Equipping – The wisdom of the Proverbs, through the lens of the finished work of Christ.
A practice in perseverance, and in appreciating the New Covenant.
Proverb 17
1 Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
3 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
5 Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.
13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom when he has no sense?
17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
19 Whoever loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20 A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.
21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
23 The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice.
24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
We give thanks to God, through Christ, for we have peace, even with nothing or close to nothing palatable to eat. We are thankful because we dwell in the quiet, even in a house full of strife. We are at peace, even in revelry, and even in feasting.
As we have more than wisdom, and as we actually see the greater value of wisdom by way of having the mind of Christ, we are able to discern between sons and servants – we are expectant of the likelihood of the latter, specifically, to deal wisely; We would not be surprised if said servant would share the inheritance, as if he was a brother, himself. We would see the grace and the wisdom behind this skit, and respond – seeking wisdom, and avoiding that which is shameful.
We are humbled, for who is able to test our hearts, but the Lord? And even then, we are thankful, because Christ’s finished work has fulfilled the promise: That is, of our own hearts of stone being taken out to be replaced with hearts of flesh, obedient hearts that would shine the righteousness Christ paid for us to have and to be; and, oh, would this righteousness shine all the more, especially in the fires and flames of our existence in this fallen world!
And not only are our hearts made new, but because we speak out of the overflow of our hearts, the words that come forth from our lips and our tongue are not wicked, nor are they mischievous; the righteousness within comes out, and the evildoer and the liar may refuse to listen or to give an ear.
No, they would rather be glad at calamity; And they, most likely being miserable themselves, would prey on the poor… But, again, we are humbled, for these acts of the wicked shall not go unpunished – we are aware of our Creator, our Maker’s compassion to the poor, and the defenseless, and the widow and the orphan.
We thank the Lord, for through Christ, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and is therefore our Blessing above all other Blessings – we realize the true and deeper blessings that matter: Children, and grandchildren. We thank God for our opportunities to see grandchildren from our seed in our latter years, but surely, we give God glory, thankful for our fathers, our parents – for even when we are no longer children, I do believe they continue to be our glory.
We thank the Lord, again, for overflowing our hearts with righteousness, and also with grace – for we speak the truth, and this Truth makes our speech fine; The Truth spoken fits us just as much as the Truth is well-worn by those whom Christ has made righteous. Falsehood does not go well with us, just as much as the Truth is fully rejected by the fool.
We thank the Lord, again, for our having the mind of Christ – for only through Christ in us can we realize how money (and all things that the world calls the ultimate) is merely a tool to get us by in this wretched world.
But more than our realizing where the tools of this world stand, we are thankful, because we love as we are loved… and, therefore, we are willing to forgive because Christ has certainly, absolutely forgiven us. We thank God because love is our greatest aim, and we settle matters rather than repeating them, further enhancing our relationships. In these matters, if it is necessary for us to rebuke, we do so, but with love and grace, aware of the uncompromising glory of God – with the hopes that understanding prevails over foolishness.
We realize that this is all out of the righteousness that we have in Christ, and we move graciously from God’s glory – this, versus the evil, rebellious man suffering from a cruel messenger, as a consequence of his actions. We move in grace, and in possession of wisdom – avoiding the tirades and the recklessness of the fool, praying for them from a distance, knowing full well that they are likely to suffer from returning evil for good, even in the so-called safety of their dwellings!
However, when we have the opportunity, we are able to end strife before it gets out of hand, moving from the same mind of Christ, that would have us discern between wicked and righteous, between that which ought to be justified, and that which needs to be condemned, avoiding abominations.
Indeed, we enjoy the fact that we have the mind of Christ, because we are no fools – we have wisdom to use the money given to us, with sense.
We are thankful, because we are not alone in this existence, but we are part of the body of Christ, where we love each other consistently, as friends; We are part of a family where we stand for each other as brothers and sisters, when adversity rises. Again, we have sense, and would not go as far as to abuse our neighbors. We discern and come against transgressions, yet we ourselves are open lest we indicate how we may be seeking destruction.
We thank the Lord – again, for our new hearts, which have us discerning and discovering good at every turn, just as our new tongues keep us from falling into calamity.
Our children are no fools – they are our joy, away from sorrow.
Our children are our joy – they are not foolish, we do not receive bitterness from them for long.
And speaking of joy, we are thankful, again, for the mind of Christ – for as we ourselves have joy, we recognize the healing of a joyful heart, just as much as we respond appropriately in compassion, to those whose spirits we discern are crushed and depleted of life and sustenance.
And as we recognize the value of the tool of money, so we are also able to discern the ways the justice of the laws of this world being perverted, through the abuse of the power of the bribe.
We have the mind of Christ. We have discernment, and our eyes are continually set on wisdom. We not only know when to use money, but we also know the right way to ask for money. We do not persecute the righteous, or the noble, or the upright. Our spirits are cool, as men and women of understanding. We speak less, but our words are full of knowledge.
Oh, we give thanks to the Lord, for indeed, through our Savior’s finished work, we have been made new creations – and, through this Proverb, we have been reminded of our opportunity to have the mind of Christ.
May we continue to provide value to this world, and to our parents and children – because, again, we are new creations, and we have the mind of Christ.
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