Flattery

For Friday, February 15, 2008
Proverbs 29:5

A man who flatters his neighbor
spreads a net for his feet.

Flattery, as used here, is a tool by which to deceive. It is the tool by which to earn favor or to hide real intentions. In this case, an unscrupulous neighbor uses flattery to set up the downfall of his unsuspecting neighbor.

The proverb raises the matter of how seemingly good words can be used maliciously. Praise, which should be a means of showing due honor and encouragement, is twisted into shallow, even devious speech. Words intended to build up others are used to either make fools of them or tear them down.

The further harm of flattery is that it spurs its opposite to take place - rudeness. If flattery lays nets, then should we not avoid praise altogether? Should not our greater concern be to tell the truth? Truth does matter, but we are commanded to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We are commanded to build up one another. The Apostle Paul, who clearly did not avoid speaking what needed to be heard, also took the time to praise the very people he corrected.

The cure for flattery is not rude "truth-telling," but speaking the truth in love. It is looking for what is truly good to praise in a person. The protection against flattery is to find one's value in the love of God, not in the praises of neighbors, even if the praises are true and sincere.

By Justice

For Thursday, February 14, 2008
Proverbs 29:4

By justice a king builds up the land,
but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

The "gifts" could be bribes or, as suggested in one translation, heavy taxes. The point is that such a ruler is unjust. Furthermore, his very injustice tears down the land by which he is sustained. This is a principle that the unjust somehow cannot understand. By exercising justice, a ruler builds up the land so that his people prosper. Because they prosper, they are able and more willing to support the ruler. If they would seek first the welfare of the kingdom, everything else will be provided for them.

Does that sound familiar? "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:33). The context is somewhat different in which Jesus spoke these words, but the essential truth remains. If a ruler concentrates on what really matters - the belonging to and serving the kingdom of God, seeking and promoting righteousness - then he is likely to find many of the things he worries about falling into place. He is more likely to find his physical needs met.

God blesses the ruler who is just, and he has in his providential care seen that the very work of justice produces good fruit. See what the King he sent was able to accomplish with his justice.

Instead, their very greed leads them to be unjust and eventually cause their downfall.

Loving Wisdom

For Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Proverbs 29:3

He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
but a companion of prositutes squanders his wealth.

One is led to think of the parable of the prodigal son. He took his father's inheritance and "squandered his property in reckless living" (Luke 15:11ff). He would have thought he was spending his money to enjoy life, to experience pleasure. But his problem was not that he loved pleasure too much but that his love was misguided.

Note the opposing person in the proverb. He is not described as being a stoic, one who chooses wisdom over enjoyment. He is one who loves wisdom. Wisdom is not a discipline to endure in order to keep secure. Wisdom itself is pleasurable. Recall the earlier proverbs:

13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.

The double bonus of loving wisdom is experiencing the joy of one's father, but even more so, one's heavenly Father. Because his Son excercised perfect wisdom, the Father delighted in him. And if we follow along the same path, choosing wisdom over sinful pleasures, we also shall know the blessing of delighting our Father.

Righteous Joy

For Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Proverbs 29:2

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,
but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 28:28 says:
When the wicked rise, people hide themselves,
but when they perish, the righteous increase.

Today's proverb makes clear the impact of the righteous when they increase. It brings rejoicing. People may rejoice in the concept of righteousness and justice, but what brings out the rejoicing here is their own freedom from oppression. The wicked, in advancing their own pleasure, exact money and labor from the people. To protect their wicked endeavors, they repress any attempt to exert freedom or vindication or even to be left alone. The wicked have one goal - their own happiness - and will do whatever is needed to obtain it.

The righteous also have the goal of happiness. The difference is what makes up that happiness. For the righteous, having a people who are happy and contented makes them all the more contented. To see people who are fulfilled makes them feel fulfilled. And the righteous are most righteous according to how much they share in the joy of their heavenly righteous Father. So we see this in the Son whose greatest delight is to delight his Father. And so he brings forth justice at the greatest of cost, knowing that an even greater joy awaits in what his work will produce - joy to his Father and the re-making of sinners into righteous children.

And so he has established a kingdom in which the righteous increase and the people who belong to it rejoice. And so that joy will be made complete when the King returns and consummates his kingdom, bringing a day in which there will be no more groaning.