When I was reading through Proverbs 25, these verses jumped out at me because they highlight something of the nature of appetite and desire – and moderation. Essentially, too much of a good thing can be bad or bad for you.
Honey, for example, is a good thing. Everyone doesn’t have a sweet tooth, but think about how much a little honey can enrich something. Back in the time in which this was written, honey would have been a rare commodity. One would have to find a bees’ nest and be willing to risk being stung to get it. But to add it to food or drink would have been lovely and special.
Too much honey or sugar and your body gets out of whack. Too much for too many days and years and your body will stay out of whack. Gorging yourself on food and eating until you are ready to pop may seem like a good thing, but when it comes to the point where you are vomiting it up, the sweet becomes bitter and terrible.
It is the same way with glory. Man, it feels good when glory get heaped upon you – when you have done something well and others know it. There is something about being noticed for something you have done really well at that is, well, sweet. The problem with our sin nature is that we can begin to crave that recognition and glory in the same way that one’s sweet tooth can cause them to crave desserts. Gorging on glory works different because you cannot make people recognize and heap praise on you, so you have to do more and more in order to be noticed. But when you call up glory for yourself it is not the same; as v. 27 says, it just is not glorious.
The only thing in the universe that we will never get our fill of is Jesus. The more we know Him, the sweeter the relationship is. You cannot gorge on Jesus because He is infinitely sweet and eternally good. Seek Him heaps glory upon Him and leaves none for us, but we won’t notice because the more we know Him, the more we want to make Him known. Making Him known is glorious and sweet.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This proverb has been working on me a lot — almost grating against some of the rough edges in my life. You see, I like to pride myself on my ability to be strong in the midst of adversity — in my ability to find another gear to get through whatever I need to get through. Well, you know what Proverbs 16:18 says: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
I guess I should have begun by saying that I used to pride myself on strength in the midst of and despite adversity. I really can’t say that any more. Over the last ten years, there has been plenty of adversity but a definite lack of strength on my part. If I once was able to find a gear to dig deep and get through trouble, my transmission has gone out leaving me with nothing more than low gear.
Several times over the last decade, I have found myself made low. My body has failed me. My mind has failed me. I have failed me. I look at Proverbs 24:10 and see a strength that is small because I have consistently fainted in the “day of adversity”.
I am so thankful that I did.
Yes, you read that right: I am thankful I failed and in the day of adversity and realized that my strength has always been small. The good news is my God has always been big, and His strength is more than enough.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his struggles with a “thorn” in his flesh “to keep [him] from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness” of visions God had given him (2 Corinthians 12:7). He pleaded with God to take away the thorn, but God did not remove the thorn (2 Corinthians 12:8). God’s answer to Paul is surprising, and it is so liberating to those who are trying to make it on their own steam and failing miserably:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Jesus’s answer to Paul was not to remove the thorn and let Paul be strong. No, it was to keep the thorn and allow Paul the opportunity to lean on the strength of Christ and trust Him.
No one likes to be weak. No one likes to need trouble. But, truth be told, we are all weak at times and all need help more than we would like to admit. The apostle Paul seems at times to be some sort of superhero, but he is just a vessel of the Lord that was of use to the Lord. Any greatness seen in Paul is the Lord.
Any greatness seen in me is the Lord, too.
Any weakness is all mine. Any failure is mine, too.
When I found myself down and ready to tap out, Paul’s response to Jesus’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:9 inspired me to look at my failings and weakness differently. I needed to look at my weaknesses through the lens of the Lordship of Jesus and the reliance He has called me to — the same He had called Paul to. Look at Paul’s response:
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
So, this proverb does not have to beat me down because my strength is not an issue here; my God’s strength is more than enough! Because of Christ, I can “faint in the day of adversity” and be caught in “the mighty hand of God” waiting and ready to lift me up (1 Peter 5:6)! I can faint because He is strong.
That’s good news!
