It Begins with a Trickle

For Friday, May 19, 2006
Proverbs 17:14

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
so quit before the quarrel breaks out.

"A lake on the neighboring hills bursts its barriers and sweeps everything before it - men, women and children swallowed up by angry flood - awful scenes witnessed by survivors."

So began the lead article in the New York Times on 1 June 1889. The article continued, "The water began flowing over the dam or abutment at the weakest part of the mountain lake at about 1 o'clock...Three hours later the whole end of the lake gave way, sweeping everything before it..."

So began the great Johnstown flood which, in a matter of minutes, left over 2000 people dead and 30,000 without homes.

And it all began with a little trickle.

"One hot word, one peevish reflection, one angry demand, one spiteful contradiction, begets another, and that a third, and so on, till it proves like the cutting of a dam." So Matthew Henry begins his meditation on today's proverb. Once the dam has burst, there is no putting things back as they once were.

Speaking with others has always required prudence, but communications in our day are faster and better than ever: voice mail, email, cell phones, text messaging, online chat, blogging, and so on. We are able to say whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want.

And with these technologies come all the attendant dangers of the tongue - of the incautious word or the ill-formed thought - to be received in circumstances beyond the speaker's ability to shape the situation, often left there to be read or listened to again, turned over in the mind of the receiver until every nuance is explored, and hurt or resentment or anger can fester and compound.

Today's proverb, therefore, goes on to warn us to "quit before the quarrel breaks out." We must exercise caution in what we say and do. We must repair the first signs of a breach in our relationships, before matters have progressed too far. And whenever possible, we must leave off before we begin, lest the situation slip from our hands.

May the love and mercy of Christ grant us prudent hearts, cautious tongues, and patient dealings.

Ingratitude Returns Evil

For Thursday, May 18, 2006
Proverbs 17:13

If anyone returns evil for good,
evil will not depart from his house.

In Psalm 109:5, David writes concerning his adversaries, "They have rewarded me evil for good and hatred for my love." As a leader of Israel, their king, it was David's obligation to seek the good of God's people, but not all were able to accept David's leadership. The root sin involved here is, I suspect, one of ingratitude, a failure, first of all to even recognize and receive the good as good.

Thomas Aquinas notes that there are three sorts of ingratitude that we encounter in our dealings with others (Summa Thelogiae II-II.107.2). First, there is the person who "esteems our kindness as if it were unkindness." Second, there is the person who "finds fault with a favor received." And, third, there is the person who "returns evils for good."

Today's proverb speaks of this third, most extreme expression of ingratitude.

Repaying the good with evil, however, is has consequences, not only for the one who acts in this way, but also for those closest to him. A son who abuses his family's kindness in ways hurtful to them, a spouse who is unfaithful to a devoted and supportive partner, a boss who violates the trust of those who loyally labor under him, and so on. All of these return evil for good and, in so doing, bring ruin upon themselves those around them.

But the most egregious example is our fallen human reaction to the greatest kindness ever rendered to us: God's gift of Jesus, David's greater son.

In his commentary on David's words in Psalm 109, Augustine writes,

When they ridiculed the one whom they crucified, as if he were a man they thought they had conquered, they belittled him; yet, from that cross he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Thus, while in the depth of their malice they were rendering evil for good, he in the height of his goodness was rendering good for evil.

Jesus' example also gives us a model of how we should respond when our goodness is abused ungratefully. Augustine continues,

The divine words teach us by our Lord's example, that when we feel others are ungrateful towards us - not only so they do not repay us with good, but even return evil for good - we should be in prayer. Christ prayed for others who were raging against him, who were sorrowful, whose faith was in danger. But we should pray first for ourselves, so that by God's mercy and aid, when others belittle us in our presence or absence, we might conquer our own mind, which carries us toward desire for revenge.

Getting Mauled

For Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Proverbs 17:12

Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.

It came out of nowhere. Two hikers, conversing quietly as they made their way along the trail, until one spied a bear cub. Moments later they found themselves painfully mauled, lying 65 feet down a stony, brush covered embankment. After investigation Glacier National Park officials announced the probable cause of the August 2005 attack: a defensive action by a female grizzly with two cubs. Clearly, one doesn't want to mess with a mother bear who feels her cubs are threatened.

