Proverbs 25

***Proverbs 25***

Verse 20 "Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. "

It has been a rough couple of weeks. So much bad news, so much pain and suffering.

A 22-year old friend of my family was killed in a car crash last week. A friend and his wife lost their baby. Another friend's wife ran away. So many people I know are struggling with illness. Tornadoes ripped through downtown areas killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

Lots of people are hurting, but people are always hurting. What do you say to people who are hurting? What can you possibly say to make them feel better?

"It's God's will."

"God won't give you more than you can handle."

"I know how you feel."

"It's time to move on."

Truth is, none of these things should be said ever again. We don't know God's will and shouldn't pretend to. If we believe that pain comes from God, then He does give us more than we can handle sometimes, that's why we live in community. You don't know how they feel, you may have been through something like this before, but you don't know how they feel... let them own the fact that we have no idea how much they are hurting. No one can ever tell someone else to move on, everyone heals at different speeds.

While these words are often spoken with the purest and best of intentions... they are like taking a coat from someone on a cold day. They only make things worse.

So what do we say?

Nothing at all. We just bring food, listen and hug. And if they don't feel like talking, we sit with them... but we don't say anything.

In those moments people do not remember what you said, (unless you say something dumb) they remember that you were there.

We can't solve each others problems, but we can journey through them together.

***Proverbs 24***

***Proverbs 24***

Today is one of my most favorite days of the year... the beginning of the NFL draft. It is a day that college kids spend their whole loves working towards and a day tht NFL teams spend months preparing for.

Tonight my Detroit Lions picked another defensive lineman... just like last year. At first I wasn't sure about it; defensive line is one of their strengths... why wouldn't they draft something they needed? Like a cornerback? Or a linebacker? They didn't need another defensive lineman... but the guy they drafted may be the best player in the draft.

It is easy for me to sit on my chair and tell people what they should do... it's harder to actually make the right decisions. It's hard to place a bet on a 21 year-old kid.

Verse 5 "The wise prevail through great power, and those who have power muster their strength."

Wisdom comes with great power...

The power to find peace.

The power to be happy.

The power to love.

The power to accept forgiveness and let go.

Unfortunately it's not easy to be wise. The world we live in does not promote wise living. Instead we are encouraged to go in debt, to eat terrible food, and to lust after a certain body type. We conitnually focus on that which don't have.

Wisdom is understanding and cherishing what's important... the things that money can't buy.

Wisdom is not trusting in a lousy football franchise to finally figure it out... that is hope!

Proverbs 23

***Proverbs 23***

Those who drink wine "will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging."

Many years ago I went to Fiji with Habitat for Humanity. It was a great trip but I never want to go back because it took forever to get there. There is no direct flight from Detroit to Suva. I had to go to Cincy, then LA, then Honolulu, the Somoa, then Nadi, Fiji and finally to Suva. And each change of planes included a 4-6 hour lay-over. I think I was up for 46 hours. But the worst part was when I got sick on the plane as we were landing in Somoa in the middle of a typhoon... they had to land the plane while I was in the bathroom. I never thought my stomach would stop spinning.

We probably all have a story or two like this, some of which may include alcohol... but we all know what it feels like. The worst part about feeling like that is that we are no longer in control of our bodies... we can't get comfortable.

That's what sin does. When we can't control our actions, when we give in to the temptations, we give control to that which will always let us down. It might be alcohol, it might be drugs, maybe food or an unhealthy relationship... but we sacrifice the long-term for immediate gratification.

The only way to know that we will be in a good, healthy place is to give control of our lives to God... God will never let us down.

And we can skip alcohol and air planes.

Proverbs 21 & 22

***Proverbs 21***

I wonder if Solomon was having marital issues when he wrote chapter 21... but I'm not going to take any marriage advice from a guy that had 700 wives.

Instead let's talk about verse 3 "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."

Sacrifice was a part of worship for the Israelites and it still is for us. That's what the offering is all about. Instead of bringing bulls and lambs to sacrifice we bring our dollars to give to God.

There are a number of times in the bible where it says that God is less interested in our sacrifice, less interested in our worship and more interested in how we live our lives.

God did not want their bulls and God does not want our wallets unless they come with our hearts... God desperately wants our hearts.

If I bought flowers for Michelle and told her that the only reason I got them was because they were on sale, she probably wouldn't be very excited when I gave them to her. Instead I would say something like "I love you so very much and wanted to surprise you today with this gift." That would work much better.

