[Before we start our reflection on Proverbs and Luke today, let’s pause and thank the LORD, for giving us the opportunity to live in a land where we may worship Him freely. Pray for God’s blessings on America, and that we return our focus to the LORD!]
Proverbs 13 shows us once again the differences between the wise and righteous, and the wicked and foolish. King Solomon also offers us a pointed instruction regarding the company we keep. He wrote: 20Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20 (ESV) We’ve all heard this instruction at some point, whether from this very proverb or from our moms when we were growing up. While we are called to share the good news of Jesus with everyone: wise, righteous, foolish and wicked, the company we keep regularly influences us dramatically. Charlie “Tremendous” Jones put it this way: You will be the same person five years from now that you are today, except for the company you keep and the books you read.” Jones understood what we put into our minds and hearts influences who we become. If our friends are following Jesus, we will find it much easier to follow Him, too. If we are reading books (or listening to podcasts, watching videos, etc…) that feed our minds and hearts in the ways of wisdom and righteousness, we will become more like that. The opposite, when it comes to friends, and the information we put into our minds and hearts is also true. We get to choose who we become, by choosing the company we keep and the information we receive.
Once again in Proverbs 14 we read the benefits of wisdom and righteousness, and the consequences of folly and evil. King Solomon mentions the consequences of anger specifically, and because this is an area so many of us share as a struggle, let’s look at it a bit more intently:29Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29 (ESV) Notice, those who are slow to anger have “great understanding.” Remember, the man who wrote these words was the wisest man who ever lived before Jesus, and he was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The opposite of being slow to anger is the one with a “hasty temper.” This one exalts folly or foolishness. How much I can affirm that truth from personal experience. A volatile temper is not a blessing. The quicker we blow up, the more often we will find ourselves needing to apologize (if we are seeking the LORD and His righteousness) or to rationalize or justify our behavior. It is easy when we blow up to blame someone else for “causing” us to blow up. The truth is no one can cause us to do anything. We are accountable for our own actions. We must learn, and in some cases, have supernatural resources to live as those who are slow to anger.
Proverbs 15 includes a couple more admonitions against inappropriate anger, and continues to show us the difference between wise and righteous living, and foolish and wicked living. The chapter closes out with this statement: 33The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15:33 (ESV) Here Solomon ties fear of the LORD and humility together. The tandem demonstrate wisdom and produce honor. We live in a fast-paced culture that doesn’t often lift up wisdom and humility, but the LORD has always done so. If we want our “path” to lead to the LORD, fearing the LORD and living in humility are vital.
As we return to Luke 16, Jesus offers some penetrating teaching, teaching that isn’t intuitively obvious to us, and would not have been to those who listened to it in His day. The first parable about a steward who cheated his master in order to buddy up to his masters’ debtors, so he would have a place to work after he was fired, doesn’t make sense at first. That’s especially true when we find the man’s master commended him for his shrewdness. But the “punchline” or explanation Jesus offers tells us something we might not have come to naturally in following Him: We can use the worldly “mammon” or money, which Jesus tells us will be the chief rival god in our lives, to bring glory to God, and to make friends of the Kingdom. The practical living out of that will come in many ways, but as we use the money we have earned, (hopefully from more honest means than the shrewd manager) let’s always remember we are stewards or managers of it, and as we use it in ways that advance Jesus’ Kingdom more people will come to follow Him!