Proverbs 25:6-7 I'll take the seat in the back of the room, please!

The next few chapters of Proverbs were sayings that King Hezekiah compiled from writings of Solomon, 250 years after Solomon wrote. Jon Courson writes that it was as if Hezekiah or his men ran across these writings in some old files. His take away from that is that we never know what influence we may have, even after we are dead! Someone may read a journal entry or a note in the margin of your Bible and be impacted by your words. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

There are lots of gems here, but the one that struck me as I read this morning was similar to something Jesus said:

Don’t work yourself into the spotlight;

    don’t push your way into the place of prominence.

It’s better to be promoted to a place of honor

    than face humiliation by being demoted. (Proverbs 25:6-7 The Message)

Self-promotion can end in humiliation. Jesus warned of this, too, while eating at the home of a ruler of the Pharisees:

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him,  and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place.  But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you.  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:7-11 ESV)

One of the upside-down principles of the Bible is that when you humble yourself, the LORD will lift you up. However, if you lift yourself up, you can be guaranteed of a fall. The world encourages people who aggressively promote themselves. It’s at the heart of social media. But as Christians, our example is Jesus:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

We are not here to be served, but to serve. So, pushing our way to the front of the line, or seeking the best seat in the house, or manipulating a situation so that we get the largest portion possible is absolutely inconsistent with the behavior of a Christ-follower. Instead of desiring to see our name in lights, we should be lifting up the name of the Light of the world!

LORD, help us to be alert to any tendencies we may have to seek glory for ourselves. May we keep before us your example of humility as you took on the form of a weak baby in order to save us! Transform us into your image more and more; refine us so that others may see your reflection in our faces!  

Just a sad note...

This morning news has come that Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel has died at the age of 86, after a long battle with lung cancer. My heart is so sad, because he was my first pastor. I committed my life to Christ in 1976, when I was in my mid-twenties, and immediately began attending Calvary Chapel, even though is was a long commute from San Juan Capistrano. I received my grounding in God’s Word and my passion for it by listening to tapes of Chuck’s sermons through their tape-by-mail ministry. I went from Genesis through Romans listening to Chuck just read God’s Word and expound on it’s relevance to our lives. And he dedicated both of our girls to the LORD.

There was nothing magical about Chuck. He looked like an ordinary preacher and his services were fairly traditional, with singing from the hymnals every Sunday. But, during the week, the rock-style musicians would play praise music, and Chuck would sit on a stool in front of the congregation and just work his way through the Bible from beginning to end. Then he would start over again in Genesis and keep moving until he made his way through Revelation. And yet, he drew enormous crowds. People were hungry to hear God’s Word - all of it. Thousands came to the LORD through his simple ministry, which was known for its outreach to the Hippie generation!

There are now hundreds of Calvary Chapel affiliated churches throughout the country. He mentored some of the best pastors of our generation, including Greg Laurie and Mike MacIntosh. He will be missed, but I know that he is rejoicing in heaven with his Savior! He surely heard these words this morning as he entered the LORD’s presence: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” Praying for his family...  

Proverbs 24:30-34 Don't let weeds grow under your feet!

One day I walked by the field of an old lazybones,

    and then passed the vineyard of a lout;

They were overgrown with weeds,

    thick with thistles, all the fences broken down.

I took a long look and pondered what I saw;

    the fields preached me a sermon and I listened:

“A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

    with poverty as your permanent houseguest!” (Proverbs 24:30-34 The Message)

Our final passage in this chapter of Proverbs ends with an observation from which Solomon drew a lesson. He was out walking, when he passed by the rundown field of a man whom the English Standard Version calls a “sluggard.” His property was a wreck - overgrown with thorns and weeds, fences laying over in disrepair, and, had it been in modern times, there probably would have been a rusted old truck with the hood up next to a ramshackle barn.

