Proverbs are for Wisdom

For Friday, September 16, 2005
Proverbs 12:21

No ill befalls the righteous,
but the wicked are filled with trouble.

What do we think when we read this text?

What about Job?

What about Habakkuk 1:4 ("So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.")

What about the innocent who suffer though no fault of their own.

What about well-meaning (?) Christians who accuse me of sin if there is unusual suffering in my life?

We can remind ourselves that there are no innocent before the eyes of God.

We can ask if the troubles we face are worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.

We can know that Christ, the only one who was righteous before God, was not overcome by his death.

We can even say that 'in general', we should understand that many evils and sufferings will be avoided by one who follows God's commands, and that wickedness brings much more trouble into life.

And we can ask about Job, and recall that he said

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

For Thursday, September 15, 2005
Proverbs 12:20

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
but those who plan peace have joy.

The late French philosopher Jacques Derrida suggested that the only purely ethical act is the one that is done with no expectation of benefit, not even the benefit of finding satisfaction in the joy of others. Happily, the Scriptures have no such scruples.

In today's proverb the benefit of joy is held out to those who "plan peace." As followers of Christ we are called upon to pursue the peaceable good of our neighbors: building bonds of concord in our communities, giving counsels of peace to those who seek our advice, healing rifts between those who are at odds, buidling understanding among those who have differences, promoting the serenity of bodily health, working for a social justice that reconciles neighbors, and so on.

Those who do these things will find joy, particularly, I think, the joy that comes through sharing in the joy of others, the kind of joy that circulates among those who live together in peace. Far from the quasi-stoicism of disinterested altruism, the biblical ideal is one of joyful reciprocity.

The proverb, however, also warns that those who devise evil will be cut off from such joy, turned inward to the darkness of their own hearts. A heart that fails to seek peace turns cold and brittle with suspicion and fear, lost in the deceitful illusions of its own making, unable to see clearly or to hear aright, seeing every good thing as somehow sinister.

But Jesus promises us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." In seeking peace among God's people, therefore, we live togehter as sons who bear the likeness of God, who know the eternal peace and joy of God's Triune life. Lord, make us instruments of your peace.

True to the End

For Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Proverbs 12:19

Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue is but for a moment.

Revelation 22:15 lists those evil ones who are outside the gates of the holy city of New Jerusalem. The culmination is "everyone who loves and practices falsehood".

The proverbs generally look toward the blessings that come in this life for those who follow wisdom, and the certain doom that comes to those who go after folly. But that surely isn't the whole story, at the very least because the wise suffeer disaster and fools often find wealth.

Solomon does assure his son that there is a value to wisdom that exceeds the bounds of this life. Through speaking the truth in love, we grow up into the measure of Christ, the True and Living God, and participate in his life of Love. Through true confession of faith with our lips, we find a life that will endure forever.

Words That Wound and Heal

For Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Proverbs 12:18

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Medieval Jewish mystics imagined God's creation through his "word" of power in terms of blazing Hebrew letters rushing from heaven to form together into the substance of the cosmos. While the image is rather fantastic, it underscores the creative power of words as rooted in a biblical perspective. And if words can create, they can also destroy.

Today's proverb compares "rash words" to the thrusts of a sword wounding, cutting, and piercing those against whom they are directed. Ever since the reckless words of shifting blame uttered by Adam and Eve, our lives have be marked by words that hurt. Matthew Henry writes:

Opprobrious words grieve the spirits of those to whom they are spoken, and cut them to the heart. Slanders, like a sword, wound the reputation of those of whom they are uttered, and perhaps incurably. Whisperings and evil surmises, like a sword, divide and cut asunder the bounds of love and friendship, and separate those that have been dearest to each other.

And often, it is not even so much the content of what is said that hurts as it is the way in which it was said or the carelessness, prejudice, and failure to truly listen that such hasty words express.

The proverb continues, however, and points to the creative and restorative power that words also possess. Likely, the proverb is not merely making a simple contrast, but also a progression: when words have wounded, then those who are wise are called upon to speak words that heal. The tongue of the wise can bind up those wounds and apply the soothing ointment of kindness, encouragement, truth, persausion, concord, and good report.

Jesus above all is for us the Wisdom of God, the eternal Word who comes with healing in his wings. And it is in the word of the Gospel that Jesus is made known, that God's healing "Yes" of promise is spoken to our hurtful "No" of unbelief and sin. And it is through word of the Father's forgiveness and reconciliation that all other healing is made possible and of eternal significance.

Teach us, Spirit of Christ, to speak words that heal in order that Jesus may be upon our lips.

Truth, and the truthful true ones who speak it.

For Monday, September 12 2005
Proverbs 12:16

Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence,
but a false witness utters deceit.

The teacher of the wisdom of Proverbs wants not just for the hearer to become more diligent in his labor, and for him to learn to avoid folly in his life, but to put his knowledge of God and His world to use in being a just king over it. Solomon writes his proverbs to his prince, and to others of his charge who will seek office within his kingdom.

He wants them to know the task of rule, and about what will happen when cases are brought before them to decide matters of justice and righteousness. For the judge to rightly vindicate the righteous and condemn the wicked, he must know which of the two parties is giving true testimony.

This proverb seems in one sense to be speaking a truism or a tautology: "the one who is truthful is honest". Well, as we say nowadays "no duh!"

In fact, there are many reasons why we might still chose to overlook the discrepancies in the false witness' testimony, and give no heed to the honest evidence of the true witness. Perhaps the truth speaker lacks charm or charisma. Perhaps the dissembler is well known to us, and the other party is an unknown. Perhaps the liar has offered bribes (Proverbs is replete with warnings about the perversion of justice brought by bribes). There are many reasons why we might give up a love for the truth of a matter to decide to throw in our lot with the one who's lies are pleasant or comfortable.

When we don't love unlovely truth, we may end up asking "What is truth?"