We love stimulating conversations. The book of Proverbs (27:17) tells us: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
But, where do we find good “iron?” In 2013 social media grew by 20%. Still, 12% of interviewees in the same study reported they were lonelier.
During college, a friend suggested that daily reading a chapter of Proverbs would be good “iron.” In this way, I could have an ongoing conversation with sages who lived three thousand years ago. I took my friend up on his challenge. With 31 chapters in Proverbs, I simply recalled the day of the month and read that chapter. Could I listen to and engage the authors of those proverbs?
Today is the 22nd day of the month. Here are five pithy sayings from Proverbs 22:
- 2 “Rich and poor have this in common: TheLord is the Maker of them all.
- 6 Startchildren off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.
- 9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
- 10 Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.
- 11 One who loves a pure heart and who speaks with grace will have the king for a friend.”
What thoughts came to your mind as you read these insights that come to us across millennia? Aren’t you curious to find out what the rest of the chapter says? As you read, did you sense God instructing you? If you made a habit of reading these Proverbs daily, would some wisdom rub off?
When I was a young man, month by month, as I read Proverbs, I made notes in the margins of my Bible; I underlined words. I circled words. I noted other Holy Spirit prompted verses that had similar thoughts. Decades later, I see what stood out to me when I was younger. I wonder how much self-righteousness motivated me then. Still, the young man who marked up my Bible often teaches me! What an ongoing conversation!
Proverbs is ideal for today’s style of communication. As a culture, we tend to have attention deficit syndrome – we like short Tweets more than extended thoughts. We want to “get on to the next thing.” That’s Proverbs! Have I enticed you to start reading Proverbs habitually?
Over decades of ministry, Proverbs has also encouraged me to stash quotes, illustrations, and humor. Likewise, Jesus gives us this picture: “The good person out of his good ‘treasure’ (‘thesaurou’ – the origin of our word ‘thesaurus’) brings forth good” (Mt. 12:35). Here are a few from my ‘treasure’ that I hope will move you to “good.”
“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb would convince me of God’s existence” (Isaac Newton, 1642 -1727). A retired high school science teacher here in Helena told me that he had his students tape their thumbs to their index fingers. They soon discovered what an essential tool they had in their thumbs. They passionately wanted their thumbs back.
Note: we keenly need not only our thumbs but also the Maker of our thumbs. “Blessed are the poor (“desperate”) in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3).
“The one place in all four Gospels where Jesus opens up to tell us about his own heart—the only place—he says he is ‘gentle and lowly in heart’ (Matt 11:29). Burrow down into the very core of what makes the God-Man tick, the one who wove his own whip to drive the enterprising capitalists from the temple, and you find: gentleness” (Dane Ortlund 2012).
“NO, I can’t share. When I was a baby, I had a seizure, and they took the part of my brain out that told me to share” (a young girl defending her selfishness – she shall remain unnamed, 8/30/04).
A friend had an electrician come to repair some wiring at his father’s house. When my friend remembered that the doorbell had not worked for years, the electrician went to test it. At the exact moment he pushed the doorbell, a few blocks away, the bells of the Helena Cathedral pealed. My friend joshed: “Your wires must be crossed.” What a sense of humor God has (2013)!
“We all get to choose where we set up the stage of our lives — before the Crowds, the Court, the Congregation, the Critics (inner or otherwise)-– or the Cross of Christ. Only One will accept you before your performance.
When identity is not drawn from performance – but drawn toward the person of Jesus – ‘this‘ is the place where a life makes music. If your performance is fueled by a need for acceptance, that is what burns your life out. But when His ‘already acceptance’ is the very fuel of your performance – this is what ignites a life into pure glory.
Profound acceptance gives profound performance” (Ann Voskamp, 1973 -).
May I suggest you read Proverbs regularly and keep a collection of your own “proverbs” to pass on to others?
