Parent Robbers

For Friday, February 1, 2008
Proverbs 28:24

Whoever robs his father or his mother
and says, "That is no transgression,"
is a companion to a man who destroys.

How would such a person justify robbing his parents? One way is to justify his motivation. His parents are unfair to withhold support; he justifies that he is taking what they owe him. His parents are unjust in the way they treat him; he argues that he is giving back the same mistreatment they give him.

He minimizes his crime. He is taking only a small amount of what his parents have. They will never notice. They are not using it anyhow.

Another way is to redefine his robbing. He is borrowing and intends to return what he has taken. He is borrowing against his inheritance. He is investing for his parents, using their money and belongings to invest for greater gain.

And then, he fails to recognize the broader definition of robbing. What Jesus said to the Pharisees about how they break the commandment of honoring one's father and mother is true of breaking the commandment to not steal.

"You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God) - then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down" (Mark 7:9-13).

Likewise, we rob our parents when we fail to support them when they need us and when we rob them of the honor due them. And so, we are partners with those who destroy.

Rebuke and Flattery

For Thursday, January 31, 2008
Proverbs 28:23

Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor
than he who flatters with his tongue.

The contrast here is between rebuking and flattering. That is essential to note, for one may think that the proverb is exalting the person who is quick to rebuke as opposed to being an encourager. The flatterer is essentially a liar; his motive is his own advantage. He flatters to win favor or to appease anger. He is thinking of himself. The rebuker's motive is advancing the cause of truth and justice AND in saving his neighbor from calamity. The very reason he will find favor is that his motive is pure and eventually becomes recognized as such.

The rebuke may be gentle; it may need to be harsh. The one who rebukes well gives thought to the occasion. Consider Jesus who at times is gentle as a lamb in the correction he gives and at other times is like a roaring lion. He speaks with discernment - discerning the occasion and the person to whom he speaks.

Again, the motive is essential and it is what controls the tongue. Just as flatterers may confuse their fair words with encouragement, deceiving themselves about their motives, so arrogant rebukers may confuse their harshness with honest admonition. "I am only speaking the truth." "I am only saying what needs to be said." And then they leave a trail of the wounded, blaming the results on the persons they have wounded.

Better to rebuke than to flatter. But use rebuke for what flattery pretends to do - to help, to build up, to save a person from downfall.

Partiality and Bribes

For Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Proverbs 28:21

To show partiality is not good,
but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.

This proverb is speaking against the taking of bribes. The second line points to the triviality of the bribe. A dishonest person is willing to take anything. His one motive is his own gain. He has no interest in fairness. Indeed, justice is a game to him. Like the board game of Life, his object is to finish with the most money.

This mindset is particularly appalling because it denies human dignity. There is no sense of giving to another his "fair due." Even the wicked at times will acknowledge a person earning a reward, even respect. But the bribe taker cynically reduces everyone to an economic pawn used to serve his end. Whether he ruthlessly demands from the poor or bows before the rich, he treats everyone as mere means to his own ends. The bribe taker respects no one.

He even reduces himself to a calculating machine. His one attribute is knowing when, where, and how much to extract from others. Everyone has something to give and everything has a measure of value, even a piece of bread. All he has to do is calculate whose gift has the higher value.

We should be careful lest we fall into a similar mindset, calculating whose favor is more advantageous to us. It is easier to do than we suspect and usually we fall into such a mindset before we realize we have.

Faithfulness vs Get-Rich-Quick

For Monday, January 28, 2008
Proverbs 28:20

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

The contrast between the character of the faithful man and the get-rich man lies in integrity. The faithful person's priority is to carry out his responsibility well. Whatever the task before him, his concern is to complete it and to finish well. Thus, he is one to be trusted to keep his word, trusted to act ethically and do quality work.

The get-rich person has one over-riding desire - to get rich. That desire controls his mind and heart. Thus, it clouds his thinking, pushing him to move from one get-rich-quick to another. It clouds his moral judgment so that he resorts to lying, scheming, manipulating, even stealing to accomplish his purposes.

It is easy enough then to see how blessings come to the faithful person. He is well thought of by his neighbors. His supervisors and those whom he supervises praise him. His faithful work will overflow into blessing others and thus result in blessings returning to him. Because he has remain faithful, he is likely to see monetary reward from his labors. He earns respect as a worker; he nurtures his business through the difficult times into prosperity.

The get-rich-quick person may experience quick riches, but is just as likely to quickly lose them. He is more likely never to achieve his dreams, because he lacks staying power. He lacks the necessary discipline to carry his labors through to harvest. He earns distrust from his neighbors; indeed, he is likely to earn their enmity so that they work against him. They desire his downfall.

Two persons with the same abilities. One possesses integrity; the other does not. So then their destinies are set.