Proverbs 16 - Priorities

Proverbs is full of wisdom that helps us align our life's priorities in a godly way. When we realize that our work and material success is not the main purpose of our life, then our hearts begin to change and God can use us more effectively. Here is a short list(in a good order of importance) on how we should priortize our lives:

1 - God
2 - Family
3 - Church
4 - Others
5 - Job

Here are a few verses about on this topic, specifically, how we should deal with our time and with others:

Proverbs 16:8 - Better [is] a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

Proverbs 16:16 - How much better [is it] to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

Proverbs 16:20 - He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy [is] he.

God is number 1 on our list of priorities and all the other items fall right into place.

Proverbs 15

At this point, if you have kept up with your reading, you are halfway through the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 15 continues with great wise sayings. I recommend memorizing one or two of these over the next couple weeks. Find a verse that speaks to you or is relevant to your life right now and simply read it every day for a few weeks. Before you know it, you will have the verse memorized.

One of my favorite proverbs (and one that I had to memorize in Bible class in High School) is Proverbs 15:1. It simply says, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." This is a helpful verse, especially for men who struggle with anger or a short temper.

What verses have spoken to you! Memorize them and hold them close to your heart. And pray that God will bring them back to your memory when you need them the most.

Proverbs 14

A continued theme throughout the book of Proverbs and especially in chapter 14 is that sin and wickedness is only temporary and has consequences. Sin will cause you pain and hurt in this lifetime (see vs. 11). The old saying is, if you play with fire, you're bound to get burned. Maybe not this time, or the next, but if you get too involved in unrighteous living it will reap negative results. And, if you don't repent of your sin and accept Christ's sacrifice, you will be judged for your sin when you die. Sin is a path of destruction, leading only to death.

Fortunately, the counter is a life of righteousness in Christ Jesus. Continue to study and pray that you will remember the warnings of Solomon, but also pray for God to bring remembrance the verses about righteous living.

Proverbs 13: Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child

I have been in the process of reading a book called, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches, by Russell D. Moore. Moore has written a fantastic book about our adoption into Christ's family and relates it to adopting children into your earthly family. During one chapter, he does explain some issues that come up through the adoption process, one of them being the social stigma attached to discipline. Social workers will inspect every aspect of your life when you are planning to adopt. Although they mean well, many social workers have ungodly views of discipline. Chapter thirteen of Proverbs gives us several key verses that provide a guide to the proper means to discipline a child.

Proverbs 13:24 says, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." This is a commonly known proverb (and also misquoted), but nonetheless important. Corporal punishment, used properly, is one of the most effective ways to teach children at an early age. It teaches rules, boundaries and generally right from wrong. And as children get older, corporal punishment is less useful because they learn to rationalize and think for themselves. Teaching and speaking wisely to a child is more productive past toddler years, as well as, making sure your child has the opportunity to learn from the situation. Proverbs 13:1 says, "A wise son [heareth] his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke." First, this verse puts a lot of pressure on the father. It is a big task, for sure, but worth the investment. Plus, we have God's Word to guide us. Second, and more importantly, this verse assumes that the father is giving instruction (or that the instruction is worth listening too). It is a commonly known fact that fathers are absent in the homes, and when present, are less than useful. This is a disgrace to God, His plan for fathers and fatherhood, and a handicap to our children. We need to, as men, pray that we will be godly fathers and have the wisdom to provide godly instruction to our kids.

This is easy to say and hard to do. And, as a personal disclaimer, I don't have kids (yet). If raising and teaching children in a godly manner is completely foreign or intimidating to you, get help! Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walketh with wise [men] shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Find a godly man who has grown kids and whose kids are well behaved. Talk to them, get advice. Then, go find a godly man who has a rebellious child and ask him how he works through the issues. But know this - you are not alone and the fight for you kids is worth fighting.

I hope you pray for your kids everyday. And if you don't have kids, pray for your potential kids or someone else's kids. In today's time, with all of the outside influences kids face, they need as much prayer as possible.

