January 10, 2021
WHERE DO YOU PLACE YOUR TRUST? The proverb gives both a positive and a negative command: “Trust God, not yourself.” How many times have you regretted following your own advice? Your understanding was flawed and you suffered the consequences for relying on it. Have you not understood that your own understanding is negatively affected by
December 29, 2020
SPEAKING OUT FOR THE SPEECHLESS Throughout history there have been those who have been sentenced to death without someone to speak for them. Often it was the poor who couldn’t afford council or the widow or orphan who had no rights. Yet today in our nation, the greatest tragedy has been the unborn who have
December 3, 2020
HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO CORRECTION? Are you correctable? Are you humble enough to take correction and criticism without “hardening your neck?” In other words, being “stiff-necked” and unwilling to change. This biblical proverb warns us that those who will not listen to rebuke and make changes, will soon be in so much trouble that
October 15, 2020
DO YOU ALWAYS WANT MORE? Solomon pondered the question, “Can you ever have too much of a good thing?” In short, his answer was in the affirmative. He advised that you should practice moderation, eating “only as much as you need,” so that you wouldn’t make yourself sick. But we have a problem.
July 18, 2020
GOD IS DEBTOR TO THE ONE WHO GIVES TO THE POOR This is an astounding proverb! God willingly makes Himself a debtor to the one who shows pity on the poor, giving to them. Someone may hesitate to give to a poor person, but who would not lend to the Lord? Surely the One who
July 10, 2020
WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS The first part of this proverb applies the law of reciprocity to friendship. The law of reciprocity says that you reap what you sow. Therefore, if you want friends, be friendly. Sow friendship, reap friends. However, the final line of the proverb, if taken in contrast, might
July 9, 2020
THE DIVINE FAVOR FOUND IN A GODLY MARRIAGE Marriage was God’s idea. It is not a mere social construct, but a Divine creation. It is God’s provision for man’s need for companionship and oneness. This oneness is three-dimensional, involving the physical, the soul and the spirit. It is also God’s plan for having children and
June 10, 2020
SILVER HAIR IS NO CROWN WITHOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS Solomon wrote during an age when elders were honored and silver hair was considered a crown. But Solomon made clear that age alone was not sufficient for such glory. For without righteousness, the elderly are perhaps even more “laden with iniquity” (Gill) than the young. For they have
June 8, 2020
HUNGER CAN BE A BLESSING A wise observation by King Solomon: Hunger motivates work. In other words, hunger can act as an incentive for one to labor for himself. Self-employment is hard, but often the most rewarding, for both the stomach and for one’s self-respect. Of course, the opposite must also be true: Full stomachs
May 29, 2020
MAKING PLANS DURING A TIME LIKE THIS There is no biblical prohibition against making plans. There is wisdom in planning for the future. Yet, it is foolish to leave the Lord out of our planning for God is the one who holds the future. So, ask for God’s wisdom when making plans. Seek godly counsel.