from a fool,
    and a lie on the lips of a leader is even more out of place!

If you took a script and gave it to a fool and a respected member of the community to read on the street corner, you would be amazed at the different response. People tend to look at the source before deciding if they will listen to the content. Unfortunately this is true and could have us miss important information. I like to use the person with a placard that says “The End is Near” as an example. To Christians we know this to be true, but to those that need salvation he’s a fool. So we need to learn how not to be perceived as a fool.

I get this all the time when discussing evolution with scientists. As soon as they understand I am a creationist, the discussion gets ugly since they consider me a fool. Everything I say afterwards is dismissed and often never heard. Some will entertain me to the point of at least understanding it took years of study in the Bible and science to develop my belief. So often you can be deemed a fool without any knowledge of you.

Verse 18:11 talks about wealth and security:

The rich think their wealth is their sturdy fortress;
    they imagine it to be an invincible wall of security.

Think about how we have been programmed to believe this in the world. For some reason we think wealth can buy us security, happiness, joy and almost any other please desired. Unfortunately this is so false it is dangerous. The quest for happiness is one of the most dangerous quests in the land. We all think we must be happy all the time in order to be satisfied when in reality we need to be at peace when all around us is falling apart.

God never said we would be born again into wealth an prosperity but into a new relationship with Him. The world is not going to suddenly change into sunshine and rainbows; it will still have its troubles. We need to learn to lean on Jesus for the peace through trials and tribulations in this world. That is the key to “happiness”, not thinking it’s tied to never ending fun.