Geoff's Miscellany

Pro 14:4 Where there are no oxen, the barn is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

There might are less chores with less tools, but with well managed tools comes greater success.

I can think of several applications of this Proverb to contemporary existence:

1. If you do not own a lawn mower, you’ll have less maintenance, but you’ll have to pay more in the long run for people to do your yard.
2. If you do not own a tools, then you won’t have to organize them. There will be no need to put up your tools, have a sweet tool box, or to oil them. But if you have one it will be cheaper to repair your house.
3. Any tools that improve your productivity should be cared for just like the oxen barn. A barn full of oxen, left unattended, will eventually smell like what fills it. Similarly, a computer that is not properly maintained, a car not properly tuned up, or a guitar not properly stored will all let you down more frequently than the alternative. But if you do not have these tools, then you cannot have the blessings that come with them.
4. If less people go to your church, you’ll have less problems. But conversely, potentially less of the work of the gospel will be accomplished.
5. Your body will eventually fall apart, but it will happen much faster without use! Put the work of taking care of it into practice and it will likely work much longer for you.

1. Keep my garage clean and organized.
2. Stop borrowing my friend’s calculator.
3. Keep my books in alphabetical order.

New American Standard Bible  Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men, And the glory of sons is their fathers.

Jewish Publication Society  Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of their elders, And the glory of children is their parents.

Grandchildren and Grandparents

One of the things I’ve heard several parents say to their parents is, “You were always more strict with us than with my kids.” I think this proverb is noting that this is the case. There is also a note of glory in living long enough to see your children raise the next generation.

Pro 15:14-19 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. (15) All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. (16) Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it. (17) Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it. (18) A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. (19) The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.

Pro 20:13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.

This passage of Scripture is important in our culture. We write more about sleep in news and science journals than pretty much any other culture and yet we seem to sleep less. I'm wondering if our love for sleep mixed with a love of not 'missing out' on what ever we're staying up to do has caused us to have less sleep than the compilers and authors of Proverbs assume we need while also causing us to love sleep/idleness to the point of the average individual being unproductive.

In a previous post I mentioned that to become wise, you must flirt with Lady Wisdom. Proverbs 8:32-36 notes that she’s interested in men who study at her gates. Similarly, I submit that in marriage a husband should study his wife. Not in the sense of being a panderer or a sycophant (that ruins friendships, I imagine it ruins marriages too), but in the sense of figuring out what makes her happy, what her temptations and struggles are, what her goals are, what the Lord has done for her thus far, etc. Then obey Jesus and “do unto others…”

In a study published by the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2004 it was concluded that:

Forgiveness, though widely admired as a virtue, sometimes brings costs for self-interest. In the wake of deep hurt, those who forgive must humbly set aside hateful thoughts and vengeful fantasies that seem perfectly justified. To forgive means to cancel a debt, a debt for which one may fully deserve repayment. This debt metaphor suggests a profile of a person who should be especially prone to unforgiveness. An unforgiving person should be someone who is easily offended, highly invested in collecting on debts owed to the self, and determined to assert his or her rights in a principled effort to maintain self-respect. As suggested in the six studies presented here, individuals high in narcissistic entitlement fit this unforgiving profile in ways not fully captured by situational factors (e.g., offense severity, apology, and relationship closeness) or broad-based individual-difference constructs (e.g.,agreeableness, neuroticism, religiosity, social desirability). These findings suggest that narcissistic entitlement is a robust, conceptually meaningful predictor of unforgiveness.

Exline, Julie Juola, Roy F. Baumeister, Brad J. Bushman, W. Keith Campbell, and Eli J. Finkel. “Too proud to let go: narcissistic entitlement as a barrier to forgiveness.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 87, no. 6 (2004): 894.

“So listen to me, children! Blessed are those who obey me. Listen to instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it. Blessed is the person who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my doorways—because those who find me find life and gain favor from the LORD. But whoever sins against me destroys himself; everyone who hates me loves death.” (Pro 8:32-36 ISV)

The book of Proverbs seems to be intended to help young Israelite men become wise. This does not mean it does not apply to women, it clearly does, but its main intention was apparently to instruct young men. The didactic methods are geared toward young men. Wisdom is portrayed in three ways: a wise mother, a beautiful woman (perhaps even a prophet), and as a wife. Anyhow, the above passage talks about gaining wisdom as a means of gaining favor with God. This is interesting because many today talk about gaining favor with God as some luck of the draw thing. The Proverbs prologue indicates that favor with God is a term for those who work hard to be successful and ethical. But how can one get this wisdom which leads to favor with God? Lady wisdom says, “Blessed is the person who listens to me, watching daily at my gates”. In other words, attend to wisdom daily. Get the attention of wisdom. Treat wisdom as single man would an attractive woman (not as a conquest) but as an object of affection or as a pearl of great price. Sell your possessions to get wisdom and you will be blessed. The point is obvious. To get the lady you must show her attention and figure her out. To get wisdom you must take time to figure it out, this will change you. You have to study daily. It works this way in God’s kingdom too; you sell your possessions to buy a field with a pearl of great price. You sell your sloppy thinking, bad habits, and laziness and study wisdom daily. This looks different for everybody in terms of calling and circumstances (are you a doctor, a grocery clerk, a mechanic, married single, etc). But it also looks the same: become humble, become generous, become frugal, spend time daily improving the skills you need to be a wise [fill in the blank here]. For Christians it also means daily attending to the teachings of Jesus Christ who claims that those who do so “are like a wise man, who built his house upon a rock."