Proverbs 15 : 7 Do I winnow my words?

I know you may have looked at the title and said "Huh? What is she talking about?"  I'll try to explain.

Pro 15:7  The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so.

At first glance, this verse seems to kinda go against one that we studied recently . . . In verse 33 of chapter 14, we read: Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.

You might recall that we talked about how the foolish person will go to great lengths, do everything in his or her power to find ways to bring the conversation around to what they want to talk about, or boast about. We discussed that the wise person will many times hold their knowledge "close to the vest," or at least not be over-eager to display what they know.  Well, this verse seems to be telling us to disperse or share our knowledge --- Hey, Solomon, what gives?

One of the synonyms that I found when I clicked on "disperse" was to "winnow." That brings to mind the tossing of the harvested grain into the air in ancient times --- the chaff, or useless portion, would be carried away on the wind, while the useful portion of the grain would fall to the ground to be gathered up and used. Perhaps what Solomon is telling us, is that we need to be guided by humility and prudence, and share our knowledge in a reasonable and measured manner.  To be certain when we share, that it is the useful grain, not the chaff --- something that will bless, and will edify or comfort the hearer.


It made me think about whether or not I "winnow" my words . . . am I careful to choose the grain? Or am I distributing chaff a great deal of the time?


Lord, please keep your arm around my shoulders, and your hand over my mouth.  :)

Proverbs 15 : 6 Real treasure, or real worried?

Have you seen the commercial lately from an insurance company, that features a cute pup worried about where to hide his treasure -- his bone? He scampers from place to place, trying to find the perfect spot, and is always worried about it being found . . . even in his dreams he is uneasy:

 

Our verse today made me think of that pup and his worries, and the same worries that plague some humans!

Proverbs 15:6 tells us "In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble."

We have discussed in earlier studies that on the one hand, God may indeed bless the righteous with great riches -- remember Abraham? The list of his possessions was quite astonishing for men in those times. On the other hand, the righteous may NOT have a great deal of the material goods of this world; they may not appear to be wealthy.  But in the best and brightest sense, they are the richest folks around!  The righteous are usually hard-working, temperate, and content with what they have, and the grace that they've received is counted as their greatest asset. They realize that they have God as their portion, and they don't fret over possessions.
The wicked, however, may have amassed great wealth, but are constantly assailed with feelings of guilt, of passion, of envy, and spitefulness, and can never truly "rest easy" because they are always afraid that someone else will take their riches away.  Their passions, pride, and a constant uneasiness take away the joy that they thought their "revenues" would bring them. 

This Christmas season, let's be truly grateful for the grace He has given us, the mercy He has extended to us, and the peace that we feel from His presence. Those are the riches I'm thankful for!

Proverbs 15 : 5 Scornful attitudes

Here is today's verse:

Proverbs 15:5  A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

This is almost a companion verse to several that we've studied before . . . like this one:

Proverbs 13:1  A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

This one has a little different tone, though, and I'll lay it out here as concisely as I can, so you don't think I'm plowing the same ground here.

In the verse in chapter 13, the emphasis was on whether or not the son "heard" the instruction. The implication was that if you truly "hear" what someone is saying, you will take it to heart, internalize it, remember it, and value it.
Today's verse has the word "despiseth" in it. Some of the similar words for this Hebrew word are: scorn, abhor, blaspheme, hold in contempt. Whoa . . . there are some pretty negative meanings, there!  I think we can safely say there is more going on here than the typical roll-my-eyes-sigh-and shrug attitude of some teenagers that I know!
Contrast this scornful attitude that Solomon shows us, with the second half of the sentence: "he that regardeth reproof is prudent."   I hope that I am correct on this one, but I was really taken with the meaning of "regard" in this verse. It means "to hedge about, as with thorns."  Hmmm, if I remember correctly, that was one way that shepherds in ancient times protected their sheep.

Sometimes they would find a natural enclosure, an area where the stones could be used to make some makeshift walls, and pieces from thornbushes would be laid on top to discourage thieves and wild animals. If it was a pasture they often used, there might be a more permanent sheepfold made, along the same lines, with stones or a low building, and abundant use of thorns for protection. Many times the opening to this enclosure would be blocked by the shepherd himself, who would lie down and sleep there, to be vigilant over his precious livelihood.

So, this got me to thinking - I don't need to pat myself on the back because I'm not scornful. I certainly don't treat God's instructions with contempt.  But when I receive a reproof from my heavenly Father, do I "regard" it? Do I hedge it about and protect it, and treat it as something of highest value? I know that I should, for a reproof will guide me in becoming more like Christ. But I also know that if I'm honest, I sometimes shy away from that reproof, and try to justify my mistake or sin. This verse has "lit a fire under me" to change the way I respond to reproof!

Proverbs 15:4 Sticks and Stones . . .

Pro 15:4  A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.

Remember back in the first few studies we had with Tonya? Do you recall when Wisdom was compared to a "tree of life?"  In Proverbs 3:18, Solomon instructed us to seek, embrace, hold onto, Wisdom, for "she" would be a tree of life to us. Establishing, nurturing, sustaining us in our life here on earth.

Well, here is an interesting concept in Proverbs 15:4 . . . "a wholesome tongue" can be a tree of life, as well. How? I'm so glad you asked!! In the Hebrew, the word there can be translated curative, sound, wholesome, or healing.

