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 29-31.

    Once again there are many little snippets of wisdom in today’s passage. That is, after all, the point of proverbs. They are little snippets of wisdom. However, today I see a theme which runs through many, if not most, of these proverbs:the importance of discipline. It is important that we discipline those we have authority over (whether they be our children, our subordinates at work, or someone we have authority over for some other reason). It is also important that we accept discipline from those in authority over us. I want to make the distinction between discipline and revenge (I am not sure revenge is the word I am looking for here, but it is the closest I can come at the moment). When we discipline someone we are attempting to teach them not to behave differently than they have in the past. However, sometimes we just want to make people suffer for what they have done, that is not discipline and benefits no one. This is addressed in 29:11

Fools vent their anger,
but the wise quietly hold it back.

We need to recognize that this is both a call to restraint when we discipline others AND a call to exercising discipline ourselves. Which is the thought which ties this theme together. The writer talks about the importance of giving and receiving discipline, but he also writes about the importance of exercising discipline. I will not go into all of the proverbs here which discuss the importance of exercising discipline. The author even points out how those who fail to exercise discipline in their own lives hate those who do.

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’s passage is another one where there are so many proverbs which contain things worth noting that I am having trouble deciding what to write. There is no point in me pointing out each and every good proverb in the passage. You can go read them for yourself, and I hope you do. I was struck by the similarity between what the writer says in 25:6-7 and what Jesus says in Luke 14:7-11. I am quite sure that the similarity is not an accident. Jesus most certainly was familiar with the proverb and applied it to the situation He found Himself in. We should not promote ourselves for honors. Let others see our actions and honor us if they see fit. There is actually a little more to this than is immediately obvious. We should not do things so that others will honor us. If that is our motive we may be disappointed if others fail to take notice of our good works. Instead we should do things because they are the right thing to do.

    When I finished writing the previous paragraph I was going to stop there. Then I read through the passage again. When I came to 26:4-5 I could not resist commenting on them. These two verses seem to contradict each other, but, as someone who has trouble resisting a debate, I think I understand where the writer is coming from. All too often when I get into a debate with someone I think is expressing a foolish argument I become emotionally invested in showing them why their argument is foolish. As a result I start to make foolish arguments myself. However, when I decide that I will avoid responding to foolish arguments at all I start to see people claiming that people are foolish for not believing their foolish argument because “everybody knows” it is true. I have realized that it is important to let people know when you do not “buy” their argument.

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 22-24.

    Once again today’s passage contains a lot of little bits of wisdom which are not exactly tied together. However, there are a couple themes which run through this passage. Actually, they are themes which run through this entire book and throughout the entire Bible. I am really struggling with how to express the thoughts I see here without falling into bullet point writing and/or just rephrasing what the writer wrote. The fact of the matter is that we are all equal before God. If we have power over others and misuse it, God will hold us to account. Honesty and integrity will bring more joy, satisfaction, contentment into our lives than any amount of wealth. Pursue truth and integrity, if you give them away for material possessions you will regret it for the rest of your life. There is no amount of wealth or power that is worth being known as a cheat and a liar. People think that they can use their power and wealth to silence those who know of their dishonesty and avarice, but even if they succeed God will know the truth and hold them accountable.

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 18-21.

    Today’s passage contains many nuggets of wisdom. I do not have time to point all of them out. However, I will touch on the things which stood out to me, because they either spoke to my own weaknesses/temptations or I thought they addressed things going on in the news today.

    The writer reminds us in many ways about the dangers of being lazy. Paying attention to what the writer is saying reveals that for many people laziness causes them to be poor. Laziness leads to poverty in two different ways. First, a lazy person fails to work when the time is optimum for gathering wealth (whether that is the lazy farmer who does not harvest when the crops become ripe, or the person who does not plan for the future). Second, laziness will cause us to fail to maintain things which we possess or are responsible for. Over time, if we do not spend the time maintaining things, they will be destroyed. Laziness can have results every bit as bad as outright destructiveness.

    The writer warns us against reaching conclusions before we hear all of the facts about a situation. If you look at the world around us you will see that time after time people have reached the wrong conclusion because they did not follow that advice. There are really two parts to the writers warning. We need to recognize that it takes time for all of the facts to be collected and that as a situation is examined initial appearances may prove to be deceiving. In addition, we need to be aware that the first person to speak up may have their own agenda leading them to leave out (or distort) facts which will not support the conclusion they wish you to reach. We should be shamed by speaking out on something before we have listened to what everyone has to say because, by doing so, we have revealed ourselves to be foolish. The writer even reveals why many people speak before hearing all of the facts. They do so because they are more interested in broadcasting their opinion and advancing their agenda than they are in knowing what really happened.

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 14-17.

