Proverbs 28:20 The greatest ability

A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. (NIV)

The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble.  (NLV)

What does it mean to be faithful?

No, I really mean it. Stop and think for a minute about the word "faithful" and what it means to you. We'll wait for you . . .

Ready? OK!

I think that we can all agree that being faithful means a lot of things in the Bible. First, being faithful to God comes to mind. Then, being faithful to others --- both Christians and unsaved alike. Faithful to your word, to the promises you make, being dependable to do what you say you will . . . all of these are important meanings of the word.

What would the faithful Christian do?  He or she would honor the commitments they make, pay their debts, and keep their word.  It follows logically then, that the faithful Christian would not make excessive promises, would keep their debts small, and would be very careful to keep their word after telling someone they would get something done.  Do you know many people like that?
It seems that this modern world compels many Christians to go into huge debt, and spread themselves way too thin, because of the many demands on their time. Then they can't make good on their promises.
But God promises that if we honor our word and be faithful, we will abound in blessings!        
Many times as we Christians look sideways (instead of upwards toward our Father) at each other, we talk about others' faithfulness only in terms of how often they come to church services. How much more is bound up in that word!
A promise that we make to someone who is unsaved, or doesn't attend church, is so very important --- if we make a commitment to our employer, to a community service group, or to a sports or school event --- that is a testimony to our discipleship in Christ. If we can't follow through on our promise, we give Satan an edge, and encourage the unsaved to have a poor opinion of Christians.
The contrast that Solomon is making is that of the "get-rich-quick" person . . . he (or she) makes tons of promises that he has absolutely no intention of keeping. He wants to be all things to all people, and will try to do everything in his power to get you to do business with him. One wonders if the only reason that he comes to church is to do more "networking" and meet and greet potential customers/business partners!
Let's be conscientious about our promises; let's try to be faithful to God and to men, and let's try to be dependable. We can rely on God; others can then rely on us.
An old southern preacher and evangelist, Bob Jones Sr., once said, "The greatest ability is dependability." So true, Bob, so true!

Proverbs 26:6-9 Does it add up?

6 Like cutting off one's feet or drinking violence is the sending of a message by the hand of a fool.   
7 Like a lame man's legs that hang limp is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.  
8 Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honor to a fool.  
9 Like a thornbush in a drunkard's hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

 These four verses have something in common . . . Solomon is saying that these things "don't add up." In other words, they don't make sense.

First of all, you would not send an important or confidential message by entrusting it to someone who you knew was foolish, would you? They might not value the importance of the message, and dilly-dally instead of hurrying to deliver it for you. They might also tell other people your confidential information, instead of keeping it secret. 

Next, a proverb, or wise saying, is useless in the mouth of a foolish person --- they will more than likely turn it into a jest or joke, and make fun of it. So the wise words become useless, like the lame man's legs which he cannot use to walk or run.

We've already talked about giving honor to a foolish person --- Solomon says here that it would be like tying a stone in a sling. Remember David's sling that he put the stone into, and then used the sling to hurl the rock at Goliath and kill him? Well, what do you think would happen if you put the stone into the sling and then tied it shut? Yep, you're right --- nothing would happen, because the rock couldn't come out of the sling! 

Lastly, he mentions again that a proverb in a foolish person's mouth is like a thorn in a drunkard's hand: it hurts him and he tries to get rid of it as soon as he can, by flailing around and perhaps harming others. 

It occurred to me as I studied these verses, that we need to make sure that our lives "add up." If we say we are Christians, there will be those who quietly, carefully watch us. Do our lives show that we are "walking the walk," or that we are just "talking the talk?" Are we an example in what we say and do?

Do the things we say, and the things that we do, add up?