I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Proverbs 25-28.
Today we are back to one or two sentence wise sayings. As is the case with most of this book they are of varying utility (all of some value, but a few less valuable then others). I am struggling with what to write about this because so many of these proverbs stand alone and do not really have a theme tying them together (except that they contrast the behaviors of a wise person and a foolish person). However, I am going to start with a theme which turns up repeatedly in the Book of Proverbs, and elsewhere in the Bible: Do not seek honor or recognition from others. Or to put it another way, do not choose your actions so that other people will think you are a good person, or to be acknowledged by the “important people” (however you might define “important”). Instead, do things because they are the right thing to do. Now it is important to note that there are times when we should do things that are neither right or wrong so that people will not think we are bad people. I have never found a way to explain the distinction between doing things so that people will not think badly of me and doing things to make myself look good. The only way I can explain the difference is that the first is designed to keep people from misjudging me (to my detriment) based on their prejudices while the second is designed to encourage people to misjudge me (to my advantage) based on their prejudices.
I was going to spend a little time talking about how the writer includes multiple sayings which talk about how the fortunes of a nation are tied to the morality of its people and its leaders (and how those two are tied together), but then I came to Proverbs 25:21-22. (See how I got that bit about society and morality in there anyway).
If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat.
If they are thirsty, give them water to drink.
You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.
The point here is to always take the high road because by doing so sometimes we can convert an enemy into a friend. And even if we cannot, God will reward us for showing His love to our fellow man. However, just a few verses later the writer reminds us that there is a limit to what constitutes the “high road.”If the godly give in to the wicked,
it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.In taking the high road versus our enemies it is important not to enable the wicked actions of the wicked.