Disturbing the World

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel.” – Proverbs 12:16 How good are you at listening to advice? This proverb contains a warning. If you want to be wise, you will seek out and follow good advice. Too often we rush headlong into things, convinced we know everything we need to know. Next time you feel like doing that, stop. Hit pause. Get some good advice before you proceed. It’s the wise thing to do. If you’re reading Proverbs, you’re already on the right track. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise…

“A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.” – Proverbs 11:13 What kind of person are you? Are you trustworthy? A gossip repeats a confidence just for the thrill of it. A trustworthy person keeps his mouth shut. It’s as simple as that. If you’ve ever had someone reveal something you’ve mentioned in confidence, you know it can feel like a terrible betrayal. And it usually is. If you’ve ever repeated things said to you, I hope you’ve learned your lesson. Trust is important. No relationship can last without it. In fact, no society can last without it. We all need to be able to walk…

“The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.” – Proverbs 10:1 Proverbs 10 begins with a reminder that we are reading the proverbs of Solomon. You might remember that the Book of Proverbs begins with this: “These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” – Proverbs 1:1 Even Jesus mentioned how famous King Solomon was for his wisdom, and he references a story from when Solomon was living. “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to…

“Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.” – Proverbs 9:6 Every day, if you look, you can find examples of people who do stupid things and die. It seems hard to believe, but for some people, the lure of stupidity is so strong they will risk their lives for it. You might remember that there used to be a television show, aptly named Jackass, totally devoted to showing people risking life and limb while doing stupid, dangerous things. It was taken off the air. Unbelievably, people who watched the show were inspired to imitate the dangerous stunts they had just witnessed. Proverbs puts…

“For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire compares with her.” – Proverbs 8:11 The whole of Proverbs 8 celebrates the value of wisdom. In fact, wisdom speaks directly in this chapter to plead her case. No matter what else you might think to be important – wealth, power, fame – none of these happen in any real way without real wisdom. No matter what your desired destination might be, you need to start off in the right place, and that’s with wisdom at your side guiding your steps. Where we spend our time, our most precious commodity, is the best indicator of what we deem to…

“Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 7:2-3 If you’re a fan of the Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, you might remember the scene where George Bailey’s beleaguered Uncle Billy is shown with several strings tied around his fingers. The idea is that each string is there to remind him of something important. This image has also appeared in many other places in popular culture including children’s cartoons. We don’t see it so much now that we’ve moved into the age of sticky notes and phone reminders.…

“The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.” – Proverbs 5:22 The whole fifth chapter of Proverbs is a warning against entanglement in sexual sin. We all know of men who have had their entire life’s work in ministry invalidated by being caught in that particular trap. I would assume it’s no picnic for the women involved either. Even if you don’t have your face on the cover of magazines, or your byline in a famous publication, or a worldwide gospel ministry, the tragedy of this particular brand of sin takes a terrible toll. Marriages, relationships and family ties are shattered. In many…

“Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.” – Proverbs 4:26 A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of tearing the retinas in both of my eyes. They didn’t both tear at once. The second one tore about two weeks after the first. The tears themselves weren’t painful, just bizarre. A large black ribbon of blood suddenly floated into my field of vision. I was driving when the first one went and it was a truly strange experience to no longer be able to see properly in one eye. After a rather futile examination in the local Emergency Room – they just…

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5 Some people act like they know all there is to know. Quick to speak out in any group, with a condescending attitude designed to make everyone around them feel stupid, they are pleased to pontificate upon any petty provocation. It’s hard to imagine, but sometimes we can be this way around God. We protest his decisions. We roar against the setbacks we experience. We cry and complain over every little thing that doesn’t go our way. As if we could do better at running the universe. Better than God? Who do we…