    I really like the message of the proverb in chapter 14 verse 2, especially when you look at it in both the NLT and the NIV. I think that both readings tell us something important about human behavior. The NLT take on the proverb tells us why some people fear and follow God and others do not. Those who choose to walk on the path of righteousness will fear God. Those who take the path of sin and deceit will despise God. If you have looked around you will see how often this is true. There are many people who refuse to believe in God because that would force them to accept that the lives they have chosen to live are sinful. There are many people who embrace a faith in God because they wish to live a righteous life. On the other hand, the NIV take tells us that those who fear the Lord have integrity and act accordingly. Those who despise God choose deception and lies. There is truth here as well. The fear of God leads people to lead lives of integrity, while those who despise God become ever more deceptive and devious as time goes by.

    Throughout this passage are many proverbs which sum up basic truths about life. The writer repeatedly stresses the importance of choosing our words carefully. He covers issues from speaking with arrogance to telling lies, to allowing our emotions to override our better judgment. The wise do not allow their mouths to lead them into such errors. The writer’s emphasizes the importance of taking our time to reach a conclusion, not allowing the heat of the moment to guide our actions. I see people around me failing to follow this advice and thus making problems worse rather than providing solutions.

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 9-13.

    Wisdom and Folly both call to us. They invite everyone in. It is up to us which of their invitations to accept. The wicked and the mocker reject rebuke and correction. Wisdom tells us to learn good judgment and to accept correction. Folly tells us that illicit pleasures are best. Having introduced us to Wisdom and Folly, the writer goes on with a list of proverbs which tell us what each of them teach us. There are many different points, but one which the writer keeps harping on is that the wise listen to advice and embrace those who tell them when they do wrong. It is foolish to think that you do not need advice and even worse to get angry at those who tell you that you are wrong. Listen to those who criticize your actions, even when you are sure you are right. Even when the criticism is unfounded you may be able to learn from it.

    Another point which the writer stresses is that the wise use words carefully. They do not feel the need to convince others of their knowledge. The foolish on the other hand are quick to speak, convinced that their words will make others love them. The wise use their words to build others up, the fool uses his words to destroy even his friends. The fool thinks he can become great by making others look bad. The wise speak honestly and without deception. The fool tries to advance himself with deception and lies. The fool will be trapped by his words because he used them poorly. The wise will not face that problem because his words were truthful and uplifting.

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 5-8.

    The focus of today’s passage is the importance of avoiding the embrace of the promiscuous. The primary focus is on telling young men to stay away from immoral women, but the same lesson can be applied to women. They too should stay away from immoral men. Be warned that if you become seduced by the promiscuous, disease will likely consume your body and you will come to the brink of ruin. If you are a man and cannot live without sex, find yourself a wife and remain faithful to her. If you are a woman in similar circumstance, find yourself a husband and remain faithful to him. The rewards of such a life far outweigh the brief pleasures of a promiscuous lifestyle.

    The writer reminds us again that wisdom and understanding are actively available. They are not mysteries which are hard to find. If we are not trying to deceive others, wisdom will be right there for us to see. If you search for wisdom, you will find it. Only those who are determined to twist wisdom to justify their own selfish desires will have trouble finding it. Once more, fear of the Lord is the first step to wisdom and those who fear the Lord will hate evil. Thus those who love evil will never find wisdom. I will say one more thing which I believe the writer means, but does not explicitly state. Many people never find wisdom because they are not willing to give up promiscuous sex (or, at least, the option of promiscuous sex). Often times such desire leads them in time to a love of even greater evil.

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 1-4. When I write about the Book of Proverbs, I struggle to not make every entry a list of bullet points of things which the writer has said. Some days that will be the right way to go, but I want to limit my use of that approach.

    The purpose of the Book of Proverbs is to teach wisdom and understanding. The proverbs are designed to give insight, knowledge and discernment. Those with little wisdom and those with much wisdom can equally benefit from studying the proverbs. Despite that so few people gain wisdom, wisdom actively seeks out those who need it. Wisdom calls out to the simple-minded, offering them an escape from their troubles. I do not actually believe that Wisdom is a sentient being, but this metaphor for wisdom works so well to explain how easily wisdom can be gained. Greed leads people to ignore wisdom’s call. If, instead of succumbing to greed’s call, we seek wisdom and ask for understanding, we will find wisdom and receive understanding.

    Many people who seek wisdom fail to find it because they will not accept its foundation. The foundation of true wisdom is fear of the Lord. As we follow where fear of the Lord leads we gain wisdom. Then as we do what wisdom dictates we gain greater knowledge of God. That knowledge will teach us what is right, just, and fair. Wisdom teaches us not to demand that others treat us right, or justly, or fairly. Wisdom teaches us to treat others right, justly, and fairly. When we learn to act according to what wisdom teaches us we will be saved from evil people. However, our will not protect us, it is our fear of the Lord and dependence on His wisdom which protect us and save us. Following the path of God’s wisdom will lead us from fear of the Lord to trust in the Lord.