Monday
Proverbs 22.1 “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”
The Book of Proverbs often reads like the old Reader’s Digest space fillers, Life’s Like That. In one sentence they pack in the wisdom of long experience. A good name, a reputation for being honest, to be respected as one known to be trustworthy, you can’t buy that. So it may well be that effective Christian witness happens in our day and time when we shine a light of integrity into the shadows of a world where truth is at a premium, self-interest is becoming an approved social habit, and shame is thought to be a sign of weakness. Your good name is a Christian statement.
Tuesday
Proverbs 22.9 “A generous person will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”
Generosity is seldom a mistake. God loves a cheerful giver, that is, someone who gladly gives, without regrets, and as an act of gratitude to God and compassion to others. Foodbank donations, a homeless person with an old polystyrene takeaway cup, the direct debit to a charity which we refuse to cancel, the scones or pancakes handed to a neighbour known to be struggling – and not necessarily financially. Of all the spiritual disciplines that deepen our own spirit, sharing what we have to make other people’s lives better is right up there with the highest forms of prayer!
Wednesday
Proverbs 22.11 “He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.”
A pure heart and gracious words. This is about more than sincerity and politeness. The pure heart, to state the obvious, goes to the heart of who we are! Our motives for what we do, the way we think about other people, our inner climate of thought and feeling within which are formed love and compassion, hope and trust, humility and self-knowledge – these grow through the life of the Holy Spirit nourishing and shaping us towards the image of Christ. In Proverbs, this saying was originally about laying the foundation for political success – but its roots go much deeper into those places where our relationship to God and to others finds its best expressions.
Thursday
Proverbs 22. 13 “The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!” or “I will be murdered in the streets.”
Excuses! We all make them. When we don’t want to do something, however commendable or virtuous, we look around for reasons to say no that won’t make us look bad. By contrast agape love is disinterested. Agape is love that doesn’t put our own convenience and our own interests first. Love for our neighbour can never be a matter of whim or convenience. Instead of looking for reasons to not get involved, Christians look for situations where help and support are needed. The Samaritan could have conjured up a dozen good excuses to pass by on the other side!
Friday
Proverbs 22.22 “Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.”
Decades ago the phrase God’s “bias to the poor” was a Christian buzz phrase. This verse is hard-headed and uncompromising. Power is not over others, but to be used to defend and support the weak and vulnerable, those who need a bit of help to get on in life. In a society where there is great inequality in resources to live in dignity and safety, these are words that judge the policies and rules of our society. For Christians, care for the poor is not mere political preference; it is a moral imperative.
Saturday
Proverbs 22.24-5 “Do not make friends with a hot tempered man, do not associate with someone easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.”
Anger can be infectious. Outrage can be cathartic. Social media seems to thrive on anger, criticism, and self-righteous outbursts. Jesus warned against those destructive exaggerations of anger. He made the link between anger and murder; the simmering resentment and blazing anger both of which wish harm on others. Not all anger is wrong, but to put up with someone easily and regularly angry is to risk weakening the social safeguards of understanding, respect, conciliation, and care for others.
Sunday
Proverbs 22.28 “Do not move the ancient boundary stone set up by your ancestors.”
This is about community respect for boundaries. In a society where land was marked out by stones, it was easy to move them and steal some of the neighbour’s crop field. Respect for the neighbour and their property is best preserved through meticulous honesty out of which communal trust and social health can grow. Pilfering from the workplace, shoplifting, vandalism of social amenities, are examples in our own day of abusing other people’s property for our own ends. Proverbs brings wisdom and devotion to God down to the practicalities of being a responsible and responsive neighbour. Often enough spirituality is about doing the ordinary things faithfully.
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