Joy

Proverbs 15:20

      Being a parent can be one of the most rewarding and frustrating experiences anyone can have. When your children are making good decisions, wise decisions and the get the reward for those choices, this is exciting. And the joy doesn’t fade over time. Long after they have left the safety of your home and established their own home, when doing the right thing pays off, your heart will jump in joy.

      But this outcome is by no means guaranteed. You can raise your children in a household where doing the right thing is the norm, and still have kids who chose the wrong. That is why having kids choosing the right thing brings so much joy. You realize that your kids could have chosen the wrong path. Instead, grace is at work. When they do the right thing they are giving you a priceless gift. Enjoy it!

      On the other side of the coin is the child that does not chose the right thing. They are a source of constant pain and discouragement. You never quite know what to expect, other than more bad news. You keep thinking, “Maybe this time they will turn it around.”

      But does the fool see the pain they are causing their parents and change their behavior? Nope! Instead, they make up excuses for their behavior, often pointing fingers. They downplay the contribution and sacrifice their parents have made on their behalf. The parents end up getting blamed for the fool’s folly. And every time they do, they cause more pain to their parents.

      My children bring me so much joy. They continue to make good choices long after they have left our home. We are truly blessed, grace upon grace.

     

Narrow Minds

Proverbs 15:14

      We all have the tendency to narrow the pool of information that we absorb. Let me give you an example. I don’t like CNN. So when I watch the news, I tune in to FoxNews instead. So, I don’t hear the viewpoint given by CNN and some of the other news channels with a similar perspective. Fortunately for me, I avoid TV news! Talking heads! The same stories repeated from multiple angles, multiple times.

      I don’t read pop fiction. I haven’t read any of the Harry Potter books, so I really don’t know too much about them. My knowledge is limited in this area. I do know much more about trauma and how to successfully treat it. I do know about marriage relationships and what makes them work. But magic spells are not my strong suit.

      Our proverb states that a discerning heart seeks knowledge. We need to be on a quest, not for dead, factual knowledge, but knowledge in the personal, practical realm. We need to be more than Bible Quiz masters. Bare facts and figures won’t suffice. We need to be intimately connected with the One who created the facts.

      If we are a Jesus-follower, our diet will be different than someone who is living for themselves. We want knowledge so that we will know Him better, not know about Him better.

      The fool only fills himself with what he knows, again and again. It is like he knows that Chick Filet is good, so he only eats there, every day, every meal. On Sundays he doesn’t know what to do with himself. But he learns to buy extra on Saturday and save it for Sunday.

      Fools recycle the same old facts, never wanting to rock the boat of their belief. They want to believe that Islam is a peaceful religion because to believe the truth would mean that there whole world would be unsafe. They would have to abandon the lie they have swallowed that all religious roads lead to the same place, that there is actually a Truth-giver to whom we owe an accounting of our lives. That would be too difficult to swallow, so they continue to recycle their lies.

      What are feeding on? Truth or lies? Are you willing to listen to and consider other opinions?

Ruin's Invitation

Proverbs 10:13-14

These two verses give us a simple picture of the results of wisdom and folly. We can take them together because there is a parallel between the first and forth lines, and the middle two lines. The outside lines deal with what each says, and the middle lines deal with what each gains. So let’s look at each.

What wise people say is contrasted with what fools say. What we are on the inside comes out of our mouths. Our true character spills out. The fool “is asking for it.”

The text says that the fool “invites” ruin. Why would someone invite ruin into their lives? I can think of many people who make choices, dumb choices, and then try to talk their way out of the consequences. They justify their actions, often by blaming another person. Someone who drinks too much alcohol is inviting ruin. If you spend more than you earn, you are inviting ruin. Eating too much of the wrong things invites ruin. Neglecting the important relationships in your life invites ruin. With each of these, and many more, the fool will excuse their behavior and they do so with their words.

The wise person gives out wisdom by the very words spoken. Their lives match their words. It is not that the wise person is pretending or being fake, it is that what they have put into their lives spills out. They have taken the time to discipline themselves and fill up on God’s wisdom. What they have put is comes out. Of course it takes effort to fill up on wisdom. The pursuit of wisdom is a long term project. It doesn’t happen overnight. And it is a process that is never finished. The wise continue to learn.

The fool ends up getting disciplined for his actions. The rod is a symbol and sometimes an instrument of discipline. We tend to not use physical punishment in this country. People go to jail rather than getting a public beating. But we tend to punish and not discipline. Discipline is intended and designed to bring about a change of heart. Jail is about making the public feel safer. We put the “bad guys” behind bars. But little is done to change the heart.

In the end the wise person has something to show for the path he has chosen. He has stored up knowledge. I remember a professor at college who exemplified this concept. When you were around him he just overflowed with a joy that was contagious. Without even trying he gave out wisdom. And his life matched his words.

Are you storing up knowledge or inviting ruin?

The Ten-Plus-Four’s

Psalm 14, 44, 74, 104, 134

We have a lot of fools living in the world today. Psalm 14 starts by declaring the definition of a fool. Making the claim to know that the Creator of the Universe does not exist would mean the person making the statement would have to have all knowledge, be everywhere simultaneously, and have existed forever. It sounds like they would have to be God. Logical contradiction! And even with all the ignorance the LORD still seeks us. People who claim that there is no God, really do nothing for others. How many “atheist” soup kitchens do you have in your town? Just something to think about.

Learning and remembering the history of the LORD’s interventions in history can build our faith. Psalm 44 outlines the Israel’s history of rebellion and of the LORD’s rebuke. We must be careful that we don’t follow their path. Feeling like you are a sheep ready for slaughter is not a good feeling. The clock ticking toward judgment hour. Tick, tick, tick. HELP, LORD!

The psalmist reminds the LORD of His history in hopes that He will again intervene in their lives. He reminds the LORD of the damage done to HIS reputation as a result of Jerusalem’s destruction (Ps 74:18). He is desperate for the LORD’s intervention. At the end of the psalm he lists the things that might be negatively affected if the LORD does not intervene. It’s as if the psalmist is say, “Hey, LORD, if you don’t act your Name will be mud.” Do we ever do things that throw mud in God’s direction? If you have, now is the time to repent.

Psalm 104 begins with a lesson in hydrology, a lesson that shows the LORD’s signature on everything. The whole of creation is a canvas upon which the LORD has signed His Name. Everywhere we look we can see His ink, if we are open to seeing it. But unless the Spirit opens our eyes, we really can’t see it. And if we do, we must dismiss it rapidly because acknowledging the ink would require us to acknowledge Him and His claim on our lives. Verse 29-30 give insight into life and death, when it starts and stops.

The act of lifting our hands in worship is an ancient one (Ps134:2). We use our hands for so many things, special motions (the wave) at sporting events, celebratory “high fives”, the good bye wave, the “I see you over there” wave, and so many others. Why are we so hesitant to raise our hands to the One who created and redeemed us?