Proverbs 22:8

“He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.” (NKJV)

“Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of anger will fail.” (NRSV)

Anger rarely works. There are places for righteous anger, but as sinners, we need to be careful about why we are angry. Righteous anger can quickly move into selfish or self-centered anger. And then we are in trouble.

Injustice is an interesting word. I think that, as Americans, we often see it in a narrow view, as someone’s rights being violated. And that’s a true meaning. But I think there is another view and that is as God’s rights being violated . . . as in sin.

Anger is rarely a good thing. We look to the Lord Jesus in the Temple, chasing out the money-changers. But we rarely look at the Lord Jesus, in agony hanging on the cross, and forgiving His executioners. There are few instances of approved anger in scripture, many instances of forgiveness.

What good does anger do? Usually it raises our blood pressure, restricts our focus, limits our effectiveness in other aspects of our lives. And, most often, it rarely affects the object of our anger. In fact, in so many cases, that person doesn’t care at all whether or not we are angry at them. Certainly anger rarely, very rarely, motivates that person to change their behavior.

Paul talked about how we are to interact with our enemies:

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:14-21 NRSV).

Have we ever thought to ask God for permission to be angry? If it is indeed a righteous anger, we will still be able to prayer, to love, to forgive. If it is a sinful anger, we need to repent, to walk away from it and to bless our enemies instead of trying to manipulate or hurt them.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 22:7

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (NKJV)

Somehow, somewhere the United States decided that being in debt was good business. I’m not a historian, sociologist, or anthropologist, so I’m not sure when or why. But it’s clear as we face national debt into the trillions and corporate and personal debt not far behind that we have decided living beyond our means is productive.

Perhaps it’s because we do believe the first part of this proverb: “the rich rules over the poor.” If we have more—or appear to have more—than it seems that we are in control, that we decide, that we rule. However, if how we became “rich” is through debt, than it shouldn’t be very long before we are servant to those to whom we owe.

Paul often wrote a sort of stream of consciousness, from this topic to that one to that one. In Romans 13, he begins talking about our obligation for obeying civil law. And then he digresses to this:

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:7-8 NKJV).

“Owe no one anything . . . “ It seems that, as a Church, we have turned our backs on so many things, including obeying this. I’m one of those. Our family was, except for our mortgage, debt free a few years ago only to place ourselves in debt again. We are trying to struggle out, but it is much harder now due to the serious problems with the economy. And yet, when we are in debt to another, we are their servant. There is no two ways about it. My husband and I do not have control over our money; we must use it to pay our debts, rather than to use it to bless others.

There are commandments in the Bible that are obviously eternity-shattering. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” “Go into the world and preach the gospel.” But our Father is not just concerned about the big picture. He is also concerned about the details, about how we live our lives moment by moment, day by day. He knows that we are freest to serve Him when we are only under obligation to love others. When we live beyond our means (which is what debt is), so many things happen in our spiritual selves. We become less dependent upon Him. We focus more on our lusts and less on self-discipline. We often are looking for the approval of others and not for His approval.

Being in debt may not keep me out of heaven, but it certainly constricts what I can do here as a believer. And, for me, at least, getting out of debt has become a priority so that I can be free to serve God and Him alone.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 21:9

“It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious wife” (NRSV).

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 NRSV).

“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21 NRSV).

This proverb was written by a man, so to understand the perspective: wife. But the fact is, this goes both ways. It is impossible to live in a home where one spouse is contentious. The word can also be translated “brawling.”

“Contentious” is defined as “exhibiting an often perverse and wearisome tendency to quarrels and disputes” (Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary). Think of it. First of all, the person has the tendency to quarrels and disputes. Well, likely that person has two characteristics: (1) they usually (or always) believe they are right, and (2) they are likely angry most of the time. They need to control every situation so their viewpoint, their perspective is the only one possible. And they tend to jump all over anyone who disagrees with them. Secondly, this person is this way most (or all) of the time. So much so that people soon tire of being around them. Friends disappear; invitations dry up. Life becomes lonelier and lonelier.

Basically, the person this proverb is describing is a self-centered immature person who wants her way all of the time. And the proverb continues that it would be better to live in a corner of a roofless place (no protection from the elements of nature) rather than to live in a house where anger rules.

As believers, we are commanded to set aside our own concerns, agendas, opinions, and even needs in order to serve those around us. Paul taught that we are to do NOTHING from selfish ambition or conceit. It’s interesting that Merriam-Webster’s lists, as one of the definitions of conceit, “individual opinion.” And the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon lists as one of the definitions “self-esteem.” As Americans, we have embraced the idea that we should like ourselves, that we should look out after ourselves first and foremost, and that we have every right to our own opinions.

The Bible never talks about self-esteem or rights except in a negative way. As believers, we are to set down any desire for esteem (by ourselves or others) and our rights in exchange for trust in God and service to His will. We are to “regard others as better than ourselves” and to look after their interests. We are to “be subject to one another.” This is a very different picture than what we see even in many sermons today where preachers seem to be more concerned that we are happy, adjusted, and defending our rights. Have we become the “contentious wife” in our society because we want only what we want? Perhaps today is the day to ask forgiveness for our anger, to set aside our demands, and to look to the needs of those around us.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.

Proverbs 21:6

“The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death” (NRSV).

Most of us don’t see ourselves as getting treasures through lies. Likely we work at not lying and are very convicted when we choose to lie. However, because we are sinners, we sin. And I would propose that there are times that we hide what we do in an effort to get comfort from the suffering we experience. In other words, there are things we would prefer to do in the darkness, alone, without others watching that we might not do so readily in the presence of others (particularly other brothers and sisters in Christ).

We sneak that snack that we know isn’t good for us. We sneak an hour to play video games when we should be ministering to our families. We sneak a purchase at the mall when we know there are bills clamoring to be paid. We sneak a flirtation at work and call it innocent. We sneak an extra hour in bed when we know we should get up and seek the Lord in study and prayer. We sneak a catty remark about someone who’s hurt us when we should be forgiving.

All this to say that when we choose the lesser path in hopes of getting some good feelings for ourselves, we may very well be lying to ourselves in an effort to get the “treasures” of feeling good. And scripture tells us that this has two characteristics: (1) it is fleeting, and (2) it leads to death.

I struggle with food addiction. And if I’m totally honest, there are other “addictions” (in the way of habitual sinful behaviors) with which I struggle. But these behaviors all have one thing in common: they exist to “comfort” me when I am angry, frustrated, bored, even tired. Rather than turning to the Lord (which I do far less than I should), I turn to these activities which stimulate the pleasure centers in my brain and “reward” me through good feelings . . . for the moment. But the feelings are fleeting and I often have to return again and again to the behavior in order to block the suffering from which I’m fleeing (anger, boredom, rejection, fatigue).

I lie to myself when I believe that such behaviors are the solution to my hurts. They, in fact, simply add to the problem. Even if they add simply the delay of applying myself to the duty that beckons. They add to the problem. And I’m left with more suffering than that with which I began.

The problem often, for me at least, is that I would rather grasp the pleasures of this world than take on the yoke that the Lord Jesus has for me. And yet, I would find greater peace, greater joy in His arms than in such worthless pursuits: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV). I need to take the Bible at its word. Treasures gained through lying—even if that lie is to myself—are fleeting and lead to death. I need to learn to seek the treasures that only come at the foot of the cross of Christ.

© 2009 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.