Category: Controversy

That's About as Dumb as Grabbing a Dog by the Ears! Proverbs 26:17

9/28/2012

Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. Proverbs 26:17

In order to learn this proverb in the way we will never forget, we should find a large, doberman - whom we do not know - and grab him by the ears and shake him a little. Yeah - don't think you'd want to do that either. Want to know why? Because you'd come out of that situation with one less hand (possibly two if you are slower).

I love when God uses pictures that are not only graphic - but pretty funny to consider. This sounds like a bad clip from "America's Funniest Videos." Nevertheless, it is great for those of us who have a bad tendency to get involved in "strife-filled" situations when we have no reason for doing so. There are just some of us who think it is our place to fix every situation where people are having problems.

Note several things about this person. First, he is simply "passing by" a situation that is ongoing. He has not been invited to enter it and offer counsel. He just feels that these two people who are fighting need his particular expertise and wisdom. Second, this is a situation "not belonging to him." That removes him even further from the picture - or at least it should. Third, he enjoys "meddling" in other people's business. Add all these things up and you get a recipe for "relational disaster stew!"

This is one of those proverbs that needs to be featured in the University of Duh. Anyone with a remote "lick of sense" knows better than to grab a dog by its ears. Do so and you will anger the dog - who will then bite your hand. Do it to the wrong dog and more than just your hand will be attacked. So also is the foolishness of someone who just will not stay out of other people's business. This particular fool won't stay out of other people's ANGRY business. The word "riybah" is used here - and it means strife, controversy, or contention. It speaks of a quarrel or dispute - which often involves open hostilities. Why would anyone want to step into something like that - when they don't even know the people all that well? To do so is stupid! But it seems that "stupid" here just cann't help himself or herself. They insert themselves into the conflict - and later are shocked when they walk away battered and bruised by the words or actions that they run into in the midst of it.

Stay out of other people's business! That is something my mother taught me. It has been a very wise saying - and one that I did not know at the time was biblical. Whenever I have obeyed her counsel I was blessed. But I've ignored it a few times . . . and I have the emotional dog bites to show for it!

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Pits That Wind Up Being the Pits - Proverbs 26:27

9/20/2012

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He who digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone, it will come back on him. Proverbs 26:27

This is not a proverb that explains why bad things happen to Wylie Coyote - even though at first glance it might. It is actually about those who plan to do evil to others. Those who set traps to catch others and have bad things happen to them are warned in this proverb that what they do will eventually happen to them. Let's take a look at what this means - and also see an example or two.

Those who dig a pit do so to catch someone in it. In biblical times people would dig pits and cover them for the purpose of catching more than just animals who would fall into them. These pits would be dug and covered with camouflage as well as wetted down on the sides so that whoever was caught in them would not have opportunity to escape. Those who caught the person would then either take them captive as a slave - or kill the one who fell into the pit. The reason a stone would be rolled is to be put on a steep hill so that it could then be rolled down to kill or badly injure someone who was coming through the valley. This was a tactic of thieves who wanted to steal what travellers would have as they went through valleys and along roads that were next to hilly or mountainous areas. The idea with a pit or with a stone was to injure or kill someone for evil purposes.

God warns that those who do such things will fall into a pit themselves. God also warns that the stone that is rolled with come back on them. This is not a reference to an actual pit or an actual stone rolling on them - but was a warning that God was going to hold them responsible for their wicked actions. A good example of this would be the story of Joseph and his brothers. The brothers threw Joseph into a pit with the original intention of killing him because of their jealous hatred of him. Joseph and his stinking varicolored coat reminded them every day that their father loved him more than them - so why not teach the little runt a lesson. Of course killing your brother is a little intense. In the end they decided just to sell him into lifelong slavery (their sibling rivalry was way more intense that what I remember with my brothers). They covered their tracks by dipping the hated coat in blood and telling their father that a wild animal killed Joseph. But the pit they dug - and the rock they rolled was going to come back on them one day.

The first "pit-experience" was when their father almost died from grief. Then there was the famine that came and caused them to have to go to Egypt where they had to ask for food from . . . wait for it . . . their snotty little brother who was now the second ruler of Egypt. What was very good for them was that their brother had far more mercy on them in their pit that they had on him when he was in theirs. They had rolled their stone on him - but he refused to roll his on them. He chose forgiveness rather than revenge.