Proverbs 11 and 12

As you read through Solomon's proverbs, keep an open heart and continue to pray for understanding. Many of these nuggets of wisdom provide huge truths about God and how He expects us to live life for Him. Here are a few that spoke to me from chapters 11 and 12:

Proverbs 11: 4 "Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death." You can't take what you own with you when you die, and if you could, it wouldn't help you. Jesus reiterated this in Matthew 6:19-20. The point is, earthly wealth cannot save and as Christ explains, is temporary. Invest in God's kingdom to get eternal return!

Proverbs 11:14 "Where no counsel [is], the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors [there is] safety." Simple and to the point - have friends who fear the Lord!

Proverbs 12:1 "Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish." Sometimes instruction and discipline is tough to take. However, God must discipline us to make us stronger and more fit for His purpose. So, if you are going through a tough time, God does not hate you. He might be teaching you a lesson that you will need later in life.

Proverbs 12:22 "Lying lips [are] abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly [are] his delight." Honesty is the best policy! One lie leads to more lies. Before you know it, your whole life is one big web of lies. Follow the advice given here and just be honest, even if it means suffering from less than favorable consequences.

What verses spoke to you in these chapters?

Proverbs Chapter 10: Wise Sayings

The book of Proverbs takes a shift in chapter 10, as Solomon begins to write down his actual proverbs. The previous nine chapters were an introduction with various discourses on special topics. Now, we come to the actual proverbs, which are by definition short sayings that are generally known by many, typically providing words of truth, moral or wisdom. These sayings continue until roughly chapter 22. Most of the proverbs have been divided into one or two verses, although some extend into four or five verses. There are so many good points to learn from the proverbs, it would be difficult to outline them all here. But, here are a couple that spoke to me:

Proverbs 10:9 - "He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known." In a time when people just want security and stability, this proverb teaches that "walking surely" comes from walking uprightly. Walking uprightly means doing right by God and by man. The proverb does not guarantee that there will be no struggles or trials, but when you walk right you can stand assured on solid ground0. You will know what you stand for and who you follow and will be equipped to handle the unstable times. The counter is that the one who perverts his ways shall be known. This guy might be able to disguise himself for a short time, but in the end, God will discover and make known his folly.

Proverbs 10:26 - "As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so [is] the sluggard to them that send him." Vinegar to the teeth? Makes me cringe just thinking about that taste. This verse can be applied two ways. First, how you are with your employer. We all work for someone. A sluggard is useless to an employer and no good to any business. Sluggards are lazy, unproductive, and failing in one of our created purposes - to work. Is that you? Do you cause your boss to be uneasy and uncomfortable? Are you smoke in his eyes? Second, and often overlooked, is, we work for God. Can God trust you with His work? You can be the hardest working, most productive employee on earth, but miss out on being productive in God's kingdom. God will not give His work to a sluggard. We are Christ's messengers; His hands and feet. Let's use them for His work!

Proverbs Chapter 8 & 9

I enjoyed chapter eight for its descriptive writing from the perspective of wisdom in the first person (vs. 12-31). Wisdom is more than a high level of knowledge or competency. These verses tell us that wisdom is a path. Wisdom is the correct application of learned knowledge and known experiences (and by "correct" here I mean godly or Christ-centered). The results of godly decision making are godly blessings, as described in this chapter. Read through them as an encouragement to take the tougher, but more blessed path.

Solomon continues his poetic description of wisdom in chapter nine. He again characterizes wisdom as a woman, but now also uses the same imagery to describe folly. It is amazing to read this chapter as you can picture the attributes of wisdom and folly in an actual person. He says, the woman, Folly, is loud, seductive and knows nothing (vs. 13), yet wisdom prepares a meal, sets the table and calls out to her guests (vs. 1-6). Wow! Based on these descriptions it should be easy to identify the difference between wisdom and folly. Take a note, though, that both wisdom and folly call out to you (vs. 4, 16). Both call out, yet wisdom leads to blessing and folly leads to death. The difficulty is, folly can be seductive (remember vs. 13). Folly, as compared to wisdom or virtue, is the carnal side of man and is interested only in pleasures (stolen water is sweet, stolen bread is pleasant). It is ignorant to God, wisdom, virtue and God's blessings. One of the many lessons here is we must be able to not only identify folly but to learn how to defend against the seductiveness of her ways. Continue to pray and ask God for clarity, understanding and more wisdom. As we have read in prior chapters, God is waiting to pour out His wisdom on His children, we just need to ask for it and receive it.

