Heavy Weight

For Friday, November 9, 2007
Proverbs 27:3

A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.

It is odd how much a fool's provocation weighs upon us. We may exhaust ourselves carrying stone or moving sand. But we may put either down whenever we desire; we can then rest and recoup. But the provocation of a fool weighs upon us and we cannot lay it down. Indeed, the weight only seems to grow.

Perhaps someone has taunted us; perhaps has teased us; perhaps has simply acted foolish in front of us. We cannot get it out of our minds. We keep thinking about it. We begin to fume about it. Perhaps something was said that has an element of truth, and we argue in our minds about it. Perhaps we were embarrassed. The problem is that we cannot get it out of our minds.

How do we get rid of such a weight? The simple answer is to turn it over to God. But how is that done? Through prayer of course, but specifically through Scripture informed prayer. To get the words of the fool out of our minds, we need to fill our minds with the words of God. All Scripture is good to read, but especially effective is to read that which speaks of the character and works of God. If we turn our minds to the praise of God, then there is not room to carry the provocation of a fool.

Self Praise

For Thursday, November 8, 2007
Proverbs 27:2

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.

"See what I have done!" That is a cute phrase from a young child. We smile and respond how impressed we are. But as one grows older the cute phrase becomes increasingly irritating to hear. We judge the speaker to be immature at best or egotistical. When the self-praise is patently off base, we consider the speaker to be delusional and he is scorned as a fool. When the self-praise actually has merit, then all the more that praise is resented as being prideful and arrogant. Whatever may be the case, self-praise reveals a character that is self-centered.

But the same praise, when it is spoken by others, not only is acceptable but regarded as the right thing to do. "See what he has done!" That is an apt phrase from an objective outsider. We don't merely concur with the words; we find them pleasing to be spoken. We want to join in on the praise. We will even urge the recipient of the phrase not to be modest.

But what if the praise does not come? That is the egotist's real worry. What if others do not notice his accomplishments? Or perhaps they do, but are not the type to give praise? How then will others take notice? How will he get his due acclaim?

That very line of thinking reveals the small-mindedness and self-centeredness of the thinker. It reveals that his accomplishments are little more than attention getters. He has not strived to achieve great things, but to achieve greatness. He has not performed for love of the game or love of the deed or love for others, but for the acknowledgement of others. The irony is that his very attempt at gaining praise through his self-praise, causes him to lose the admiration he would have likely received. His very zeal to make himself admired destroys his goal.

Christians, of all people, should have little concern about being praised, not because praise is bad, but because of what lies before us - "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparision" (2 Corinthians 4:17). Is that not enough to satisfy?

Tomorrow

For Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Proverbs 27:1

Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.

James provides a good commentary for this proverb: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

The sooner we grasp how little control we have of the future, then the better prepared we will be for it. We become flustered and lose our temper because our plans are interrupted. If we know that tomorrow is in God's hands and not ours, we will then be better prepared for what will actually take place, whether or not it goes according to our plans.

It is good to make plans; but understand that our plans are nothing more than that - plans. We are not God whose plans are fixed. Nor do we want them to be. For we lack God's knowledge and his goodness. Do not boast about tomorrow. It is the humble attitude to take and the wise attitude that will lead to contentment and to true readiness.

The Revealing Liar

For Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Proverbs 26:28

A lying tongue hates its victims,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.

The lying tongue and the flattering mouth - weapons of deception - are the true revealers of the heart. The liar may consciously despise his victim or regards the victim indifferently; so the flatterer. He has one aim - his advancement. He may want money or power or pleasure. Whatever the case, he will lie and flatter for that one goal. He is single-minded.

And he is a hater whose real love is to ruin others. Deny as he might, his very lying reveals his heart as a hater. He hates his neighbor. Most of all, he hates God. Like his father Satan, his character is expressed through his deception.

Such a person cannot be happy with mere advancement of his own situation. He must see that others experience disappointment. He delights not only in their being deceived, but by their misery over the deception. Ruin - the ruin of others - is what satisfies their inner craving.

How comforting it is to know the intent and the power of our Father who is Truth, who intends on building us up even to glory, and who will not fail. The world is filled with lying tongues, but it is also under the sovereign control of our God who cannot be deceived, who is advancing his kingdom, who is turning liars into truth-bearers, even us. There is one who seeks our ruin; but there is a greater One within us who seeks our victory and will attain it.

The Pit and the Stone

For Monday, November 5, 2007
Proverbs 26:27

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it,
and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.

He who starts trouble will get caught up in his own making. Typically he underestimates the response of others. He expects them to cower when they instead get angry. He expects them to get upset when instead they remain cool. He may good at pit digging or stone rolling, but he is poor in calculating the human heart. He may anticipate the initial reaction, but he does not think further. He does not anticipate how the victim will eventually retaliate.

Nor does he consider the One who is watching his every step and who will see that justice is done. Understand that however large the pit may be that the wicked digs, there is a greater, more terrible pit that awaits him. However large the stone may be that he sends rolling, there is a greater stone that will crush him. For his own good, he will hopefully fall into his own pit and be hurt by his own stone so that he might be brought to his senses.

Pray for the wicked to now say, "What have I done?" Pray for the wicked to come now to his senses, look beyond his little pit, and see how his mischief will engulf himself. Pray now for the wicked to repent as we have done for our own wickedness.