Who doesn’t like a proverb? A little wisdom to carry about your day. I was reading The Proverbs of Solomon this morning. Do you know he spoke three thousand proverbs ( 1 King 4:32 ) and yet he wasn’t perfect! Sometimes even with all his wisdom, knowledge, understanding and discretion he still messed up, done dumb things and likely regretted them.
I personally love the wisdom found in Proverbs. It’s everyday stuff told to us by a guy who wasn’t perfect but loved God and got it. He shared with us wisdom that is as relevant to us in 2011 as it was to him when he first spoke it in about 900 B.C. Ecclesiastes tells us this “not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs." Knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, but wisdom is the ability to see people, events, and situations as God sees them. In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon reveals the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations, too. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.
So today I was reading Proverbs 15.…here’s some wisdom from it.
A gentle answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger.
That’s a pretty solid word of advice. The bottom line is this…YOU know what gets your back up so YOU know what will get someone else’s back up after all we are all human. You know when something ticks you off , generally speaking it’s when someone answers you rudely or calls you out on something. Then your back is up and you’re thinking “ Ya wanna go? Do Ya?” “Because I can tell you a few things about yourself that you ain’t gonna like either!” Then the next thing you know you’re getting invited to “the gun show” and there’s a fight!
When a gentle word could of turned away the anger. Just responding to someone kindly, with respect or consideration often defuses the bomb. P.R. people get this. They can calm a storm like nobody’s business and have people walking away happy wondering what on earth they were mad about to begin with.
Later on in that Proverb V18 tells us A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
I tend to strive toward being the patient one who calms a quarrel. The one who rides it out hoping and waiting for calmness to arrive.
I don’t know if you could honestly call me hot-tempered but every now and then I tend to get fed up with being patient and waiting for the calm. Waiting for someone to get what I’m striving toward. Then I might start getting a little HOT-TEMPERED and nobody wins when that happens. Just like a pot of soup that boils over it doesn’t matter what good was in that soup it’s boiled over and it stinks and it isn’t pretty! Bottom line nobody wants to partake in that feast!
So when it says in V28 of the same Proverb that; the heart of the righteous weighs it’s answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil…I choose to make it my prayer. Lord help me to be righteous and weigh my answers. Help me also not to gush everything that pops into my head because it’s not always wise!
Remembering V30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
So give it a try, be gentle, patient and cheerful! You never know how it will change your life and the lives of those around you.
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