Monday
Proverbs 12.1 “He who loves correction loves knowledge, he who hates reproof is stupid.” (REB = Revised English Bible. One of my favourite Bible translations)
The writers of Proverbs might today be called life coaches, or relationship counsellors, work place mentors, or even therapists. But they would prefer to be described as what they were – wisdom teachers. And behind their wisdom was the assumption that the best life is the righteous life, and each life should be lived with God in mind. In which case how we live, the way we treat each other and everyone else, our everyday choice of words and the long-term formation of our character – each of these matters in our relationship to God.
Tuesday
Proverbs 12.25 “An anxious heart weighs a person down, but a kind word cheers them up.” (REB)
Russell Harty, was a British TV presenter of the 1970s. He once gave this advice: “There are two kinds of people, radiators and drains. Always stand near the radiators.” We have all experienced a heavy heart, whether grief, a sense of failure, anxiety about ourselves or those we love, even a low mood that’s hard to explain and harder still to shake off. That’s when it’s wise to stand beside those people in our lives who are radiators, and whose kindness and care radiate around us. In turn, our own spoken kindness can make all the difference to someone else who is struggling.
Wednesday
Proverbs 12.10 “A right minded person cares for his beast, but one who is cruel is wicked at heart.” (REB)
Care of creation is a recurring theme throughout the Bible, and time and again teaching about compassion and care for God’s creatures. To be right minded is to be wise, it is to know that we have a responsibility of kindness, empathy, practical care and respect for all the life around us. Stewardship of creation and care for the world around us is a daily and practical recognition of God the Creator. Cruelty to animals is incompatible with worship of God – we can’t celebrate the Creator God and God’s creation while being OK with the avoidable suffering of God’s creatures.
Thursday
Proverbs 12.6 “The wicked by their words lay a murderous ambush, but the words of the upright save them.” (REB)
The book of Proverbs keeps coming back to the damage caused by wrong words spoken for wrong reasons. Dishonesty aiming to deceive, anger intended to wound, flattery that is insincere, gossip that undermines a reputation, aggressive self-assertion for the joy of conflict – the wisdom teachers had heard it all, and they kept coming back to the damage limitation of words that are upright, honest, peaceful, careful and care-filled. Put bluntly, “The Lord detests a liar, but delights in honesty!”
Friday
Proverbs 12.2 “The good man wins the Lord’s favour, the schemer his condemnation.” (REB)
Proverbs makes a strong distinction between intelligence and cunning, a right mind and a warped way of thinking. “Intelligence is commended, but a warped mind is despised.” (12.8) God is faithful, just and compassionate, and those who love and worship God reflect minds of similar virtue. To be faithful in our thinking, and just in our behaviour, and caring in our imagination – that is the mind-set of wisdom, a God-given intelligence, a way of thinking that “wins the Lord’s favour.” Christians don’t ‘scheme’ in that negative way that’s always thinking of how to get our own way, or making sure things work out for our own interests. Wisdom is sanctified intelligence.
Saturday
Proverbs 12.20 “Those who plot evil delude themselves, but there is joy for those who seek the common good.” (REB)
Several retired people wearing high visibility vests, with hoes and buckets, clearing the edges of the paths in the town to restore their neatness. A man with a large water container on his back, pumping water above his height to the hanging baskets that make the roundabout colourful. Instead of plotting evil, they are plotting and doing good, and not their own good, the common good. Now there’s a phrase, and a social attitude that requires repristination in our communities, and in our politics. Joy is not at its best when it is private and mine, but when it is public and ours. Common good means “Love your neighbour as yourself.” So get started on the path edges, and the water pumping, and anything else that makes life better for all and each of us.
Sunday
Proverbs 12.28 “The way of righteousness leads to life, but there is a well-worn path to death.” (REB)
Yes, finally and ultimately, how we live our lives is a matter of life and death! We either build on sand or on rock, on deceit or truth, on cruelty or kindness, on a self-serving lifestyle or a God-honouring way of thinking, speaking and behaving. One is foolishness, the other is wisdom, one leads to the death of all that matters, the other to life in all its fullness. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God and it will be given him, for God is a generous giver who neither grudges nor reproaches anyone.”
Leave a Reply