Tag: Jesus

Person reviewing paperwork at a coffee table as another approaches from the kitchen

Looking Without Looking

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“A mocker seeks wisdom and doesn’t find it, but knowledge comes easily to the perceptive. Stay away from a foolish person; you will gain no knowledge from his speech. The sensible person’s wisdom is to consider his way, but the stupidity of fools deceives them. Fools mock at making reparation, but there is goodwill among the upright. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no outsider shares in its joy.” (Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been around someone who loved to ask questions, but didn’t really want the answers. The questions they asked weren’t a means of gaining knowledge or understanding or wisdom, they were a tool for tearing down the beliefs of others. Such a person isn’t going to be able to find wisdom even if they are genuinely seeking it. Mocking can become such a habit like this that you start to miss even obvious chances to grow. This is the kind of person Solomon is talking about at the beginning of this next group of proverbs. Let’s join him as he goes.

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Four colleagues collaborating around sketches and laptops beside an idea workshop board

The Great Worth of Hard Work

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“A man is praised for his insight, but a twisted mind is despised. Better to be disregarded, yet have a servant, than to act important but have no food. The righteous cares about his animal’s health, but even the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel. The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense. The wicked desire what evil people have caught, but the root of the righteous is productive. By rebellious speech an evil person is trapped, but a righteous person escapes from trouble. A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the work of a person’s hands will reward him.” (Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

The American Dream takes a few different forms, but most of them envision someone working hard and achieving wealth and success by that hard work. There are also versions that celebrate a person’s doing this all on their own with a pioneering spirit. This is the whole pulling-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps thing. As followers of Jesus, while we cannot get on board with the idea that we don’t need a community to be successful, the idea that we should work hard and experience some version of success by our hard work is something behind which we can throw our full support. The proverbs point to that more than once, including here in this next batch. Let’s take a look.

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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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Man praying with clasped hands inside a stone church

But Did You Mean It?

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“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:9-10 CSB – Read the chapter)

I had the chance last night to see the band MercyMe in concert along with Jeremy Camp, Tim Timmons, and Sam Wesley. It was a great show. Timmons and Wesley I hadn’t heard of, but that’s apparently because I haven’t yet seen the movie I Can Only Imagine 2 in which both feature prominently in the story. Wesley is actually the son of the lead singer of MercyMe. None of the actors who played them looked even remotely like the actual people, which is always funny to me. One of MercyMe’s biggest hits over the years is the song “Flawless.” The song offers listeners the assurance of forgiveness thanks to the incredible grace of God. The idea is that like John writes here in his first letter, God’s grace in Christ Jesus will cleanse us from all unrighteousness so that we are flawless. God’s grace, won for us by Jesus on the cross, is indeed an amazing thing. But it comes with a catch. Since I didn’t preach yesterday, let’s take a few minutes to talk about this catch this today.

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The Case for Singing in Church

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“Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (Colossians 3:16 CSB – Read the chapter)

I’m going to a concert this Sunday evening. It should be a good time. I know the music of the headliners fairly well, or at least their radio hits. One of the others I listened to a bit when I was in college. The other two I haven’t heard of at all. The ticket was a gift and the company will be good, though, so I plan to enjoy myself. I’ll probably sing along with all the songs I know. I usually do that at concerts. I don’t have much self-awareness when I’m doing it either. I figure the music is loud enough that if I can’t hear myself, I shouldn’t be bothering anybody else. That’s what I do at a concert. I wonder: Do you ever sing that way in church? Admittedly, I usually do there too. I”m in fairly small company in doing that, though, and that’s really not a good. Allow me to make a case today for why you should sing more in church, and, if you are a pastor or worship leader, why you should encourage that more than you probably do.

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