proverbs – Moment to Moment (Bible blog)

Using proverbs wisely

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like lame legs that hang limp. (Proverbs 26:7)

A proverb in the mouth of a fool
is like a stick with thorns,
brandished by the hand of a drunkard. (9)

One mistake people make in reading the Bible is how they use proverbs. But as it says in the above proverbs, if you use them wrongly, they are worthless at best, and can be hurtful at worst.

Take Job’s friends for example. Their mouths were full of proverbs. Paul even quotes one in the New Testament.

So their words in themselves weren’t wrong. (Job 5:13, 1 Corinthians 3:19)

But they were fools who did not know how to use them and caused great hurt to Job.

Two important things to remember about Proverbs.

1. They are neither promises or guarantees. They are general truths of how the world God created works. And as with all general truths, there are always exceptions.

So for example, the general truth that Job’s friends pointed out is that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked.

But this does not mean that every person who is blessed on earth has God’s favor.

Nor does it mean that every person struggling in life is under God’s curse.

In this broken world, we see righteous people suffer and wicked people prosper. But the general truth holds, and in the end, God will bring justice to this world.

Or take this general truth:

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

Is this a promise? I think we all know it is not.

But how many good parents have beaten themselves up over this verse because despite their best efforts, their child went down a wrong path?

So be careful about accusing others or accusing yourself when reading these proverbs.

2. Each proverb has a proper time to be used.

Take a look at these two proverbs from today’s reading.

Don’t answer a fool according to his foolishness
or you’ll be like him yourself.

Answer a fool according to his foolishness
or he’ll become wise in his own eyes. (4-5)

So which is it? Answer the fool or don’t answer him?

The answer: it depends. There are times when it’s best not to let yourself get dragged into an argument because all it will do is bring about a lot of heat and very little light.

On the other hand, there are times when you need to say something because otherwise the other person will continue thinking that they are right, when in reality he is bringing harm to himself and others.

So seek God’s wisdom on your best course of action. Both proverbs are wise…at the proper time.

Let us always use the proverbs we find in the Bible with wisdom.

Where wisdom begins

As we start through Proverbs, I must admit to a little uncertainty in how to present this book. There are a broad variety of themes within Proverbs, even within the chapters themselves.

I briefly considered organizing this book by themes, but ultimately, I decided to go chapter by chapter as I have with the other books.

That said, in chapters where there are multiple themes, I’ll probably list “nuggets of wisdom” within the chapter, and very brief thoughts on them within the one blog, rather than a full blog on just one or two verses at a time.

Anyway, the first few verses are the introduction to the book of Proverbs, and in them, Solomon writes the reason for writing this compilation, namely,

To know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity…to give prudence…knowledge and discretion…and wise counsel, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. (Proverbs 1:2–6)

Who was it meant for? This part is interesting. It was meant for the naive and the youth first (4). Namely, to teach them prudence. In other words, to teach them good judgment as they deal with the “real world.”

Not only that, but to give them knowledge they don’t have, and discretion in all their affairs whether it’s finances, relationships, or whatever it may be.

Now this makes sense. But Solomon also says it’s for those who have already attained a measure of wisdom, that they may hear and increase in their learning. Not only that, but that they would get the wise counsel that they need.

It’s so easy for us as we get older to think we know it all. To think we already know all we need to.

But Solomon says here that it’s important to continue increasing in wisdom and learning. Because even those who are “wise” can forget and make mistakes that destroy their lives.

Solomon himself is a great example of this. He was the wisest man who ever lived, and yet, he wrecked his own life by his own bad decisions.

What is the key to wisdom? Solomon gives the answer in verse 7,

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Solomon also wrote in Proverbs 9:10,

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

People who are wise will fear the Lord. It is only when we begin to fear him that wisdom truly begins.

Why?

Because he’s our creator. He’s the one who knows how life is meant to work. When you want to know how something is meant to work, go to its designer.

But when you try to do things your own way, it inevitably leads to trouble. And God says if you do so, you are a fool.

We often think of fools as stupid people. And certainly doing things your own way leads to doing stupid things. But the word fool in the Bible has the idea of a person who is morally deficient and corrupt.

Not only does despising God and his wisdom lead to stupid decisions, it mars us and makes us less than the complete people God created us to be.

When people look at us, they are meant to see the image of God in us. But how often do you look at yourself in the mirror and see something less than that because of what you’ve done to your own self?

God wants us to be whole. He wants us to be complete. He wants us to reflect his image.

But for that to happen, we need to embrace him and the wisdom he freely gives to those who ask him.

Don’t be a fool. Don’t think you know it all.

As you read the proverbs in this book, open your hearts to them. Drink them in. And ask God to speak to you and change you into his image.