Proverbially Speaking
Been reading through Proverbs lately.
I always struggled with the sayings in this book. They were never "theological" enough for me, and - though I tried to find some meaning in them - I always felt like they were just these trite and pithy overgeneralizations that weren't that useful. Its not that I didn't respect the book as a part of the canon of scripture, its just that I had a hard time figuring out how to make it fit in with the rest of the bible.
So I always took the book with a grain of salt, and generally tried to avoid it.
What I'm discovering this time around is that there is some good stuff in this book. Not that it contains all of the secrets to eternal life or anything, but it does contain some solid advice about how to avoid trouble. Wonderfully, disarmingly practical advice.
Here is how I would summarize about about 70% of the book:
1. Don't fool around. Sexual sin leads to heap-big trouble. Drink from your own cistern, so to speak. If you know what I mean. If you follow me. We're on the same page here, aren't we? ...and we aren't really talking about cisterns, ya know.
2. Don't be an idiot. Mostly, this just means not opening your mouth when you don't know what you're talking about. (Ever known anyone that does this? How annoying is that? Is there anything more obnoxious than someone who just blabs and blabs verbal vomit until you can somehow escape their grasp? I don't want to be like that.)
3. Don't lie around. Instead, be industrious and frugal with the money you make.
4. Dude! Be cool! Anger, like lust, is destructive. My favorite one on this subject: Chapter 17, verse 27, which actually uses the word "cool" in some translations. The Fonz would be proud.
How many problems in life can be avoided just by follwing the advice that springs from these four themes?
A few other favorites, all from Chapter 18:
- "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD." (verse 22) Amen and amen!
- "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him." (verse 17) Coming from the one who usually has to be the "other" in the courtroom, my means of living depends on this one being true.
- "A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?" (verse 14) This one probably won't make it into a many sermons or books, because it isn't very uplifting, but I like the way it affirms the pain of brokenness in spirit, rather than glossing over it. That is becoming part of the beauty of all scripture to me.
- "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (verse 10) Bet you're singing that one in your head now, aren't you?
Anyone else want to share a favorite proverb?
I always struggled with the sayings in this book. They were never "theological" enough for me, and - though I tried to find some meaning in them - I always felt like they were just these trite and pithy overgeneralizations that weren't that useful. Its not that I didn't respect the book as a part of the canon of scripture, its just that I had a hard time figuring out how to make it fit in with the rest of the bible.
So I always took the book with a grain of salt, and generally tried to avoid it.
What I'm discovering this time around is that there is some good stuff in this book. Not that it contains all of the secrets to eternal life or anything, but it does contain some solid advice about how to avoid trouble. Wonderfully, disarmingly practical advice.
Here is how I would summarize about about 70% of the book:
1. Don't fool around. Sexual sin leads to heap-big trouble. Drink from your own cistern, so to speak. If you know what I mean. If you follow me. We're on the same page here, aren't we? ...and we aren't really talking about cisterns, ya know.
2. Don't be an idiot. Mostly, this just means not opening your mouth when you don't know what you're talking about. (Ever known anyone that does this? How annoying is that? Is there anything more obnoxious than someone who just blabs and blabs verbal vomit until you can somehow escape their grasp? I don't want to be like that.)
3. Don't lie around. Instead, be industrious and frugal with the money you make.
4. Dude! Be cool! Anger, like lust, is destructive. My favorite one on this subject: Chapter 17, verse 27, which actually uses the word "cool" in some translations. The Fonz would be proud.
How many problems in life can be avoided just by follwing the advice that springs from these four themes?
A few other favorites, all from Chapter 18:
- "He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD." (verse 22) Amen and amen!
- "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him." (verse 17) Coming from the one who usually has to be the "other" in the courtroom, my means of living depends on this one being true.
- "A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?" (verse 14) This one probably won't make it into a many sermons or books, because it isn't very uplifting, but I like the way it affirms the pain of brokenness in spirit, rather than glossing over it. That is becoming part of the beauty of all scripture to me.
- "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (verse 10) Bet you're singing that one in your head now, aren't you?
Anyone else want to share a favorite proverb?
posted by Matt at Wednesday, October 05, 2005
2 Comments:
Ever read the New Testament?
Actually, yes. I'm probably more of a "New Testament" guy than a Old Testament guy. But I also think that it is impossible to understand one without the other. They have to be read together, as a single story, before you can see how God's purposes are unfolding in history.
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