Proverbs 27 sounds much like the other chapters we have been reading. The verse I want to highlight is vs. 17: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. The new English translations read: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. That statement is true, but the original was sex exclusive. King Solomon lived in a day, when women were not considered equal to men. All we have to do is read of his 700 wives and 300 concubines and we know that. While, I fully endorse the truth that any person can sharpen another person, let’s consider the original: one man sharpens another. We live in a culture where men are often confused about what it even means to be a man. Many factors have contributed to that confusion, but sometimes in the name of equality, we have forgotten that God created human beings male and female. In His infinite wisdom, God created us as men and women. We have physical differences that are notable. They play a role in procreation, but they do so much more. As modern scientists have mapped our brains, we have come to understand we have neurological differences as an aspect of those physical differences that mean men and women think differently, respond differently at an emotional level, and so much more. At our core, we have the same ability to connect spiritually with God, but our connections are unique.
When Solomon said as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, he was saying men are supposed to make each other better. We are to challenge, encourage, and correct one another. I remember growing up in a church were men were noticeably absent. It was nearly all women and children. The pastors I had in my early childhood either scared me or made me wonder whether I wanted to be a Christian. Thankfully, my Uncle Chuck was a Christian and a “real” man. I put the real in quotes, because I don’t mean he could drink more alcohol than other men. He didn’t drink alcohol. I don’t mean he could beat up more men than other men. I never saw him fight. I mean he had a strength that ran so deep my dad, an angry and difficult man, became respectful and kind in his presence. Uncle Chuck certainly sharpened my dad, even when my dad wasn’t following Jesus. I’m grateful I have men in my life who do that for me, and have had them all my adult life. If you are a man, I challenge and encourage you to develop such friendships among men, or at least with one other man. We were created to go through life together, and part of that if we are men is to have another man or men who holds us accountable to growing as men.
Proverbs 28 contains a number of verses that deal with wealth and poverty. One of them is a bit unexpected considering the people of King Solomon’s day considered wealth a blessing from the LORD, and poverty as a sign of His displeasure. Here it is: 6Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. Proverbs 28:6 (ESV) Here King Solomon speaks not of whether a person is rich or poor, but whether the person has integrity or is “crooked in his ways.” While poverty is not a blessing, it is a blessing to live in poverty with integrity rather than living with wealth and being wicked. This is an acknowledgement that being poor is not always a sign of the LORD’s displeasure, nor is wealth always a sign of the LORD’s blessing. Riches can be gained by dishonest means, and one can live in poverty simply because of the condition and location of one’s birth. Far better to look at the heart of a person than to the wealth or lack of it, if we want to know that person’s standing before the LORD.
As we return to Luke 21, Jesus foretells two futures: the near future and the end of time future. One of the surest proofs of Jesus lordship is how accurately he predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. That took place only about forty years after His resurrection and return to heaven. He told the disciples when it happened “not one stone will be left on another.” That literally happened. In my preparation for my trip to Jerusalem, I have been reading some of the history of Jesus’ time, and when the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. they took every stone and threw it down from the Temple Mount precisely as Jesus said would happen. Jesus told us we must be ready for this future time. He told His disciples to be ready for an event that would happen in some of their lifetimes, and He told all of us to be ready when He, the Son of Man, returns. Many in our day, are not ready, and are not even concerned about the future return of Jesus. They are concerned about “more important matters.” Nothing is more important than being ready for Jesus’ return, because if we are we “live ready.” That means we awake each day with anticipation of Jesus’ return, and an understanding of the urgency with which we must live the day, not in a sense of agitation and restlessness, but in a sense of working, because we know the “night” is coming, and we won’t be able to work any longer. Being ready for Jesus’ return is the surest way to live each moment with passion and compassion in His name!