The varied pits that you can fall into are as numerous as the ones you dig for others. It is amazing as I grow older to see all the various pits that people have fallen into after they've dug ones for someone else. It is a fact of life that what goes around comes around. That is the simple, one-sentence way to define this particular proverb. I just hope that we all remember that the next time we grab our shovels and start digging for someone else.

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Three Weapons that can Kill . . . a Reputation - Proverbs 25:18

8/30/2012

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Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor. Proverbs 25:18

Here we have a proverb concerning those who are gossips and false witnesses against their own neighbors. This is clearly seen in the second half of the proverb. The things described at the beginning of the proverb - three in nuimber - are compared to this man who bears a false witness agianst his neighbor. He is a perjuror as he destroys the reputation of the one who lives near him. Let's take a look at the three things used to describe the lying witness.

Three things are used to describe this lying man. The first is a club. The actual word means a maul - which is something akin to our sledge hammer. The second two things are very easy to describe - the sword is actually a double-edged sword - and the final object is a sharp arrow. All three of these things are instruments of destruction and murder. Each though has its method and its pattern of destruction. The reason that we are looking at murder here is because of the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5. Jesus said there that if a man is angry with his brother he is guilty of murder. If he calls his brother an empty-head or moron, he is guilty before the highest court of Israel. But it if called his brother a fool, he is in danger of going into the firey hell itself. It is a murderous thing to assassinate the character of your neighbor with your words of false testimony.

The maul or sledge hammer would be used to bludgeon the reputation of one's neighbor. It is a slower, more grotesque death. The lies of this man are not exactly cutting - but they are used again and again to bludgeon the poor man to death. I've watched as these dark blows were struck toward someone. Again and again loose-lipped men would throw ungodly accusations against someone -like the blows of a sledge hammer upon them. The bruises inflicted by these false words would cause the poor man to be bowed down and unable to rise from the bruising of his life.

The sword refers to the words of the wicked man. We are warned elsewhere in the book of proverbs that rash, godless words piece like a sword. These cutting comments can be a tool of the devil to urge us to bitterness and resentment. A sword thrust can pierce our hearts and bring so much damage. When you consider that these sword-thrust-words are false and lying accusations - it is even worse.

The last of the three descriptive terms is a sharp arrow. This was used to shoot straight into the heart - and break and kill it. We are warned to lift up the shield of faith in Ephesians chapter 6 so that we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Since he is known as the Liar and the father of lies, we know that he often wants to shoot us with these lying accustaions and charges. His intent is to wound us or even more likely - kill us. He wants us dead - and will use whatever lies he can to destroy our hearts for God as well as our testimony for Him as well.

The wise man knows of these things and entrusts himself to God to defend and protect him. Jesus faced such things before He went to the cross. He faced those who spoke as with sledge hammer strokes. He faced those who sought to pierce His heart whether with a sword or an arrow. Yet He entrusted Himself to the Lord - knowing that in the end God would vindicate him from all the false charges and lies. Therefore, we know that if Jesus faced such things - we will face them too. It is for this reason that we should prepare our hearts to be falsely accused and falsely charged. A wise man knows this and prepares his heart for what inevitably will be the attacks of the spiritual realms - as well as those who do their bidding and act as their mouthpieces.

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A Little or a Lot - You Choose . . . Proverbs 15:16

8/15/2011

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Better is a little with the fear of the LORD Than great treasure and turmoil with it. Proverbs 15:16

More is better. That is the attitude of the world toward money. But the Scriptures tell us a different story. We learn from Proverbs that it is a far better investment to have the fear of the Lord than it is to have treasure without it. What is interesting to me as I read this particular Proverb today is that the guy who wrote it was arguably the richest man to ever walk the earth.

We read that a little with the fear of the Lord is a good thing. The fear of God is a proper reverence for God. It is not a cowering fear that trembles at the thought that God might strike at any moment. It is a respect and reverence that puts one in their proper place - and in so doing this encourages in them a proper response to God. This respect for God will bless in far more ways than money. Since there is a respect for God Himself, there will also be a respect for His Word. This respect for the Bible leads us to read it and apply it. That in turn will bring blessings untold over time. The fear of God also leads one to have a great distaste of displeasing the Lord or disobeying Him. Therefore the principles that one reads in the Word will be followed with great caution.