If you are like I was (and still too often am) and wondering how you are going to make it because you just don’t have the strength to carry on, look to Jesus. He is strong when we are not. Our weakness is an opportunity for Him to lift us up. Look to Jesus and let Him carry you. For when we are weak, then we are strong in Him.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Proverbs 23:23 caught my attention and made me think about the importance of our time in the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Wisdom and knowledge can very easily be treated as a commodity to be sold, traded, and purchased. In our lives, we encounter a lot of distractions that tempt us to chase after fleeting pleasures and material gain. Yet, the wisdom set forth in this verse calls us to prioritize truth — God’s Truth (John 14:6) — above all else, recognizing that it is the foundation for a life of godliness and integrity (Proverbs 4:5-7).
In John Bunyan’s classic allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, he illustrates this challenge by showing his pilgrims traveling through a place called Vanity Fair, a marketplace filled with tempting goods that represent the vanities and temptations of this world. Merchants call out to the pilgrims to “Buy, buy, buy — buy this, and buy that”, but the pilgrims resolutely stand firm and declare, “We buy the truth!” They know that the truth — along with wisdom and understanding — is far more valuable than the fleeting pleasures of the world.
In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus shares two parables that beautifully show the value of the truth. Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a hidden treasure found in a field along with a merchant searching for valuable pearls. When the treasure is discovered and the merchant finds a “pearl of great price”, they joyfully sell everything they have to have them. The things of God are more valuable than the things of this world. Just as the pilgrims in Vanity Fair chose truth over worldly good, we are called to recognize the value of Jesus — Truth incarnate.
To “buy the truth” means to be willing to sacrifice our time, energy, and even material wealth for the sake of gaining knowledge and understanding, but when we actively seek the God of Truth, whether through studying the Word, praying, or discipleship, we are investing in something that will enrich our lives and guide our hearts (2 Timothy 2:15).
In a world filled with voices vying for our attention, let us look to God’s wisdom in Proverbs 23:23. We are literally in a season when political pundits are spending billions of dollars — on both sides of battle — and peddling truths, mistruths, and false truths. There are people on both sides who, even when presented with truth contrary to what they believe or want to believe, refuse to listen to truth because they have bought what their particular candidate is selling. When faced with such things, may our response be to look to Christ and affirm our commitment: “We buy the truth! We buy the truth! Jesus is the Truth!” In doing so, we seek God’s knowledge, God’s wisdom, God’s instruction, and God’s understanding. His ways are best. His truth is absolute. May we forever side with Him and be satisfied in Him!
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Proverbs 22:6 highlights how important it is to guide our children in the ways of the Lord. Parents have the unique role of helping children grow — and grow in their faith so they can learn to love and serve God.
Children are a gift from the Lord, as we see in Psalm 127:3-5, which says they are a heritage and a reward. But raising children can be hard, and sometimes we might forget how special they are. It’s important for us to recognize their value and understand how crucial it is to help them grow spiritually.
In Colossians 3:20, Paul tells children, “Obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” This verse shows us that children should learn to respect and listen to their parents. But obedience doesn’t mean just following rules without thinking, especially if it goes against what God says. Instead, it means having a heart that wants to follow God’s truth, even when it’s tough.
At the same time, Paul reminds parents in Colossians 3:21 not to provoke their children to anger but to raise them with discipline and instruction. This means that when we discipline our kids, we should do it with love, not out of frustration. Parents should remember to show grace and mercy, just like God does, because we all make mistakes.
Teaching our children about the gospel is very important. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 encourages us to keep God’s Word close and to share it every day. We should help our children navigate life’s ups and downs, always pointing them back to the Bible. By showing loving discipline and guidance, we prepare our kids to face the world while staying strong in their faith.
Ultimately, our goal as parents is to reflect God’s love and truth. As we work to train our children in the Lord, let’s rely on His grace, trusting that He will help them grow in their hearts and lives, leading them to have a lasting relationship with Him.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Proverbs 21:2 reminds us of how easy it is to assume our actions are good just because they feel right to us. We want to believe our choices are pleasing to God, but we often judge ourselves too favorably. Yet, while we look at our outward actions, God sees deeper. He knows our true motives and attitudes, seeing through any attempts to justify or excuse ourselves. Scripture tells us that God “weighs the heart”—a reminder that He alone discerns our intentions, even when we might not fully understand them ourselves (1 Samuel 16:7, Jeremiah 17:9).
