17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD. 18 There is surely a future hope for you and your hope will not be cut off.

23 Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.

I had a case of envy this week, or at least some form of jealousy.  This verse warns against envying sinners, but envy in any form can be dangerous.  Anyhow, I am not sure I can say that the feeling is completely gone, but my thoughts are under control now.  My problem was that my mind wandered, and thoughts and scenarios formed in my mind that I couldn’t verify or deny, so rather than keep letting them get the best of me, I sought out the truth, even though it really wasn’t any of my business.  The truth will set you free, right?  I mean, even if the worst thing I could possibly imagine in my mind were true, it’s better than thinking about 50 possible truths feeding my emotions.

26 My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways, 27 for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. 28 Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men.

Yesterday we had a cable upgrade put in.  We already had cable Internet service and basic cable, but added the phone service through the same provider which saved us money on our bill.  With that, the technician installed cable boxes, which we didn’t have before, and as I flipped through the channels last night i noticed there were movie channels available which we didn’t have before.

I didn’t know that they were included but I thought it was great.  I love movies and this meant I didn’t have to go buy as many DVDs as I have in the past.  So, after watching one movie, I start flipping through the channels and stumble upon something that definitely shouldn’t have been in our programming, and although I knew I shouldn’t be watching it, I didn’t change the channel right away.  But after a minute of saying to myself, “change the channel” lol, I finally did change it.  In my heart I really didn’t want to see that, but “the flesh is weak.”

That’s no excuse.  I said to myself, and to God that I hoped that station didn’t stay.  One of my prayers lately has been to ask God to keep me from sin, and I don’t need that temptation, and sure enough, within seconds of changing the channel, all the channels went black for a minute, and when they came back, all those movie channels and the channel I stumbled upon, which I think was a movie channel too, were unavailable.

God does answer prayers, big and small, and I think that he is more willing to answer them when, as in verse 26, I give him my heart and do my best to keep to his ways.  I need to focus on that more so I don’t stray from him.

1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

I think we all want to have a good name. We all want people to think that we’re good people, and in general, like to have people’s stamp of approval on us, but I know that many times I’ve tried to please everyone, and it’s just impossible. “To be esteemed is better than silver or gold,” but the persons who think highly of us is even more important.

The focus in proverbs has mainly been how to live a righteous life; it’s full of practical examples, situations, and wisdom on how to do that, so when I read this verse, I have to be careful to keep that in mind. Being esteemed is a result; it shouldn’t be the ultimate goal, and I need to keep that in perspective.

6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

My parents aren’t perfect but they did a lot of things right. The church that I grew up in isn’t perfect, but they did a lot of things right too. And by the way, I’m not perfect either, but I try to live right.  I thank God for both of them, for putting me on the right path and showing me how to find my way. If I ever have children, I hope that I would do everything I can to put them on the right path. One thing I’ve learned from my father - and maybe this has more to do with my personality and isn’t really a universal thing - is that many times he left decisions up to me. Don’t get me wrong. I had rules I had to follow; there was always structure and order, but he provided me with what I needed to make up my own mind. Oh, sure, I’ve had my share of lectures lol, but in really important areas, he just gave me the information and pretty much said, “you have what you need.”

I grew up in the church and I had always considered myself a Christian. I’ve always heard that things are so different when you become a Christian, but for me, that line was always very…subtle, but I feel like the biggest change came right before I went to college. One Sunday, the pastor had talked about baptism classes for those interested, and my dad had come to me and just suggested that I think about being baptised. I’d never thought about it before really, but it made me take my Christian walk more seriously, and that made a big difference.

It would’ve been very easy for me to go off to college, away from home, and get into all kinds of trouble and had the whole “college experience” of partying, drinking, women, etc., but you know, because of that little seed my dad planted, I really took my Christian walk seriously. I’d never read the Bible as much or taken it to heart as much as I had or when I was in college (though I’m getting closer to being at that point again now). I hope I will, if I have kids, be wise enough to guide my kids like that.

21 He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

I’m not sure how to read this verse.  Every time I’ve read this chapter it stands out to me and it makes me think about what the part about pursuing love means.  In the King James it says “mercy” instead of love.  I guess this makes it a little clearer to me.  I’m pretty sure it is alluding to pursuing God.

26 All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.

If I would have read this verse a few months ago, it would have a different meaning for me.  I have a hard time coming to terms with it right now.  I feel like at times I’ve given so much and, although I know I’m blessed, there are areas in my life in which I feel are empty and in that respect, I crave for more.  Nevertheless, I need to remember to “give without sparing” especially in those areas.  Sometimes I don’t think I have anything left to give, but, I dunno.  I try.

28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.

I laugh as I read this and think about how, just minutes ago, my parents were in the kitchen.  My dad had the fridge door open and was kneeling down to pull something out.  My mother went to grab something out of the freezer and says “watch your head,” but only AFTER she opened the freezer door.  I think you can imagine what happened next LOL.

We all laughed about it.  Love and faithfulness might not have kept my dad safe this time lol, but it certainly has done the trick throughout the years.  I think of this verse and I think of it in terms of family.  Love and faithfulness keep families, kingdoms, together.  I watch the way my parents have loved each other.  They’re not mushy gooshy, lovey dovey people, mind you.  I haven’t seen them show affection much in the way of kissing and hugging, but within 30 seconds, people who have never met them before know that they love each other.

