Fighting Strongholds

For Friday, May 11, 2007
Proverbs 21:22

A wise man scales the city of the mighty
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

Wisdom is stronger than physical strength. In sports, the smarter team is more likely to defeat the better athletic team. So it is in the military. In business, it is the company that is more clever that wins over the company with more money and resources.

And so it is in the spiritual life. It is not the amount of Bible knowledge that causes growth in sanctification, but the ability to discern biblical truth. One can memorize these proverbs and learn little from them or even misapply them. The wise are discerning about what these proverbs mean and how they apply.

How is it that Christians can know the Gospel and know much Scripture and theology, yet have troubles in their relationships with others? Because they do not exercise wisdom. They try to bring down the stronghold of others by yelling at the wall or beating it with their fists. And they wonder why they cannot succeed. Jesus said, "The sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light" (Luke 16:8).

Be wise; be discerning; think through your goal and how to achieve your goal. Being a Christian does not mean giving up your ability to think wisely. Strongholds can be scaled and even brought down. All that is needed is wisdom.

Will Find

For May 10, 2007
Proverbs 21:21

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness
will find life, righteousness, and honor.

This is the promise of the Gospel - our pursuit of righteousness and kindness will not be in vain. However you may feel at the moment; if you despair of good winning out; if you see about you only death, wickedness, and shame; know that life, righteousness, and honor is what you will ultimately find. You will find more than you expect here in this world in your earthly lifetime. And you will find these things in their full glory in the presence of your Lord.

Do not despair as those who are without hope, who believe that there is nothing beyond this world and this life. Do not grow cynical; do not give way to bitterness. Rather open your eyes to the good that is around you. Take joy in the life you now have in Christ; delight in the righteousness that has been given to you in Christ; be humbled by the honor accorded to you in Christ.

For remember, it was not because you pursued righteousness and kindness that God sent his Son to die for you. You despised righteousness; you were not kind. But God showed his love for you in that while you will still a sinner, even an enemy of God, he sent his Son who brought to you life abundantly, who clothed you in his righteousness, and bestowed the honor of being called a child of God. How much more now, that you are pursuing righteousness and kindness, will he see that your faith "may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

To Devour or to Nurture

For Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Proverbs 21:20

Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.

Savvy salespersons and advertizers understand this proverb. The wise person saves and exercises restraint. For that reason he accumulates an abundance. The fool consumes whatever he gets.

Compare this proverb with verse 17: "Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich." The seeming paradox is that the lover of riches and pleasure will be poor, while the wise person who understands restraint and proper value of fleeting pleasure will have more than he needs.

The consumer devours what he obtains. His motto is to enjoy the day at hand, to take now whatever is given. But he does not understand that he is not obtaining the full pleasure he desires. Restraint is not putting off pleasure to protect against an unknown future. Restraint is training the body and the mind to enjoy more fully an experience or object. Which wine love truly enjoys the pleasure of wine - the drunkard or the one who lingers over one glass? Who really knows the pleasure of sexual intimacy - the person who goes from partner to partner seeking only a sensation or the couple who save their bodies for each other and develop a loving, lasting relationship?

Wisdom is not about putting off pleasure. It is about nurturing pleasure, building it up to be a lasting experience. What is of real value is worth nurturing.

A Fretful Woman

For Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Proverbs 21:19

It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

Consider Peter's counsel to wives in light of this proverb:

"Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives-- 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing-- 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening" (1 Peter 3:1-6).

Wives, consider what fretfulness ultimately conveys. You may think it conveys that your husbands are not acting wisely or loving. But it further conveys that you cannot trust God. Scripture teaches us to be content in all circumstances. That includes marriage. That is a difficult command to observe, but nevertheless it is the call for wives and for husbands.

Husbands, consider seriously how you contribute to your wives' quarrelsomeness and fretfulness. You may wish you were in a desert, but you are not. You as head of your marriage have the obligation to help calm your wives' fears. Just as her resorting to quarreling and expressing her anxieties do not help you to achieve more and be more responsible, neither do your reprimands help to quiet her fears.

Women should not nag and men should not escape. And neither of them should blame the other for their behavior. Follow the command given in Ephesians 5:33: "However, let each one of you love his wife as himself (regardless of her behavior), and let the wife see that she respects her husband (regardless of his behavior)." You will be surprised how much respect and love positively affects behavior when they are given irrespective of behavior.

A Ransom

For Monday, May 7, 2007
Proverbs 21:18

The wicked is a ransom for the righteous,
and the traitor for the upright.

There is a sense in which the wicked receive the punishment that was to have been visited on others, including the righteous. Thus, Judah was spared when Sennacherib was moved by God to attack the Egyptians rather than his covenant people. And God could say,

"For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life" (Isaiah 43:3, 4).

One person cannot pay for the life of another, especially the life of a sinner for one who is righteous. But this type of language expresses the justice of God in which we often see the wicked meeting destruction of some sort and the righteous being spared. Thus comes the expression, "There but by the grace of God go I." And so will we say when the Day of Judgment comes and we are spared the judgment of God.

All the more then, ought we to tremble as we contemplate the real ransom made for us. For it was not by the substitute of the wicked that the righteous were ransomed; rather, it was by the substitute of the Righteous One that we the wicked were ransomed. Christ ought to have been spared the cross and we serve as his ransom. That would have been just.

What mysterious mercy is this that brought forth a profound justice in order to ransom wicked people?