In Proverbs 21:3, God shows us what truly pleases Him: a life lived with justice and righteousness. He values sincere obedience over empty ritual. Even in the Old Testament, God reminded His people that religious ceremonies and sacrifices weren’t enough on their own. These rituals were only meaningful when done with a heart dedicated to love, mercy, and truth (Isaiah 1:12-17, Hosea 6:6). Jesus echoed this when He criticized religious leaders who focused on appearing righteous rather than practicing true compassion. They missed the heart of worship, going through the motions while failing to love others as God commanded.
For us, this means worshiping God with our whole lives, not just through outward actions. True devotion goes beyond attending church or saying prayers; it’s about living each day with a heart that desires to honor God and serve others.
As we strive to follow Jesus, let’s invite God to examine our hearts and guide us to live in ways that reflect His love and justice. May our worship be more than words or rituals, but a genuine expression of our love for God and commitment to His ways. In living this way, we bring true honor to the Lord, fulfilling His desire for righteousness and justice in the world.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
One of the greatest joys I have had while walking through the Proverbs in this #DailyWisdomChallenge is finding little gospel nuggets like Proverbs 20:6. I have to remind myself, still after years of knowing Christ and studying His Word, that learning Him is not an academic exercise or wisdom for wisdom’s sake (Ephesians 4:20-21). No, time spent in study of God’s Word is time spent with Him. And as we walk through it, Old Testament or New, it is Jesus we know more and more.
Proverbs 20:6 does not directly point to Jesus, but He is such a stark contrast to this rhetorical question that He appears. Before the question of “a faithful man who can find?” comes a statement: “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love…”. That word translated “steadfast love” here is the Hebrew word hesed (or chesed depending on your pronunciation). It, like the NT word agape is used throughout the OT to describe the great love of God – His never failing, never giving up, eternal love that He has for His people. This is where the contrast comes in: the proverb states that there are “many” men who are proclaiming their own “steadfast love”.
I don’t know about you, but any time I go to proclaiming my excellence or how good I have something or can do something is right about the time that I am humbled (or humiliated). For many to profess their own steadfast love is recipe for a letdown. That is the reason for the question about who can find a “faithful man”.
Human beings are not capable of “steadfast love” on their own. Our love is all too often the opposite of steadfast. If agape is “unconditional love”, our human love is conditional. Sadly, our love for our own selves outweighs our love for others. Our love for comfort outweighs love for others. Our love for our own honor and what we deserve or feel entitled to outweighs our love for others. I could keep going, but I am guessing you get the picture.
The “steadfast love” of God is different. He is kind of defined by His “steadfast love” as it is part of the way He introduced Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6 – that He is a God who is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”. We see that identity solidified in the NT in 1 John that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that He shows us His love by sending “His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9). His love motivated Him becoming the “propitiation” – the wrath-bearing atoning sacrifice – for our sins (1 John 4:10). And, if we are to be capable of that kind of love it is because “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)!
You may have experienced hurt from someone who proclaims love for you and disappoints. It’s a pretty common thing. People fail at this, even people who have experienced the saving love of God in Jesus. You may have been – or are now – at a point when you found yourself asking like Proverbs 20:6 who can find “a faithful man”. Rest assured, Jesus is the “faithful man”! He described this great love Himself on His last night with His disciples before He was crucified for our sin: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends” (John 15:13).
Thankfully then, in Jesus we can turn the question in Proverbs 20:6 into a definitive declaration of God’s love and faithfulness. God proclaims His own steadfast love, and He is truly faithful!
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
I love this proverb because it shows hope in a couple of ways that I think we really need to see in this day and age.
First, there is hope to be found in Jesus that is greater than any darkness or depression or depravity. Hope in Jesus is not hypothetical hope, but it is instead fixed and sure, resting on the foundation of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will surely do. His victory transcends everything that remains unknown because He has already “overcome the world” (John 16:33).
