Thorns and Snares

For Friday, June 8, 2007
Proverbs 22:5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.

This proverb has the similar message of 22:3: "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." The new contrast is between the crooked (the wicked) and the righteous who take care to guard their souls. But the results are the same. Like the simple, the crooked find trouble in the path they have chosen to take. Like the prudent, the righteous is alert to where danger lurks and stays around from it.

One might say that the crooked and simple are the more daring, while the prudent and righteous are afraid to be risk-takers. Yet at the heart of both proverbs is not about being daring but being foolish. The simple is foolish in his estimate of the danger; the crooked is foolish in choosing a path that is wicked. The prudent and the righteous are both wise in sizing up danger and honorable in choosing what risk to take.

One man walks into a "seedy" neighborhood thinking that he can flirt with danger and because he is lured by temptation. Another walks into the same neighborhood to befriend someone well aware of the danger but more intent to do what is right. Both take risks. Both put themselves in situations where trouble could come. But who is more likely to get into further trouble?

The simple and the crooked are lured by the "excitement" of temptation. That is why they fail to see their danger. That is why obstacles keep popping up. Their eyes are fixed on sin. The eyes of the prudent and the righteous are fixed on Christ, which makes them all the more alert to the greatest danger - the attacks against their souls.

Remember the greatest danger before you today. It is not that you might get hit by a car or robbed. It is that situations will catch you off guard and lead you to sin. Satan is not so interested in making you physically suffer; as revealed with Job, what he wants is to lead you astray. Be alert to the real enemy and the real danger.

Riches, Honor, Life

For Thursday, June 7, 2007
Proverbs 22:4

The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
is riches and honor and life.

What riches? Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, the riches of God's grace, forgiveness of sin, redemption, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, adoption by God as his child, God's steadfast, unmerited love.

What honor? To be called a child of God, to hear "well done, good and faithful servant," to be called brother or sister by Jesus Christ, to actually receive "praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ," to someday receive an "eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison," to wear the crown of life.

What life? Abundant life in Christ, a forgiven life, a redeemed life, an eternal life of joy, a meaningful life, a transformed life, a life to come in which we will not sin nor be sinned against nor feel any effect of sin, a life spend in the presence of God and of the Lamb.

Not a bad deal.

Seeing Danger

For Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Proverbs 22:3

The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.

This is the same message as the nonbiblical proverb: Fools rush in where angels fear to dread. The simple "go on" either because they do not see the danger or because they estimate themselves too highly, thinking they can withstand harm.

The prudent does not hide himself out of cowardliness. Rather, he is able to discern the danger and discern the appropriate action to take, which will at times be to hide or walk away. As an old Kenny Rogers song says, "You got to know when to hold them (cards) and know when to fold them." There are times to speak up and times to remain quiet; times to stand one's ground and times to give in. There are times to fight and times to make peace. The prudent understands the times; the simple does not.

And thus the simple person oftentimes suffers for his actions. He is admonished for his speech and punished for his behavior, and he actually does not seem to know why. He cannot look about him and see how his action is inappropriate.

Certainly the lesson is for us to develop our ability to discern. We are to be prudent. But all the more let us thank our God who watches over us. For the most prudent person is still unaware of most dangers. We do not see the future; we do not see the unseen spiritual world. We do not grasp fully our depravity and frailty, nor the power of the evil one. How many times have we been oblivious to the dangers about us and God has protected us from suffering? Let us thank God for the prudent One who saw our danger and put himself forward to suffer on our behalf.

The Rich and the Poor

For Monday, June 4, 2007
Proverbs 22:2

The rich and the poor meet together;
the Lord is the maker of them all.

Whether rich or poor, we are all creatures made by God to glorify God. There is nothing we possess that we were not given - neither money nor the ability to make money, neither favorable circumstances of birth nor the wit to climb out of unfavorable circumstances. There is no such thing as a self-made man, nor an unlucky man.

The Lord is the maker of us all. That means we share the same value before him and the same status of sinners. We may look at one another and say, "There go I." For we both bear the image of God. It is for mankind, which includes us all, that Christ became man and died. It is to man in every circumstance - rich or poor, slave or free, male or female - that the gospel is freely given.

Therefore, no one can boast of what he possesses or has attained. He would have nothing unless granted by his Maker. Nor can man boast of how he deserves favor. Nor can anyone complain about his circumstance, as though he deserved better. For our Maker does not reveal his secret counsels and makes clear that what anyone receives is out of grace and mercy.

It is said that contentment lies not in what we possess but in accepting our circumstances. That is not quite true. Real contentment does lie in what we possess. The trouble of the rich is that they think of the wrong possessions; the trouble of the poor is that they fail to understand what they have. Whether rich or poor, they "rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which God has promised to those who love him" (James 2:5).