Posts Tagged: the fear of the LORD
“Proverbs: More Subtle than I had Thought”
“Better is little with the fear of the LORD
than great treasure and trouble with it.”
(Proverbs 15:16 The Holy Bible, English Standard Version)
I am sometimes guilty of devaluing the biblical book of Proverbs. I have tended at times to think of proverbs as nice little sayings, although they are rather mechanical and obvious. I say this to my shame.
Over the past several years, I have come to realize that the Proverbs are much more subtle and subversive than I had previously realized. When I slow down enough to see what is really there, what is really there demonstrates a depth that has the capacity to deepen me.
Take Proverbs 15:16, for example. Many proverbs seem to link wisdom and righteousness with wealth. Often, the entire book of Proverbs is read precisely this way.
However, this proverb assaults us with a subversive thought: It is possible for the fear of the LORD (which is considered to be very, very good in the book of Proverbs) with having, not abundance, but little. And abundance (“great treasure”) can be accompanied with trouble or worry.
So, if I am doing well financially, I cannot automatically assume that I am fearing the LORD properly, and that the LORD is therefore blessing me. Nor can I assume that if I have only a little, the LORD is not blessing me. There is no one-to-one correlation between the fear of the LORD and material well-being.
Notice that this proverb does not say that material wealth is inherently bad. Poverty is not automatically a blessing. But neither is wealth. The crucial matter is the fear of the LORD.
Perhaps I, perhaps we all, need to go back for another look at the not-so-simplistic book of Proverbs.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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