The other option is to get wealth no matter what is at risk. We read there is "turmoil" that comes with this great treasure. Turmoil here means to have confusion, panic, tumult, and distrubance. There are those who have a tremendous amount of money - yet with their riches they also have incredible trouble as well. Their family is destroyed - relationships are strained - and since what they truly value is money - they have few real friends. Instead they have sycophants who hang around them because they think they will be receiving something from them at some point in the future.

Solomon had a heart for God at the beginning of his reign in Jerusalem. He had wisdom and turned to seek the Lord. His heart was geared toward pleasing God - and thus it could be said that he feared the Lord. But Solomon loved many women - way too many women. They turned his heart as they had him worship their false gods. Solomon may have been wealthy and may have had anything his heart desired financially, but he was a man filled with turmoil as he grew older. His desires ran rampant in his heart - and he became a fool who sought only after his own pleasure. In the end, his kingdom became more and more difficult to maintain - and his son - who followed his ways wound up losing almost all of it. If you interviewed Solomon at the end of his days, he would have been a man filled with regret - and also filled with a jaded view of things. That is exactly what we see in the book of Ecclesiastes. We watch Solomon looking over everything he had and saying that it all was vanity and like striving after wind. What we learn from his life is exactly what he wrote in this proverb. It is better to have just a little while fearing God - than having it all and living in a constant turmoil over it.

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The "Bill Maher" Proverb - Proverbs 29:9

11/29/2010

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When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest. Proverbs 29:9

This proverb I've affectionately named the "Bill Maher proverb." That is because he, along with many other social liberals invite one Christian to sit on a panel with him and 2-3 other liberals. As the program unfolds, this proverb is lived out over and over again. If the Christian is wise at all, he will begin to present biblical truth, and at that point the controversy, the rage, and the mockery begin. The poor Christian is usually shouted down in the midst of making any points - and the end of the matter is that he or she looks like the fool - which was the purpose of the whole exercise anyway. After watching this three or four different times, I came to the conclusion that any Bible-believing Christian who went on this, or other programs like it, was as much of a fool as the other fools sitting on the panel.

The nature of a foolish man is to mock the things of God. Therefore when a wise man begins to have a controversy or argument with a foolish man - he needs to know that reason or fair-minded debate will most likely not be involved in what is about to take place. This passage tells us that what will happen is that the foolish man will "rage" against the wise man. The word used for rage here is "ragaz" and it means to shake, tremble, be agitated, be disturbed, or be provoked. As soon as a fool hears the Word of God, he will come to the place where he will blow like a stick of dynamite. The fool recognizes no authority but his own. We read elsewhere in Proverbs that the fool only delights in airing his own opinions - and only respects his own thoughts. The idea of a God Who reveals to us absolute truth is an utter outrage to the fool. He is enraged at the thought of anyone claiming to have a truth that can stand in judgment over his ideas - as accurate and marvelous as they are. So when he hears a wise man (who is wise because he has learned to submit himself to what is revealed in Scripture) start to quote the Bible as an authority - BOOM! - he explodes in a rage against the wise man (yet actually he is enraged at God more than anyone else).

The other response from the fool is to laugh at God's principles and God's Word. This is basically done by mocking God. Bill Maher did it by doing the movie, "Religuous." Others have done it a myriad of different ways over the years. Interestingly enough, most of them are dead and have the horrendous problem of explaining to God why they felt such liberty to mock Him and His Word - which is what Mr. Maher will face also if he does not come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Regardless of how they go about mocking God, they do, and in the end there is no peace. There isn't any because the fool is not about to have the wise man come away from the encounter or controversy looking good at all.

A wise man recognizes when he is in a controversy with a fool. He recognizes it usually because the fool will not argue reasonably, but will quickly resort to mocking, name calling, and specious arguments. At that point the best thing a wise man can do is step away from the situation as quickly and as gracefully as he can. The encounter will not result in a peaceful resolution. Rage and mocking laughter will happen - but not peace. The best thing you can do for the foolish man is pray for him, love him, and not offer him the public platform to mock God. That is why the wise man will turn down the offer to appear on such programs - saving himself the breath, the time, and the humiliation that will come if he chooses unwisely to attend.

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That's About as Dumb as Grabbing a Dog by the Ears! Proverbs 26:17

Pits That Wind Up Being the Pits - Proverbs 26:27

Three Weapons that can Kill . . . a Reputation - Proverbs 25:18

A Little or a Lot - You Choose . . . Proverbs 15:16

The "Bill Maher" Proverb - Proverbs 29:9

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