As dangerous as such a bear may be, today's proverb tells us that a "fool in his folly" is more dangerous still. There are at least two dimensions to the text.

First, we have a comparison with a she-bear telling us something of the nature of folly. Bears are, for the most part, relatively harmless and more likely to flee from humans than attack. But under the right circumstances, the mother bear can burst into a blind and passionate rage. So too with the fool.

How easily we can be caught up into the heat of folly - the lure of pleasure, craving for approval, lust for power or control, longing for the perfect body, the excitement of anger, insisting on being right, an eagerness to impress, and so on. Each of these embodies an impulse that is good in itself, but if left unchecked by wisdom, twists into a passion that can spiral away blindly, damaging ourselves and those around us.

Second, therefore, we have a warning. As robbing a she-bear of her cubs brings consequences, likewise meeting the fool in the midst of folly has its own negative effects. The proverb, therefore, advises that sometimes we should steer clear of the fool, lest we end up a casualty of a foolish frenzy.

But the proverb may also suggest a more difficult way, to count the cost and face foolishness square-on. Our Lord himself took this path with those who opposed him and that path, we recall, led to the cross. While we are called to take up our cross daily, we are not always called to challenge every instance of foolishness.

May God grant us the wisdom to discern how he calls us to respond.

God's Cruel Messenger

For Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Proverbs 17:11

An evil man seeks only rebellion,
and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

In his comments on this verse, Matthew Henry interprets "seeking rebellion" in the sense of "picks quarrels," noting that "There are some that are actuated by a spirit of opposition, that will contradict for contradiction-sake," who watch for "all opportunities to disturb the public peace."

The second half of the verse, however, serves as both a warning to the disruptive and a comfort to those disrupted.

Those who seek to sow dissension and disorder will find themselves opposed by a "cruel messenger" of God's displeasure. In the Scriptures we find when God's people begin to rebel against him, or when they began to devour one another, Yahweh sent in Gentile nations to oppress them and eventually carry them into exile.

While we may not face geographical exile today, God continues to send us a clear message by other means. Dysfunctional homes, where sin is never faced and disobedience is indulged, eventually fall apart. Workplaces in which grumbling and complaint fill the cubicles, lose efficiency and fail to please their clients. And the church's own mission and our individual witness are rendered ineffective when we reject God's authority by countenancing error or foment quarrels through lack of love.

But God's "cruel messenger" also sounds a note of hope and comfort. Those who seek to obey God, to remain at peace, to cultivate community, to labor fruitfully - their faithfulness will not be thwarted. God will oppose anything that sets itself up against such faithfulness. And thus we remain obedient in hope.

Rebuke Strikes Deep

For Monday, May 15, 2006
Proverbs 17:10

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.

The prophet Nathan stood before the ruler of Israel - king David - relating a story of a poor man's sheep stolen by a rich and powerful oppressor (1 Sam 12). The story kindled righteous indignation in the heart of David, but at Nathan's word, "You are that man," indignation swiftly sank into sorrow and penitence as David's conscience yielded to the prophet's rebuke. Psalm 51 gives us a window into the depth of David's response.

Centuries earlier, another of God's prophets - this time Moses - stood before a wealthy and oppressive ruler - Pharoah of Egypt - and foretold a series of terrible plagues that would strike the Nile people and the ruler himself like heavy blows. But Pharoah did not relent. He felt no remorse. He was not filled with a holy sorrow. Instead, as Exodus tells us, he hardened his heart further still, impervious to the prophet's rebuke.

Two men, two hearts, two responses to God's word of correction.

The scourge of God's rebuke against our foolish pride and bent desires finds no more insistent expression than in the passion of Jesus, in the blows upon his sacred flesh as he stood in the place where our foolishness would otherwise lead.

Though we may never find a prophet on our doorstep, in his stead Christ sends us friends who hold us accountable, spouses who remind us of our promises, pastors who speak God's word to us, children who see through our pretensions. Embracing our crucified Lord by faith, may the Spirit soften our consciences and grant understanding to our hearts so that we may yield to his rebuke when it comes.