Later he walked past a vineyard that was equally overgrown. He tells us he took “a long look and pondered” what he saw. It was as if he was being preached to by these images. He saw that the decrepit conditions of the men and their properties had to do with a laziness that permeated their lives. He could hear these men saying to themselves, “Before I get to the harvesting, I’m just going to take a quick nap.” Or “I’ll just rest here in the shade for a minute while I think about how to tackle that broken-down tractor.” And the result of such a lackadaisical attitude: nothing gets done, and the men end up in poverty as their “permanent houseguest!”

One of the great challenges of a teacher is to find the key to motivating an indifferent student - the “sluggard” who consistently turns in poor quality work (if he turns it in at all) just to get it over with, or the whiner who complains, “I’m bored,” when the teacher has failed to entertain sufficiently! Invariably these are the ones who go home and passively watch TV or play video games for hours after school, and somehow the homework never gets completed. They have no curiosity or vision of the world outside themselves. All their “wants” are met by Mom and Dad, and they have never had to do a single chore at home. They expect a reward for every little thing they do, because they are so used to “winning” a trophy for just showing up.

Thankfully, this kind of student is a minority in the classroom, or we would have teachers trampling over each other to get out of the profession! But, when you have one in your classroom (or a few), you want to shake the parents!  Teach your children the value of hard work!  Get rid of the video games!

Solomon makes a direct correlation here to slothfulness and poverty. He is NOT saying that all poor people are lazy. Frequently the poor among us are working several jobs just to keep food on their table! Many show an industriousness that is amazing! However, I think Solomon’s conclusion would be that LAZY people DO end up in poverty. If your bottom needs to be surgically removed from the couch - or your favorite subject in school is recess - we may have a problem, Houston!

Paul reminds us that the Christian life is a race with a glorious prize waiting for us at the finish line. It’s a race that requires effort and endurance and a vision of the goal:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (I Corinthians 9:24-25 ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)

Let’s keep focused on the prize so that we won’t grow weary - and let's teach and model that lesson for our kids!  

Proverbs 24:17-18 It’s not the time to celebrate!

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,

    and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
lest the Lord see it and be displeased,

    and turn away his anger from him. (Proverbs 24:17-18)

Everyone loves a good story ending when the villain gets his due. We have cheered from childhood when the wicked witch melts before our eyes in The Wizard of Oz, or when the archenemy of Superman, Lex Luthor gets defeated at the end of a comic book. We hate the wicked and love to see good triumph!

However, Jesus told us that, in real life, our attitude toward our enemies should be to pray for them. What??? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus turned our common hatred of our enemies upside down:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Jesus is telling us that if all we do is love those who love us, we are no better than the pagans around us. ANYONE can love someone who loves them back. But love someone who has HURT us? Someone who has set out to harm us in the eyes of our coworkers or neighbors? How on earth can we love that person?? We can’t! At least, not in our own strength. We can’t muster up warm, fuzzy feelings toward someone who has abused us. That is impossible! But with God ALL things are possible. He would not have given us this command, if He could not also give us supernatural strength to carry it out.

First, let’s remember that biblical love, agape love, is NOT about warm, fuzzy feelings. It has nothing to do with our emotions. It’s about our actions. It’s about demonstrating love by acting it out. We are to bless those who persecute us; give them our cloak when they sue us; turn the other cheek when they malign us. This is exactly what Jesus did from the cross! And it all begins with prayer. It is impossible to remain angry with someone if you are praying for him.

So if your enemy falls, don’t join the cheering section! Don’t do a happy dance around the room and high five your friends! Don’t throw a party. Thank the LORD for justice, but pray for the redemption of your enemy. Do you have a neighbor or coworker who has been your nemesis for years? Instead off expressing glee when he stumbles, pray for him, then offer a hand to help him up. The world is waiting to see Jesus in us. That’s how we do it!

Proverbs 24:11-12 I didn't know . . .

I think I shared this summer that I was reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, which details Hitler’s climb to power. What struck me from the beginning was the willingness of the majority of the German people to roll over as one by one their rights were taken away, and how they turned a blind eye to what was happening to their Jewish neighbors as they hoped to stay under the radar themselves. They needed to make a concerted effort “not to know.” So when I read these verses, I was struck by it’s blunt warning to those who would prefer not to know:

Rescue those who are being taken away to death;

    hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.  
If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”

    does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?

Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,

    and will he not repay man according to his work? (Proverbs 24:11-12)

The persecution of Jews has been going on throughout history. As God’s chosen people, they have been under attack since the beginning, as Satan tried and continues to try to prevent prophecies about the Messiah from being fulfilled - in particular the prophecy of his own doom. And other groups around them have either assented to the attacks or turned a blind eye. But this kind of selective blindness happens every day throughout our world. Whether we ignore the trafficking of young girls, or sit quietly as one population oppresses and murders another, we, too, are sometimes guilty of preferring not to know - or if we know, not getting involved. These verses say we will be held accountable for not rescuing people who are “stumbling to the slaughter.”

Once we know, we can’t undo the knowing. I’m wondering if this is why the millennial generation and many of their parents never read a paper or watch television news. I hear parents say all of the time, I don’t want to listen to bad news all day. Well, neither do I, and certainly, when you have small children in a home, you need to guard what images they see and what news they hear. However, how do we stop the evil tide if we pretend it isn’t there.

I grew up in a home in which the news was a big deal. My parents started the day with the LA Times and ended it with the 11 o’clock news. Had there been a CNN or Fox News in their day, I’m certain the TV would have been tuned to the news 24/7. My parents were actively involved in politics (our home was always a polling center on election days), and our dinner table topics were frequently current events.

These verses seem to challenge the desire to ignore the rest of the world. It sounds to me like we will be without excuse for failing to act. I know America can’t be the police of the world. We can’t rescue every child out of poverty. In fact Jesus told us there would always be poor among us. But it seems like we have been given a voice and financial blessing as a nation for a reason. Because we know we can’t do it all, there is a tendency to shrug our shoulders and not even try.

However, even though we cannot rescue ALL the children, we can save a few. We can sponsor a few through organizations like World Vision or Samaritan’s Purse. My daughter Emmy is a major proponent of rescuing through adoption. She had a T-shirt designed to help raise funds for adopting another Blakely which reads “145 Million ... minus one,” which refers to the number of orphans in the world, which can be reduced by one each time a family decides to make room for one more.

And we can be rescuing people from death every day as we share the LORD with them. People all around us are “stumbling to the slaughter,” as they march toward the end without Jesus. What are we doing to stop this? We certainly can’t claim we did not know. LORD, give us boldness and a sense of urgency about being rescuers. Open our eyes to what You see every day. Give us your heart of compassion and your will to do whatever we can do - little or big - to be light to a world in darkness.

 

Proverbs 24:3-6 Lay a good foundation

Yesterday I ran into an acquaintance, and asked him to give my love to his wife, whom I adore. He said, “You know we’re getting a divorce, right?” I’m sure my reaction was evident as I felt my shoulders droop. Another marriage with two sweet children bites the dust! I was just so sad! As far as I know, this man and his wife are not professing Christians, but there are enough divorces among believers that end in defeat. So, this morning’s verses were a good reminder:

By wisdom a house is built,

    and by understanding it is established;  
by knowledge the rooms are filled

    with all precious and pleasant riches.  
A wise man is full of strength,

    and a man of knowledge enhances his might, 
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,

    and in abundance of counselors there is victory. (Proverbs 24:3-6)

If we want our houses to stand, they need to be built on a firm foundation. They need to be grounded in God’s Word, Jesus Christ. How in the world do people make marriages work without the wisdom of God? We face giant obstacles on a daily basis as Satan and his minions work overtime to destroy our families. Their army looks strong, but our God is stronger!

