#proverbs20

Proverbs 20:1-30 (King James Version)

29 The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. 30 Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being.

It’s remarkable how as young people, we tend to overlook and under appreciate the qualities of an older person, yet when we get older, we do the same to the younger person. A young person has much to offer. I remember when I was in high school, I could simply go all day long and never get tired. One day, I played five basketball games at a tournament, then figured I hadn’t tired myself out enough and ran five miles when I got home. If I did that now, there’s a good chance that I would die. Young people have excitement and strength (v29), and often times a willingness to work hard, even if they don’t exactly know what they’re doing. As we get older, we lose some of that strength and stamina. Frankly, we tend to lose some of that excitement that made us so eager to make a difference when we were younger. But in its place is wisdom. We’ve seen things fail enough that we have a good sense of what is purposeful work and what work won’t get us anywhere. Just think if we had both physical strength and wisdom at their peak! But just when we gain one, we usually lose the other. It is by God’s grace that young people have stamina and strength. In the absence of wisdom that can be gained only by experience, strength is a needed tool to go out and keep working to eventually make a difference. Those of us who are getting older need to appreciate what a young person has without succumbing to the frustration of foolish mistakes that are inevitable along the way. The younger person, though, needs to heed the advice of those who have already gone through the failures that have led to true wisdom and understanding. It’s not to a young person’s shame that they are lacking in wisdom, just as it is not to an older person’s shame that they are lacking in physical capabilities. When I’m on the basketball court, I’m not going to be able to run up and down the court like I once did, but I sure won’t make some of the dumb plays that I once did either. As humans, we will always have some good qualities and capabilities along with some weaker ones. Learn to appreciate where the people in your life are on this spectrum of physical health and healthy wisdom. Learn not to expect from someone what shouldn’t be expected. Jesus doesn’t expect more from you than He knows you’re capable of!

28 Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure.

Why do people ever come to believe that they will become most powerful if they become deceitful and evil? It’s something that I think a lot of us can’t understand. But, a lot of us aren’t in power. There must be something about power that draws one in. I really believe that most people get into politics to do good. But for some people, something seems to take over when they get power that makes the thought of losing it seem pretty devastating. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “What makes a legacy?” No leader, no person in power, who has led with a merciless grip on people has ever been thought of too well in the long run. Sure, in the moment, things may have looked “good” for that leader. People may have kept him in power because they were scared of him. But when that leader’s life was done, history always has it’s way of telling the real story. Love is the thing that will secure any leader’s true legacy (v28). David is a prime example of this. As a king, he was far from perfect. He disobeyed God and took an ill-advised census that led to 70,000 Israelite men being killed by a plague (1 Chronicles 21). He had the whole affair/murder ordeal with Bathsheba and her husband (2 Samuel 11). But, in the midst of it all, he was still a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). He loved the people of his nation. He loved God. He continually repented of his misdeeds and showed true humility in a position of leadership where most men dig in their heels and pretend that they can do no wrong. It is this heart of love that made God’s promise to David to make his kingship last forever actually come true. The man writing this proverb, Solomon, was given the promise of a lasting throne because the same promise was made to his father, David: “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel’” (1 Kings 9:5). While an heir to David and Solomon eventually wasn’t on the political throne of Israel, Jesus, a greater King, would eventually come to sit on a greater Throne. Jesus’ mother was an ancestor of David. David’s legacy was made forever secure because he chose love and faithfulness. His kingdom could have been made stronger during his life had he chosen an evil path bent only on gaining power, but his legacy today would not be the same. He would be all but forgotten in light of what we think of him today. Even when it doesn’t seem like it will get you the furthest in life, choose love and faithfulness. Love and faithfulness will always cement your legacy in the way you would most desire!

25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. 26 A wise king winnows out the wicked; he drives the threshing wheel over them. 27 The human spirit is the lamp of the LORD that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

When you commit to something, do you really commit? I remember having a girlfriend as a junior in high school. Three months into the relationship, I told myself I wanted to marry her. I really wanted to. And you know what? I did! To some people, I get that the idea of deciding who you want to marry as a junior in high school after dating only three months seems crazy. Maybe it is. But I saw something about it as being right. It actually wasn’t a “rash” decision. Something in me knew that I just couldn’t let her get away. Believe me, she tried to get away a few times, but I kept turning on the charm and we eventually got married. But a “rash” decision can expose us. Even when you marry the right fit for you, you’re quickly going to realize your own flaws as you live with that person. Even when you plan to have children and are ready to provide for them, you’re quickly going to realize that you have a selfishness in you that must die if you’re going to parent well. The Lord has His ways of “[shedding] light on one’s inmost being” (v27). Frankly, if you fall into the trap of dedicating yourself to something or someone that you’re not fully committed to (v25), you’re going to find yourself in a difficult, upstream battle. It’s hard enough to thrive in the midst of your own self-deficiencies even when you’re fully committed to something. It’s okay not to commit to things that you’re not completely sold on. Maybe there’s something on the horizon that you’re contemplating giving your time to, but it’s just not feeling right. Maybe it will take you away from what is most important. It’s better not to commit than to be stuck in something that drains life from you and from those around you. Thankfully, you know where Jesus’ commitment lies. His commitment to you and me became eternally known when He went to the cross. It was a commitment He agreed to from the beginning of all things. He was willing to commit to the difficult road because it was the road that would lead to God’s glorification! What can you dedicate yourself to wholeheartedly? What commitment can you make that will bring glory to God? Be faithful to what matters most and make sure you’re not letting anything get in the way of your most important commitment.

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you. 23 The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him. 24 A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?

Waiting for the Lord to take care of matters may be the most difficult thing we can do as we aim to follow Christ. Sometimes it seems He is so long in acting on our behalf. Other times, it seems He never quite does act on our behalf. Often times there comes a point where we have to say to God, in regard to those who have wronged us, “I trust that you will make things right in the end.” But the truth is that we don’t even know what “making things right” really looks like. It’s easy to act as if we are so sure of how things should really be and how we should have been treated and what we should be granted in this life, but does anyone really “understand their own way” (v24)? The truth is, you’ll never know until all things have come to an end and you can see the whole of your life and its overall purpose clearly through God’s eyes. You’ll never know the real reason God allowed you to go through that illness until that end day. You’ll never know the real reason that God allowed you to be genuinely wronged by that individual until that end day. You’ll never know why you were given more favor than the person down the street from you until that end day! That’s right—for as bad as you may think you have it, someone else has it worse! Instead of us longing for the moment that we can pay our wrongdoers back, why don’t we look to make this day better for the person who genuinely has things worse off than us? Do you really believe that “a person’s steps are directed by the Lord” (v24), even when things seem to go south? Can God direct you even in the midst of someone else’s sinful behavior towards you? There is grace to be found in your hardship. You are promised to have every wrong settled. You may not see it today. You may not see it until the day you die. But Christ’s death on the cross is your promise of having every wrong settled. On the cross, Christ defeated sin and death, and brought you victory and life. The promise of life in Christ is so good that in Him, every wrong will be forgotten. So, when it comes to righting wrongs, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).