Prescribing Proverbs – RX Thirteen – August 13th
PRESCRIBING PROVERBS
August 13, 2021
A Proverb a day keeps Untruth away
Proverbs 1:1-6, ‘These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king—written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; a manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality. There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.’ (MSG)
Prescription (RX) Thirteen: Do Opposites Really Attract?
Proverbs 13:9, ‘The lives of good people are brightly lit streets; the lives of the wicked are dark alleys.’ (MSG)
Proverbs 13:16, ‘A commonsense person lives good sense; fools litter the country with silliness.’ (MSG)
Proverbs 13:17, ‘Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things, but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.’ (MSG)
Proverbs 13:18, ‘Refuse discipline and end up homeless; embrace correction and live an honored life.’ (MSG)
Proverbs 13:24, ‘A refusal to correct is a refusal to love; love your children by disciplining them.’ (MSG)
I once again am reminded of the pros and cons the Book of Proverbs always brings to the forefront. It almost seems like another good title for this book would be ‘IF’…IF you do this, here is the result but IF you do that, here is the result. If=Positive; If=Negative.
A magnetic field denotes a different story, which is why all our lives, we’ve been told that opposites attract. We bring the positive ends together and they fight against one another just as the negative ends push away from one another, but a negative and positive force are strongly attracted and drawn together; with such a strengthened bond it is hard to tear it apart. I grew up repeating ‘opposites attract’, but now as I wander through Proverbs, it becomes crystal clear to me that the Lord in His Word has a warning that we not conform to what is the status quo or the expected statistic.
It is remarkable to me that for years as I meandered through life and checked out so much of its scenery, tried on so many faces and personalities to see what fit, wound along a multitude of paths with a myriad of choices, that I never considered the negative cons I was familiar with in Proverbs, nor the positive pros either. I think I am pretty intuitive, but I never once stopped and said, ‘Michelle, if you choose what is negative you will find yourself in a dark alley, but if you choose positive it will be a brightly lit lamppost wherever you venture.’
I was hit this morning when I read that loving my children, and I assume my grandchildren and my family members, friends and co-workers, is leading them with discipline and example. If I lack correction and direction than I am ultimately harming whom I love. So for me, I am attracted to the opposite, I guess. My sin nature is attracted to what is not best for me or in my best interest to choose. Humanly speaking, I am attracted to the negative forces in my life, but if I am willing to choose the positive, a powerful force is capable of revocation in all areas of my life. In the future I surely want to make choices that have an upward lilt on the lips of my father, not a downward one.
I encourage you to do your own study of Proverbs as well as follow along with me! How it works: take a Proverb a day (there are 31, so perfect for the month of August) and read the chapter that corresponds with the day. Then stop on a verse that grips your attention. Focus on the verse(s) for the day as it is highly possible the Holy Spirit is speaking to you through what He helped you unearth. It’s almost like a Treasure Hunt! I will share with you this month Golden Nuggets the Holy Spirit leads me to, and I would love to have you share with me what He reveals to you in your mining excavation also!