Zealous, But Not Saved

There are certain verses in the Bible that should literally scare Christians when we read them. What I am talking about are those verses that describe you, as a Christian, but end with "hell, fire and damnation." For example, in Matthew 7:22-23 Christ tells of a time when people will prophesy in his name and cast out devils. Sounds like a pretty blessed Christian. Must be doing something right. And what does Christ say to this group? "Depart from me: I never knew you, you worker of iniquity." Strong words from our Messiah. These guys cast out devils in Jesus' name and were still not saved.

A passage that has recently bothered me is Romans 10:1-2. It says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." Anytime you read a passage like this you must read and meditate on it to fully grasp what God wants us to know.

In Romans 10, Paul is talking about his Jewish brothers and sisters. He genuinely wants them saved. Here's the part that makes me nervous -- they have a zeal for God, but somehow are not saved! It is irrational. If you are not saved and have no relationship with Christ, then you should have nothing to do with God, His work, or His word. Unsaved people do not typically have zeal or passion for God's purposes and plans. Paul knew that his Jewish brothers loved God and had zeal for Him, except that their zeal was founded in the wrong place. It was founded in the law and their own intellect and tradition and pride; they missed Jesus altogether. They did not love God "according to knowledge" that Christ is the Messiah. Paul later explains that they did not submit to God's righteousness (vs. 3) and Christ is the end of the law of righteousness (vs. 4). It is sad, really, to think that people who saw Jesus and heard Him teach missed the Gospel completely. Worse even, the entire time they lived with misguided zeal, they thought that they were doing right. These people died thinking with 100% certainty that they would be greatly rewarded in heaven, only to find out that they were wrong the entire time.

This makes me so nervous because I wonder how the church today is analogous to the Jews of Paul's time. Does this represent us? Do we have a zeal for the wrong things? Are we focusing on ourselves and on our outward appearance and tradition more than on God? Are we just doing things because someone else, like parents or preachers, tell us to? Or maybe Jesus is just the social thing to do right now, but it is no more than a fad to you. This is the heart of legalism and pride, just like the Jews were living in Paul's day. The pursuit of Christ is perverted because our intentions are to glorify ourselves, not Christ. We miss the gospel altogether.

I hope that this passage makes you think. I recommend reading chapters 9-11 together, don't just pick out a couple verses. Pray for understanding and ask God to show you how you are lacking in your knowledge of Christ's salvation, His gospel. Then you will know you have genuine zeal for Christ because it is based on His grace and mercy!

Proverbs Chapter 7: The Seductive Woman Leads to Death

Chapter seven goes into detail to explain the ways of a seductive, adulteress woman. Not much more needs to be added to this. Solomon is very clear here, as well as several other chapters, that adultery and scandalous women are not only not worth your time, but her path will lead you to destruction.

We see this so often in the media with politicians, rock stars and movie personalities. They get caught in a scandal or with a mistress. They end up just like the proverbs say, ruined, destroyed, foolish, and pitiful. It has become so common in our culture that it almost does not surprise anyone when it makes the news. We should pray regularly for protection from this type of sin. Take Solomon's warning and avoid the destructive path.

Proverbs Chapter 6

This chapter is full of so many insightful truths. Here's a couple that spoke to me:

1. Humility - verses 1-5 give a great explantion of what to do when you have found yourself at someonelse's mercy. If you have said something to get yourself in trouble, go to that person and plead with them. Do it quickly too!

2. Work Hard - Be like an ant? Ants can carry 10 to 50 times their weight. They work all day with nobody telling them what to do. God wants us to work and work hard. It was his intention for us since creation. So don't be lazy and remember, you work for the Lord!

There are so many things to learn in this chapter. Verses 16-19 talk about things that the Lord hates! That is a list that is worth taking note of and remembering. Verse 19 is especially sobering as it says God hates, "..one who sows discourse among brothers." Christians focus too much on behavioral changes to make us look good to non-believers, when this verse tells us that God wants us to at a minimum just get along. In fact, He hates it when we cause believers to not get along. Strong words to remember when you are struggling to get along with someone. Maybe we should stop worrying about ourselves and start looking at how we treat others.