They are best friends.  I never see my dad be more “himself” than when they’re together, and I’ve never seen  my mother laugh as hard as she has when she’s laughing at him lol.  Oh sure, they get on each others nervers.  My dad accused my mom of hitting him with the freezer door on purpose, but like I said, we all laughed about it.  In fact I’m holding in laughter right now because he’s in the kitchen and will hear me if I let it out lol.  Seriously though, I just…  I can go on an on about how much of an example they have been to me and how they depend on each other.  I so want a fraction of what they have someday, bruises on the head and all lol.  But I know that they’ve applied this verse in everything they’ve done, because love and faithfulness continue to keep them together.

LOL, it’s funny how the first few verses in chapter 19 deal with friends and money - two things I lack.  I won’t even go there right now.  But these verses beg attention:

21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’S purpose that prevails.
22 What a man desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.

The way verse 21 is worded is interesting.  It almost makes it seem like anything I plan is okay, because God’s purpose will prevail, and that’s an extreme statement, but it’s not 100% true.  It is true that God’s purpose will always prevail, and that he can use anything, even plans that I’ve made without him that aren’t according to his will, but it’s not the wise thing to do.  I’ve seen it in the old testament often.  God tells man to do something.  Man does it, but not quite the way God wanted man to do it.  Man gets punished for being disobedient, but God’s purpose prevails.

I do need to be more careful and seek God’s will in decision making, because even though I know God’s purpose will prevail, I want to be a part of it.

The first part of verse 22 is incredibly accurate.  Pretty much everything I can think of that I want can be boiled down to that reason if I keep asking myself “why do I want that?”  It may not seem that significant to you, but it shed some light in the corners of my mind as to what I am really looking for in my desires.

I’ve missed skipped the past couple of days, so I am going back to where I left off.  I was going to make this post password-protected, since it touches a sore spot in my life, but I changed my mind since someone might benefit from reading it.
This verse hits me right between the eyes.

24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I’ve been feeling alone to the point where I feel like I’m going crazy sometimes.  I have made it worse by distancing myself from old friends; some for good reasons, and others whose reasons are rooted in my lack of confidence.  For a while I thought I was making progress, but it’s clear I haven’t, or if I did, I’ve taken a terrible fall.

The only thing that keeps me from falling apart is my relationship with God in Christ.  You can say the “friend who sticks closer than a brother” is Jesus, and that is true for me.  It may seem crazy if you’re not a Christian, but it’s true.  It’s a wonderful thing to be able to talk to him, wherever you are, in whatever situation you’re in.  I won’t lie and say that I never feel lonely, but in those times, it’s bearable, because I know that when I feel alone, I’ve got Jesus by my side, and if you don’t know him, I encourage you to, because you’ll never have a friend like him.  I would love to have more, better, relationships with people, but I wouldn’t give up my relationship with Christ for all the friends in the world.

I’m not in the mood to dive into this verse right now, so no introspective discussion today.  Here’s the verse:

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

I have to admit, I’m getting worn out on these Proverbs lol.  They’re great to read, but sometimes they’re just plain as day and not all that great to analyze with respect to my life.  In any case, I’m going to keep going for the month of March, and will move onto another book in April.

21 The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction.

23 A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me, right?  Wrong.  Bones heal a lot more quickly than my emotions, and I think that’s how most people feel.  What I say, and more importantly, how I say it can make or break a person.

I used to have the habit of just keeping my mouth shut all the time.  If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.  I think we’ve all heard that one too, but that isn’t right either.  Sometimes, we have to speak up, and I’ve been working on speaking up more often.  I even have a reminder that pops up on my cell phone that simply says “Speak Up”, to remind me to do just that, but I know I still have to choose my words carefully.  I know I have messed up in that area recently, so it’s a balance I still need to work on.

22 Plans fail for lack of cousel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Here’s a verse I need to apply to my life right now.  I have a habit of trying to do everything myself, and an even worse habit of not bringing my plans to God in prayer.  I do pray about the plans I make, but honestly, it’s usually an afterthought.  I’ll be on my way, and all of a sudden think to myself, wait, did I ask God about this?  Oops.

Yeah, so in that respect, I do things backwards often.  Even though I notice that in my life, this verse isn’t really talking about counsel with God.  It says with many advisers, plans succeed, so it is talking about having the right people around you to give you guidance.

There’s something humbling about asking for advice.  It’s even more humbling to accept it.  It means I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not as smart as everyone thinks I am, but it does mean I’m wise.  I need to learn to lean on advice from trustworthy people around me.  Yeah, I may look less intelligent and less independent, but I am coming to believe that interdependence is more important and valuable to myself and others… so this is something I really need to work on.

Yes, this post is late.  I read Proverbs 14 yesterday, but never got around to making a post, so here it is.

13 Even in laughter, the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.

It’s so… interesting to see a verse like this in the Bible.  The Bible doesn’t give a lot of attention to our emotions, and I think that kind of makes me think that they’re not that important.  In many cases, they aren’t.  My feelings and emotions can change in an instant, but at the same time, I’m human and I have to recognize that I’m an emotional being, and need to make sure I’m balanced in that area of my life.

This verse doesn’t really tell me what to do with these emotions, but it shows a sort of imbalance - laughing on the outside, and crying on the inside.  One of my goals/resolutions for this year was to be more open with people.  I know that there have been times I can relate with this verse.

It’s not like I want to put up a front, but I have a hard time sharing how I feel and what I am going through with people sometimes, and I have to ask God to help me, whether its my lack of trust in people or in myself, or something completely different, I want to be as sincere as I can be.  Of course, there has to be a balance :)  It’s dangerous to wear your heart on your sleeve, but I’ve felt like sometimes my heart has been locked away, so I want to find somewhere in the middle that I can feel good about.