Oops … forgot to post this yesterday
Proverbs 16
Verse 16:1 had me scratching my head:
The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
This is a difficult one since often we think of God talking to us through the heart. The tongue is considered more from our own minds, since we need to consciously control it. Yet this verse implies differently, where the heart is of man and the tongue is of God. Now if we go to the CJB, which tends to flow the Hebrew a bit closer we find the word “plan” is not there and “prepare” is in its place.
If you consider “plans” as more of a conscious “preparation” of one’s heart to come before God, this makes more sense. Once we connect our heart with God, the tongue follows. So we need to prepare our hearts before speaking of or to God. I notice often when I sit down in the morning and have nothing to say about the reading, if I pray beforehand what I think is garbage ends up touching someone. It’s best to always have one’s heart in a state of preparation, so we can ensure the words from our lips are of God.
Verse 16:2 speaks to the way we often think ourselves into trouble:
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
This actually ties into verse 1 and expands on the problems with not preparing one’s heart for the Lord. We all tend to “justify” things that we know are Biblically wrong, be it a drunken night on the town to blow off steam or an adulterous affair. I have come up with scenarios before where I could justify murdering an individual. We can put on different glasses and justify almost anything that violates and of the Ten Commandments. The key is the “spirit” since that will show the true intentions of your desires.
Verses 16:5, 18 & 19 all touch on my favorite subject, pride:
5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.
18 Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.
My favorite book of the Bible, James, expands on the problems of pride. Pride tends to make things look “pure inown eyes” when we allow it to cloud our judgment. Pride tends to separate us from God because we try to take control of our lives. We decide what direction we need to go and what is right or wrong. Basically we try to substitute our self-interest with God’s plan.
Verse 16:8 is something I have a tough time with:
Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.
Not that I wish to gain wealth from deceptive and covert acts, but I am interested in being wealthy are “righteous” at the same time. I often whine about my financial state and then it becomes obvious how I put myself here with deceptive business practices. No one in their right mind would have loaned me money without verifiable income, but Countrywide told me the numbers I needed to “estimate” for my income to obtain a loan. Their verification process was my signature, so both parties were engaged in fraudulent acts, but as “they” say: “Two wrongs don’t make a right!”
As with most Proverbs I could dissect each of the 33 in this chapter, but will highlight a few others. Verse 16 ties into verse 8 talking about how wisdom is more valuable than gold or silver. Again I would like both to take the debt pressure off. Verse 22 continues the theme saying “good sense is the fountain of life”. They key again is to allow Godly influences on one’s life to ensure a full life. Verse 25 talking about “a way that seems right to man” ending in death, ties into the verses about pride.
I will leave you with verse 16:31 that cheers up us “old folk”:
Grey hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
YES!!!