Category: Morning Musings

Two women talking in a cozy study beside bookshelves and coffee

Seeking Good Advice

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“Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous never changes. Every sensible person acts knowledgeably, but a fool displays his stupidity.” (Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭15‬-‭16 ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Men are famously bad about asking for directions. It’s a common enough flaw in our programing that it has become its own trope. And when we don’t ask for directions, while we sometimes get where we intend to go, we more likely wind up somewhere we don’t want to be. I remember arriving back at the airport coming home from a long trip late one night with the whole family in tow. We got to the satellite lot to get the car, but I hadn’t written down our stop and got us off at the wrong one…on the complete opposite side of the lot. We had to wait for another bus to come by, dealing our arrival at home by a lot. I still rightly pay for that one. It’s always better to seek counsel than look foolish. Solomon agrees. Let’s talk about it.

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Earth colliding with a molten cracked planet in a star-filled space scene

Living within the Lines

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“Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice. Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it. Hope delayed makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life. The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded. A wise person’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.” (Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

You’ve perhaps heard the phrase, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” The idea is that spending time away from someone can allow petty qualms of the past to gradually fade away, inclining our hearts more and more in their direction where perhaps that wasn’t quite as much the case. An absence like this, though, eventually builds hope in our hearts for a reunion. The longer that hope’s fulfillment gets delayed, the greater the hope grows. But hope like this is a kind of weight. The more it grows, the heavier it gets. Leave it to grow too long, and it can start to wear you down. Sometimes a proverb points you to something you need to do better in life; sometimes they simply describe what is true about it. Let’s talk about one of these latter proverbs in this next group.

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Craftsperson welding a gear-driven metal frame in a workshop

Hard Work Really Is Good For You

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“A wise son responds to his father’s discipline, but a mocker doesn’t listen to rebuke. From the fruit of his mouth, a person will enjoy good things, but treacherous people have an appetite for violence. The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin. The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied.” (Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

We used to garden. It was a big garden too. At least it was for two people from the suburbs who had never really gardened before. We had a member who had been a farmer plow it up for us, and then we did everything else. It was a ton of work that we had to commit to doing each day, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. And, after a few weeks, we enjoyed the fruits of our labors with delight. Eventually life got busy enough and kids got big enough that we couldn’t do it anymore, but it was a good season. Solomon said the wise person experiences something like this, but because of her words. Let’s take a look at this and more as we get into Proverbs 13 today.

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Courtroom debate with judge, attorneys, spectators, and “EVOLUTION ON TRIAL” sign

Cause and Effect

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“The one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the wind, and a fool will be a slave to someone whose heart is wise. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, but a cunning person takes lives. If the righteous will be repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and sinful.” (Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

I remember my parents taking me to see the play “Inherit the Wind” when I was at an age I could understand and appreciate it. It is a badly revisionist, historically inaccurate, Darwinism propagandist retelling of the story of the Scopes Monkey Trial. To be fair, they didn’t know any of that then and neither did I, and it was a really entertaining play. I mention that because it borrows its title from the first proverbs of this next batch. Given both the intent of the play, the actual history it reimagines, and where history has gone since, it is an ironically appropriate title. Let’s talk about that and the last few proverbs of chapter 11.

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Two men support each other in a debris-strewn informal settlement.

Trusting in Something Worthwhile

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“One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor. A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water. People will curse anyone who hoards grain, but a blessing will come to the one who sells it. The one who searches for what is good seeks favor, but if someone looks for trouble, it will come to him. Anyone trusting in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.” (Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬-‭28‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

My son asked me the other day about the difference between Karma and God’s justice. I explained that the former is impersonal and not something we can rely on without having to resort to explanations like that we all live multiple lives. Ultimately, it’s not just. The latter, on the other hand, is personal and just and righteous and always driven by love and grace. It is better in every way. But for all its flaws, that we invented an idea like Karma is unsurprising. We are made in the image of a God who is just and we long for justice in our very souls. The idea that people reap what they sow only makes sense to us. Several of this next group of proverbs would agree. Let’s take a look.

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