It's the same with God. God is not interested in half-hearted worship... "well I had nothing else to do on Sunday morning." God wants worship to be motivated by love. The same love that motivates us to be good people, people who do what is right and just.

***Proverbs 22***

When we get to the thrirty sayings of the wise I am reminded of Jethro Gibbs' rules for being a special agent on NCIS... if you follow these you will make it through.

I am interested that he says in verses 26-27 "do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay your very bed will be snatched from under you."

Thousands of years ago borrowing money was bad idea, and money then was loaned without interest. They used to think loaning money with interest was a sin, it was called usury. Now we have an entire economic system based on borrowed money and interest.

C.S. Lewis wondered how an economic system that was based on a sin could ever survive. I'm not saying that the sky is falling, but it interesting that these problems are not new.

The solution is to be better stewards, don't borrow so much, save more money and live below our means.

But it's hard to do, the goal of advertising is to get us to part with that which we should be saving... and we will never be able to escape the influence of advertisers.

Plus it's good to stimulate the economy right? Or is it better to stimulate our savings account?

I'll ponder that while I am paying my bills after I post this blog.

My truck sure is nice.

Proverbs 20

***Proverbs 20***

Verse 30: "Blows and wounds cleanse away every evil, and beatings purge the inmost being."

I am reminded of a t-shirt I once saw that said "Beatings will continue until morale improves." It's such a ridiculous statement that it makes us laugh. Evil isn't purged away by beating people... children don't learn to be good because they are beaten, they just learn not to get caught the next time.

Solomon lived in a different time though... a time when justice had a far different definition. People were not sent to prison for a specified amount of time based on their crime, they were beaten, maimed, or killed.

While this text may not relate perfectly for our context, it is the perfect text for Good Friday. The day that the beating and crucifixion of one man cleansed a whole world of sinners. And while our inmost beings are still stained by sinful desires, the blood that he shed protects us from the beatings we deserve.

What Jesus went through was terrible... I put this video here so that we can all undertand the magnitude of the day. I understand if you don't want to watch it, but I encourage you to do so.

Proverbs 19

***Proverbs 19***

Verse 6 "everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts."

I went to a private high schoolwith and had many classmates with wealthy parents. These kids drove nice cars and always had more money than I could imagine... they had more money in their wallet than some of our teachers made in a month.

Some of these kids figured out that they could be friends with the cool kids if they were generous to the right people. It used to make me laugh... but it is a universal truth... people with money, that give nice gifts have many friends.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy exchanging gifts but it is not the foundation that any of my relationships is built on. When the gifts stop, so does the relationship.

I guess there is one relationship which is founded on a gift, my relationship with Jesus. Today is Maundy Thursday, the day that Christians around the globe gather to worship our risen Lord because of the gift that he gave... his life. When we break the bread and pour the wine we begin to understand the power of God's love.

His body was broken for you.
His blood was shed for you.

Made me think of this video...

Proberbs 18

***Proverbs 18***

Verse 17: "in a lawsuit the first to speak seems right, until someone comes forward and cross-examines."

When I was in high school I was messing around with one of my friends... and as boys do I pushed him into a wall... unfortunately he went right through the wall. We were immediately escorted to the Assistant Principal's office... meaning I had about 3 minutes to put a good story together. By the time we got to his office I was convinced that he went through the wall because he jumped into the wall as I was pushing him... it had nothing to do with me. And the Assistant Principal actuall ybelieved the story, kind of. We didn't get into trouble, but we had to split the cost of a new wall. (Which they never fixed while I was still a student, instead they put a huge poster of a Koala bear... I wonder if it has ever been fixed. If not, I want my money back!)

We are good at telling stories in a way that favors us. We are good at telling our side of the story. I'm not saying anything controversial... cnn, msnbc and foxnews will all report the same story three different ways, and they slant the story depending on what they believe. There is no such thing as un-biased reporting anymore... everything is opinionated. It's part of who we are.

We must realize that there are two sides to most stories. For instance, when two people get divorced things get ugly, stories and rumors begin and all of a sudden two people that were once madly in love are now bitter enemies. The stories that circulate often tell one side of the story and as a result family and friends end up taking sides. Things get ugly... fast.

What most people don't realize is that those who love you will support you through difficult times. It's ok to accept some blame for what went wrong, it's ok to admit that they aren't so bad and that things just didn't work out. It's ok to tell both sides of the story... to tell the truth. Those who love you will still love you if they find out you're not perfect... Lord know they aren't.

But... that is most cases. Some people are just mean... the stories about them are all true. If you know someone like that, do not let them ruin another day of your life... God loves them, you don't have to.