Be Not Hasty

For Friday, August 31, 2007
Proverbs 25:7b-10

What your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court,
for what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another’s secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.

This counsel is similar to that of Jesus' in Matthew 18:15: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother."

Being quick to bring a charge against your neighbor whether in court or to anyone else is foolish for several reasons. For one, you may be wrong in your charge. You did not see what you thought you saw. You did not know the extenuating circumstances. As a result, you are guilty of bringing false charges and losing the trust and goodwill of your neighbor and those whom you told. Another reason, and the one which Jesus points out, is that you should give your neighbor opportunity to repent. By going to him privately, you provide a way for him to confess his sin and deal with it appropriately, so that he becomes grateful to you. Not only do you help him to repent, but you win your neighbor over to be a brother or sister.

Being quick to bring charges demonstrates a spirit contrary to Galatians 6:1: "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." There may be a time for charges to be presented, but we should not be hasty to get to them. And then, there are times in which we should overlook what we see. We should not overlook crime, but as weak sinners we would do well to show sympathy and commit our fellow sinners to prayer and to God's dealings. Galatians 6:7 says, "God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." No one is getting away with anything.

Let us be thankful that Jesus, who easily could have brought charges against us, became instead our Redeemer and is now our Advocate against the evil one who does bring charges. Let us learn from him the spirit of mercy.

Exalting Self

For Thursday, August 30, 2007
Proverbs 25:6-7

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
or stand in the place of the great,
for it is better to be told, "Come up here,"
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

Let's turn to Jesus for application of this proverb:

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, 'Give your place to this person,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:7-11).

Dross Removal

For Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Proverbs 25:4-5

Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.

The metaphor is apt in two ways. First, the matter of the dross being gone. Without the dross, the smith has pure silver and with that material, something beautiful can be crafted. So, for the king. With the wicked away from him - that is, wicked counselors and others near the throne trying to influence him - he is able to craft policies that produce something of value. Leaders have often found this the case. When advisors who are looking out for their own welfare are gone, wise decisions become easy to make. And when the employee or student who is poisoning the atmosphere leaves, then the workplace or class environment becomes productive and good-spirited.

But the metaphor leads us also to consider how the dross is removed. It is through a "fiery" process. The smith cannot take a cloth and rub it away. He has to expose the dross and the silver to the fire. So it is with the selfish advisor and the poor worker or student. The process of removing such a person requires wisdom and steadfastness to see the process of removal through, and usually it does not happen without pain. What keeps the leader steadfast is his eye on the goal, just as Jesus was able to endure his suffering because his eye on the "joy that was before him" (cf Hebrews 12:2).

But another understanding of this proverb comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7, which speaks of our faith being tested by fire. Sometimes the wicked dross that needs removal is the dross of our own hearts. We think work is such a terrible place or school an awful place. We complain about eveyone else about us, not realizing that the real problem is within our own hearts. It is when that dross is removed that we will truly be established in righteousness.

The King's Heart

For Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Proverbs 25:3

As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart of kings is unsearchable.

Consider this proverb in light of 23:1-3:

"When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food."

The mistake of the diner who dives into his food is that he thinks he understands the ruler. He thinks the ruler offers the food merely out of friendship, not realizing that the ruler is using the meal as a test of the diner's character.

The point of our proverb is that kings do what they do out of calculation. They are not free with their hearts. That would be dangerous for them. They speak and act with design, as did Solomon when he pretended he would split a baby in two. And so it is with persons in position of responsibility. The greater the responsibility, the more careful they will be in speech and conduct. They are not being malicious; they are being cognizant that what they say and do have far-reaching implications.

The is a message to us, on the other hand, not to exert our energies in "out-calculating" the ruler. Act on what you know to be right, not what you think will endear your "ruler" to you. If an employee, then do your work well as unto the Lord. If a student, act likewise. It is the Lord whom you are to be concerned with pleasing, and he has made clear what is appropriate speech and conduct.