In the context of Proverbs 19:18, there is obvious reference to trouble. Why else would there be need to discipline one’s son? Whatever trouble is pointed to here, it must be bad or represents the sum total of the bad a kid can get into because God in His wisdom advises the parent not “set [their] heart on putting him to death”. Kids, just like their parents, get sideways in sin sometimes. All of them, just like all parents, do. But when you are in the midst of having to discipline this child that you have raised and tried to point in the right direction, some trouble seems like it leaves no room for hope.
The Jesus-hope this proverb’s God-wisdom points to is pictured well in Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
This sort of hope – hope only found by those who have been “justified by faith”, those who have received “peace” from God stemming from standing in His grace – works differently than worldly hope. Wordly hope is hypothetical and fails when suffering hits. Jesus-hope starts with suffering and grows as God’s Spirit gives endurance. That endurance produces fruit of the Spirit that defines one’s character. And once God has worked Himself into and out through your character, hope is a way of life. It is a byproduct of the eternal life He gives those who believe in Him.
The second hope is one that many do not agree with: as long as a child lives, I believe there is hope. Are there troubles and sins and crimes that have longlasting consequences? Absolutely. Are there things that can happen and be committed that can forever alter the life of a child? Yes. But the hope shown above is for sinners. It is hope for the ones who messed up. It is hope for those whose works earn death. It is hope for children like me – and children like you.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often as I work with students.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often as I parent my kiddos.
I find myself having to remind myself of this often because of my parent’s oldest kid (and to a lesser degree my inlaws youngest).
So, if you find yourself in the rough times of parenting and you wonder whether its worth keeping on keeping on with your kiddo, it is. God tells us here in His wisdom that there is hope in bearing with them in discipline. Things may look hopeless from your vantage point, but from the throne of the King of kings, He sees what we can’t. He sees and tells us to hope. And as He told us in Romans, hope will not put us to shame.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Outside of God saving me, the single greatest blessing in my life is God allowing me to be married to Candice. It does not take much thought or thinking through our relationship over the last twenty-three years to confirm that she is definitely my “good thing” and an example of God’s grace and “favor” in my life. And none who know or care for me would disagree.
But Proverbs 18:22 is not just about me and Candice. It, like so many other proverbs, finds its meaning not only in its own words but in contrast to others. As we looked at when discussing the “forbidden woman” v. the wife of one’s youth in Proverb 5, there is a contrast between the life that God prescribes and the paths that forge on their own. In the coming chapters of Proverbs (21:19 and 25:24), there is a contrast between wives who seek to be something other than a good thing or godly favor but to drive their husbands to be better off living “in a desert land” (Proverbs 21:19) or on “a corner of the housetop than in a house” (Proverbs 25:24).
Proverbs 18:22 represents living according to God’s wisdom in contrast to the anti-wisdom of the temptations of the forbidden woman or the plight of a quarrelsome marriage. God has a specific design for marriage and, as He Himself invented marriage, His design works best.
God’s design for marriage began when He remarked in the Garden of Eden that it was “not good” that Adam “should be alone” and decided to “make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). God performed the first surgery and the first marriage in quick succession. He created Eve from Adam’s rib and joined them together as man and wife. Their union was to be the example for those marriages moving forward — in intimacy as well as how it was set apart (Genesis 2:23-25).
Many try and abuse God’s design for marriage by citing the term “helper” (Genesis 2:18) and the call to submission in Ephesians 5:22, but those picture something different for marriage — something better. You see, God did not create marriage for a man’s benefit but also for women.
While it is “favor from the Lord” for man to find a wife, it is not a curse for the wife. The husband is to love and care for his wife “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25). Marriage is to be a picture of the gospel (Ephesians 5:32).
To find God’s purpose for your life is a good thing. If it is singleness, that is a good and godly pursuit. If it is marriage, that is a good and godly pursuit. But both should be sought as God prescribes.
Marriage works best the way God intended with husbands caring for and loving their wives and wives caring for and loving their husbands. When I think specifically of how God has blessed me and shown favor to me in my wife, I think of the rib He used to make Eve (Genesis 2:21). God did not just design marriage; He also designed the human body. He made the rib cage to protect the most vital human organs like the heart and lungs. My wife is small, but she is fiercely protective of those she loves. She is protective of me even when I think I do not need protection. She looks to care for me even when I think I am the only one doing the caring and providing.