Proverbs Chapter 5: Adultery

Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, yet he broke God's commandments by marrying women from lands he was forbidden marry. Even worse, he married hundreds (See I Kings 11:1-3). Solomon becomes an expert, of sorts, on the subject and I think the reason Solomon writes about the "forbidden woman" so much is because knew what he was doing was wrong but was so blinded by the power. After many years of sin, he wants to make sure that his sons do not make the same mistake.

In Verse 23 of Chapter 5, Solomon says about a man who commits the sin of adultery that, "He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray." Solomon's great folly was marrying the forbidden woman. Committing the sin of polygamy (Deut. 17:17) and marrying pagans. Was he led astray? Absolutely. I Kings 11:4 tells us that when Solomon was older, his wives turned his heart towards other gods.

Men specifically deal with this issue more than women, but that does not excuse christian women from being prepared. There are several great books and studies, such as, Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, by Fred Stoeker and The War Within, by Robert Daniels. I recommend reading one of these books whether you think you have a problem or not. The truth is, you have a problem, it's called sin. Don't arrogantly go through life like Solomon did thinking you have it "under control." There is no need to battle sin, any sin, alone and unprepared.

Proverbs Chapter 4: failing to plan is planning to fail.

In Proverbs Chapter 4, Solomon again exalts wisdom and encourages his son to always keep it in his heart (Ch. 4:2). The verse that spoke to me is towards the end of the chapter, verse 26. It says, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established."

Solomon wants his son to think about where he is going. As an estate planning attorney, we often say that "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I realize that you can plan every detail of your life and things will not always go perfectly. However, the flip-side of planning nothing will inevitably lead to struggles and failures.

The growing attitude today is "Whatever works for you," or "Just go with the flow," or even worse, "Just do what feels right to you." Our natural instinct and "gut" can get us out of sticky situations and help us make decisions under pressure, but can also create a mess because we do not allow ourselves time to think through the problem. The better option is to plan accordingly - think about your life, your goals, your spiritual walk, your relationships - and have purpose to your life! God will fill in the blanks and have you where He needs you to be, but we have to take the initiative in getting on the right path.

Proverbs Chapter 3

Day three, so we're reading Proverbs chapter three. So many great verses and truths to learn. Here's a couple passages from the chapter that spoke to me.

The first great passage is Proverbs 3:5,6. It is a well-known and often quoted verse, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths." I recommend memorizing this verse and writing it down where you can see it daily. Christians, we must remind ourselves to put faith and trust in the Lord so that He can direct us. He promises to direct our paths, so let's take Him up on that!

The last verse of chapter three also spoke to me. It is simple, but profound. Verse 35 says, "The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace." Well, I don't know about you, but I want to inherit honor and not get disgrace! And I surely don't want God to think of me as a fool!

Christians should remember that God wants us to be wise and avoid foolishness to protect us and to help us grow closer to Him. God knows that HE is the best thing for us, so of course He wants us to seek after HIM!

Proverbs Chapter 2: wisdom as a shield

In chapter two of Proverbs, Solomon teaches that seeking wisdom brings understanding of the Fear of the Lord (vs. 5). What an opportunity! By learning, understanding and seeking God through meditation, we know Him better! Scholarship has become ignored in Christian's lives, yet the wisest man to ever live, Solomon, tells his son to seek wisdom like silver and treasure.

Further, when you know wisdom, discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you (vs. 11). Wisdom, which leads to understanding of God's righteousness, is also a protective measure, a shield.

Proverbs Chapter 1

Day one of the 31 days in Proverbs. The first chapter introduces us to God's view of wisdom and his expectations of us in seeking wisdom. Proverbs 1:7 is a great verse to memorize as it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Solomon is such a great writer. In Proverbs 1:20-33 he provides a great description of wisdom. It is poetic, yet powerful. Making wisdom like a person, she cries out for us (vs. 20,21) and when we reject her for our simple ways (vs. 22) she laughs at our calamity (vs. 26). These verses are a great reminder of how we should cherish God's wisdom. I pray that all of us seek God's wisdom, and do so diligently.

I hope this text speaks to you and encourages you to continue on a journey of learning about God. Thinking and learning are essential to understanding God, which is why we are to love the Lord with all our mind (Luke 10:27). God loves it when we think and dwell on Him because he can reveal to us Himself even more!