“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” (ESV)
Have you ever had one of those days when you just wanted to let everyone know what you were thinking? Or, maybe you’ve had one of those moments when you wanted to let one particular person know everything you were thinking about them. Did you follow through with that? If so, how did it go? Read the rest…
“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” (ESV)
One of the most common criticisms of the Bible (usually made by people who have either not read it at all or else not read it closely) is that it is full of contradictions. Places like this give these folks a great deal of ammunition. At first read and even second and third, this is obviously a contradiction. As one commentator noted, if these verses were located in different parts of the Bible it would seem the contradictory nature was exceedingly obvious. Read the rest…
“Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.” (ESV)
Growing up in the Midwest, I was used to thunderstorms. We regularly had thunderstorms of all kinds. There were gentle storms when the thunder rumbled low and long. There were storms with occasional big booms mixed with longer rumbles. And then there were the big ones when the lightning seemed to be hitting close and the thunder blasts rattled the windows. The next morning things always smelled like rain. It was one of my favorite things. Read the rest…
“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.” (ESV)
We live in the day of the self-made, internet-created celebrity. YouTube has been the source of numerous stars today. So have Instagram and Snapchat. To become such a person you must promote yourself. Relentlessly. You must be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to get other people to pay attention to you. And, if you have the right blend of talent, gumption, and luck, you can make a lot of money this way.
And yet, what is ultimately the fruit of such an endeavor? Given the stories about or often the character of such folks, it’s not good. We live in a celebrity-worshiping culture. We are constantly on the lookout for people to elevate to celebrity status in order to give them our devotion. In doing so, we not only debase our own lives, but also the lives of the people being worshiped.
Still, many recognize this celebrity worship and crave it. They crave it and so they do whatever they can to gain it for themselves. Yet again, what good does this do? Wisdom and observation would again answer: Very little.
What Solomon calls for here is a much better way: Do your best where you are and let it be recognized naturally. Let your godly character be the thing everyone notices about you first and foremost. Become known as a person who can be depended upon when things get tough. Produce work that lifts people up and points away from you to God.
If you are advancing yourself and your image, you just may get the acclaim you seek, but there is a very good chance it will come at the expense of your soul. And with that sold away, when the acclaim departs (for self-sought acclaim nearly always departs much sooner than we expect it to) what will you have left? Instead, glorify God in all things and let the chips fall where they may. He will receive the acclaim now, and you will receive acclaim from Him when the time is right. That will be a fame that won’t fade.
“Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.'” (ESV)
Do you want to know what one of the most natural expressions to come out of the mouths of humans is? The very one the writer of this proverb tells us not to say. This declaration of human justice is totally natural. It does not need to be taught at all. And, it begins to manifest itself from a pretty young age. Read the rest…
The Nexus 