She has also taught me what it is to be a “helper” in the Genesis 2:18 sense. Everything that I do is enhanced because God has put her in my life. He has changed and grown me immensely over the years by His indwelling Spirit, and He has given me a desire to change, grown, and be better for the wife He has given me.
If you are reading this and married, take time and thank God for the spouse He has given you. Then, talk to your spouse and tell them you are thankful for them. Know that God has a plan for your marriage as surely as He has a plan for you (Ephesians 2:10), and see to it that you represent God’s favor to your spouse rather than husband-ing or wife-ing in such a way that they are headed for the desert or the roof! As Martin Luther said centuries ago, “Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.”
Thank you, Lord, for the gift of marriage. Thank you for the way that Your relationship with Your church gives us the perfect example of love and a high standard to live up to — a standard worth striving for. Thank you for Candice and make me a man worth being married to!
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
This proverb his my right square in my heart.
I spent the bulk of my childhood being the butt of many jokes, and made fun of quite mercilessly. I was beat up and often bullied. The bruises faded and broken glasses were replaced, but the scars — physical and emotional — remain.
This is one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher. Throughout those years of being bullied, there were a handful that took notice, but most, for whatever reason, were oblivious or chalked it up to that’s just the way kids are. If you have never been treated like this (or were on the giving side of these sorts of encounters rather than the receiving), you do not know what a relief it is when someone notices and helps you. Carrie Mack and Linda Bumpers at Willa Wilson Elementary were blessings from God that helped me see my value despite the efforts of bus riders and drivers who were glad to see it stomped out. These ladies still to this day look for and out for me and are encouragements in my life. Seeing either of them today fills my heart with joy and encouragement and reminds me of light in the midst of darkness.
In middle school, I know teachers saw me being bullied. The example that first comes to mind is Mike Miles. He knew what I was going through without being told. He went and had my schedule changed so that I would be out of the study hall where my misery was always the subject of study to his study hall. He taught me how to play chess. He encouraged me to read books if that’s what I liked to do. In fact, that was the gist of what he taught me (other than the math he was tasked with): he taught me to be who God had made me to be and not let others diminish that. When I see him even today, I never hesitate to tell him how thankful I am that God used him to save my life — that when others worked to convince me my life had no value, God used him to remind me who and Whose I was.
There was one particular memory that came to mind when I read this verse that convicts me still to this day. When I think of this particular memory, I am filled with nauseating guilt even though it has been over twenty years ago.
In sixth grade, Carolyn Swanson saw that I had been bullied and mistreated as well. She also noticed other students who endured the same. Sixth grade back then meant mandatory PE a few days a week (some days library or music). For me, that was like painting a giant bullseye because that meant either getting picked last for teams or not at all (this was the 1990s; participation was not mandatory, and exclusion/mockery were allowed). Even though I did not want to be picked because that would mean I could go up into the stands and read rather than embarrassing myself athletically in a very public way, I really wanted to be picked. Well, I really wanted to belong.
One particular day, a group of the more popular guys approached me and pointed out one of my classmates. Me and this other guy were basically tied for least popular in the sixth grade as well as in who could be made fun of more. Neither of us were athletic. Neither of us came from families with much money. Both of us were quiet and clothed differently than others. The guys convinced me that the surest way to be one of them — to get picked for teams and get to hang out with them — was to make fun of the other guy. He had just gotten some new boots that he was proud of and had worn them to school. It made me sick to my stomach to think of doing that to someone else, but this could have meant that I got bumped up a level and got a reprieve from being made fun of. So, right there in the middle school gym, I let the other guy have it. I was ugly. It was shameful. He cried. And then the other guys started in — on me.
Their plan all along was to embarrass me and show that I was fake. They knew I professed to be a Christian and saw this as an opportunity to cast aspersions on that profession of faith. They gave me every bit of what I gave the other guy and worse. I cried, too, but not so much for what I was receiving but that I had allowed myself to do to the other guy what I knew was terrible.