Our tongues can heal when we:

•                comfort those who are hurting
•                tell sinful souls of our Savior
•                encourage those who are at odds to reconcile with each other
•                give wholesome advice to those who sorely need it

One of the commentaries that I read, said that if one lived around a person who had a "wholesome" or "healing" tongue, it would be like living in paradise - alluding to where we will see the tree of life later on. (It's in Revelation 22:2) 
The opposite of the wholesome tongue would naturally be one that wounds, and tells falsehoods, and causes grief, guilt and divisions among hearers.
While it's true that sticks and stones can break bones, I have never held to the idea that "words can never hurt" me . . . I'm sure we all have seen hearts broken by a few poorly chosen words.

I believe I will strive to have a healing, wholesome, peacemaking tongue. What are your thoughts on this verse?

P.P. Discussion Week 4

In our last lesson we saw how Christian was edified and encouraged at the house called Beautiful. In this portion of the story Christian walks through two valleys. In the first valley he has a terrible battle with a foul friend. New trials meet Christian as he passes through the next valley. However, not even these adversities are able to stop his progress. 

1) After being favored with many spiritual blessings at the house called Beautiful, Christian departs. Where does he go next, and why do you think this place was chosen by Bunyan to be next in the pilgrim's journey?

2)Why was the battle between Christian and his foe so severe?

3)Christian now enters the Valley of the Shadow of Death. On the right hand of the Valley there is a ditch and on the left hand a quag. What does each represent?

4)What weapon was useful to Christian in the midst of the valley and why was it the best at this point?

5) "When Christian had traveled in this disconsolate condition some considerable time, he thought he heard the voice of a man, as going before him, saying, 'Though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear non Ill, for thou art with me." What were the three reasons why Christian was glad?

---------------------------------------------------------------

Reading assignments:
Moody (Belinda) pp66-86
Spire non abridged pp 58-78

Remember I will not be able to answer questions until Monday. Thank you! I am so glad to be reading this again!

Proverbs 15:3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.

I find this verse very soothing.

God Knows.

When you are wrongly judged:

God knows. 

When you are lonely:

God knows.

When you are hurting:

God knows.

When someone else should be punished instead of you:

God knows. 

Those two mighty words have gotten me through many a tough time, and they've kept me from being vengeful. Because that's God's job. Because...well, God knows!

As you are reading this I will be away and cannot respond to your comments. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Proverbs 15:2

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable; but the mouth of fools spouts folly.

We have talked and talked about talk, lips, tongue. So I mulled this verse over for two days in my head to figure a different way to talk about talk. Then it hit me...'makes knowledge acceptable'.

Think back to when you were in school. Think of your different teachers that you had. Over the years, you probably experienced mean ones, fun ones, interesting ones, boring ones. What makes a good teacher? (or a wise teacher if we apply it to the above verse). Let me compare a few of  my high school teachers for you (I went to a very small private school, so many of my teachers were repeated each year and taught several subjects.)

Mr. K--Super nice, but also didn't know half of the things students did behind his back. Kids got away with a lot in his class. He also taught in a very monotone voice; and a bit above most of our heads. Over the years I took Bible, English, and Chemistry from him. I did good to pass Chemistry and Bible and English were always a breeze for me, so I really didn't even need him for those. In fact, I don't remember a thing that stands  out in what he taught.

Mr. W--Hilarious, friendly but strict. Taught Speech (I may like to teach but I do NOT like to get up in front of people. It scares me to death.), Bible, Science classes, and drove my bus on occasion. Mr W made his learning fun but kept a firm hand on the class. He taught things in such a way that even in speech class I strove to please him. When he drove my bus, he purposely went out of the way to take me all the way home instead of making me walk the mile that the school and other drivers required. (private schools do what they want.) Because of his fun, friendly manner, he made me want to learn. Even in my hard classes I worked hard to please him.

Ms F--She taught all of our math classes. She was a serious, get down to business kind of teacher. Nice, but not overly friendly. If we struggled she would go over it again, or find new ways to go over it. If we had trouble in her class she found ways to help us bring our grade up. (I am a math whiz except Geometry. She gave me lots of extra work in geometry to help me keep my grade up.) She understand that just because you don't understand something, then you are not stupid. You just need it put in a different light.

Mr. H--Mr military. Seriously. He just retired finally after being in the reserves for 40 years or more. Mean; Could care less to listen to 'our side' of things if something didn't go right; his way or the highway. Over the years I took many classes from him but most commonly History and Bible. I did not need his help in Bible but History was very hard for me. (I have always struggled with lots of memorization.)

the other Mr H--the other history teacher. Friendly but down to business like Ms F, and also helped us like Ms F. He was the best teacher ever for helping review before tests. As I said, I was horrible at memorization. I could enter a final in his class and do fine, because he took the time to review with us so that we couldn't fail.

Now that I bored you and took you back to school, I will get to my point. (Finally! right?). I went through each of these because I wanted to spark some memory in your own life. I was hoping that describing these would help you remember some of your teachers that helped you gain knowledge, even when it wasn't easy. Or how about the opposite. Teachers that you didn't learn a thing from.

No matter where you are at in life, someone is watching you. You are teaching someone. If you want them to accept what you are teaching, then you need to be wise in your approach. That means it begins in you; not in them.