As Jon Courson points out in his Application Commentary, this was the situation David faced when he stood across the battlefield from Goliath. David was the “runt of the litter” in his family - the youngest and least likely to be a warrior. His brothers were enlisted in Saul’s army and were out on the battlefield while David was tending sheep. When his father sent him out to deliver food to his brothers, David saw this giant, Goliath, taunting God’s people. This is the description of the behemoth who stood in front of David:

And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.  He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.  And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.  The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. (1 Samuel 17:4-7)

Now that would be a formidable foe! No wonder Saul’s army was “dismayed and greatly afraid.” However, David was astonished that any man, including this lout of a Philistine should dare defy “the armies of the living God.” He offered his services to Saul, who scorned the puny youth. But David told Saul of the times he had killed lions and bears who came against the sheep in his care. So David boldly declared, with confidence in his God, not himself, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

David is the perfect example of the wise man who is “full of strength” and who “enhances his might” by his knowledge. Not the knowledge of military strategy nor the strength of physical might and weaponry. David knew it was God’s strength that would defeat the giant. Indeed, he said as much to Goliath:

“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,  and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.” (I Samuel 17:45-47)

If your household is currently under attack or being threatened by giant opponents, remember that the battle is the LORD’s! We are not strong enough in our own puny power to defeat enemies like marital strife, financial disaster, health crises, problems with teens or adult children, etc. If we attempt to use our own wisdom and knowledge, we will be defeated. But we have ALMIGHTY GOD and His host of angels battling on our behalf! Quit trying to manipulate an outcome. Give it over to God and His wisdom and strength! Remember your own “lion and bear” stories - when God has been faithful to preserve you and your marriage against attack. Like David, we need to claim, “The battle is the Lord’s!” 

I’m praying for this couple, that the LORD would speak to this man’s heart, and that God would open his eyes to the true battle that is raging around him and his family. May God draw this family to Himself and preserve this marriage!  

Proverbs 23:29-35 Watch out for the sting!

Who are the people who are always crying the blues?

    Who do you know who reeks of self-pity?

Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all?

    Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot?

It’s those who spend the night with a bottle,

    for whom drinking is serious business.

Don’t judge wine by its label,

    or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor.

Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—

    the splitting headache, the queasy stomach.

Do you really prefer seeing double,

    with your speech all slurred,

Reeling and seasick,

    drunk as a sailor?

“They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt;

    they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing.

When I’m sober enough to manage it,

    bring me another drink!” (Proverbs 23:29-35 The Message)

There really is nothing funny about a drunk! In the 1960’s there were many comedians who made a good living hilariously portraying drunks in their acts. But if you have ever lived with or been a drunk, you know that there is nothing funny about the consequences. What looks like fun in these verses? Would it be the tendency to morose self-pity? The bloodshot eyes? The splitting headache? The “queasy stomach” that leads to vomiting? The slurred speech? Sounds like a blast! This is the kind of “fun” some of us “enjoyed” in college. Fortunately, I got it all out of my system in college! But many keep up the “partying” throughout their adult lives. Like all sinful pleasures, it starts out feeling good, then it turns on you and holds you in its power.

In the English Standard Version, verses 32-33 give an added picture:

In the end it bites like a serpent

    and stings like an adder. 
Your eyes will see strange things,

    and your heart utter perverse things. 

For me, the danger was in my mouth! I actually would utter perverse things! [NOTE: I was NOT a Christian in college!!! ] But I also saw the effects of alcohol on my parents and what horrid words they would hurl at each other after a night of drinking. In the end it bites - big time! Alcohol destroys your brain and it ruins a family! While an occasional glass of wine with dinner can be fine, too many among us can’t stop there. It goes down smoothly, but it can lead to ruin!

I’m not going to march up and down the street carrying a sign proposing a ban on alcohol. However, there are so many friends I dearly love who really just need to stop! You can’t stop without divine intervention, so my prayer is that the LORD would speak to those among us who need to stop, and give us the desire to turn from alcohol to true freedom in Christ.

If you are a parent and your child has witnessed you drunk, you need to stop. If you have gotten into an argument with your spouse while drinking, you need to stop. If you have missed work or church because you partied too heartily, you need to stop. If you have the drinker’s belly, you need to stop. If your drinking is stumbling someone else - even if you don’t get drunk - you need to stop.

I know I sound like a “Temperance League” biddy, but there really is a freshness to the pain I’ve felt because someone I love has been harmed by drinking. I’m sure you know someone, too. LORD, thank you for the help and strength you give us to turn from ANYTHING that harms us. Help us to seek our pleasure in worshiping you alone!