Mrs. Swanson somehow found out about this, and I can remember what she said to me about it like it was yesterday. She told me that it was worse for me to do that than the others because I truly knew what it felt like to be treated like that. This was not a means for her to belittle me but to invest in me. She fussed at me, and I deserved it. She told me that she expected more out of me and knew that I would learn from this and grow into the man she knew I could be — despite my failure and because I would learn from it.
I am ashamed to say that it took months for me to get the courage to apologize to the other guy, and before I could, he moved away. It took nearly twenty years to get in contact with him again. I won’t tell you a story of apology and reconciliation here because I do not want to paint myself as a good guy for any of this. I want to help you understand Proverbs 17:5.
Everyone you come into contact with is made in the image of God. He created them and formed them in their mother’s womb. Each of us is unique, with unique features and personalities. Some of us, like myself, are more different than societal norms than others. And it is all too easy to make fun rather than to show care and respect.
This is not wrong merely for the human life you did not respect. It is a slap in the face of their “Maker”.
If someone is going through a tough time — some “calamity” — whether it is their fault, someone else’s fault, or nobody’s fault, it is not a time for mockery. Even if you think someone is getting the “calamity” they deserve, it is not a time to mock and make fun; we sure don’t enjoy it when calamities of our own making find us.
I guess this is really a plea to be kind to others and recognize that the same God who made you made them. There is never a time to mock or insult. There is always time to show love and care.
For me, this drove me to become a teacher. The examples of those who took up for me influence how I interact with kids — all of them I have and all that I can — on a daily basis. The example of the one who saw me becoming like the others and intervened has a daily impact, too, on the man God made me to be as well as in ways that I can watch out for others as well. I pray that this little bit of testimony helps you along the way, whether you are the bully, the bullied, or the bystander. Let us look out for others and look to God for how He would have us to treat folks.
For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.
This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.
Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?
Today’s proverb is another example of how we can see the gospel clearly pictured in the proverbs. This shows the beauty of God’s wisdom showing us how to come to Him and the danger of the anti-wisdom of the world that leads us away from Him.
We have looked at the “fear of the LORD” in most every chapter of Proverbs so far. To understand the “fear of the LORD” in the context of the gospel is especially important in present-day America when many preachers use fear as a means for convincing people to walk an aisle and make a decision for Jesus. This sort of fear-driven invitation time leads can lead to confusion and false conversion — and people wanting to be “re-saved” every time they sin and find themselves afraid of God’s wrath. When it comes to Biblical “fear of the LORD”, this definitely ain’t that!
The “fear of the LORD” described in the Bible (Proverbs 1:29, 2:4-6, 3:7, 8:13, 9:10, 14:26-27, 15:33, 16:6; Job 28:28; Psalm 34:11; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Acts 9:31) is best described as having deep respect, admiration, and awe for God. It is the basis for truly understanding and knowing Him and comes from having a relationship with Him because He saved and redeemed you. It changes your life and is fueled by having His Spirit within you and seeing Him influence your desires, attitudes, choices, feelings, actions, and goals. Knowing Him this way understands that He has a frightening level of power and wrath, but you do not have to live in fear of Him because He cares for you and His Son bore His wrath on your behalf.
This “fear of the LORD” gives us a desire to turn “away from evil” because you see Him and “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus [as] Lord” (Philippians 3:8). This “fear of the LORD” is fueled by His “steadfast love and faithfulness” despite our “iniquity”, knowing that He atones for sin for those He saves.
For those who do not turn to Him, those who reject Him and put their trust in themselves, there is much to fear, in the traditional, literal sense of fear, but this fear does not see people turn from their sin. People may curb their behaviors or hide their desires because of fear, but no real change happens. The change God brings in people through His steadfast love and faithful salvation brings real change, from the inside out.
What about you?
Do you fear the Lord in the Biblical sense, or are you merely scared of His wrath?
Is He the God of the universe or some vengeful and distant deity?
One is the God who saves as presented in the Bible. His name is Jesus.
It is my prayer that you see Him for who He is, confess Him as Lord, and believe in Him.
Just Keith Harris 