Proverbial Bruising

For the last four or five years, I've done my best to include one chapter of the book of Proverbs in my daily study of the Word.  There are thirty-one chapters in the book.  There are thirty-one days in a month.  (Well, most of them, anyway.)  It just seems to be one of those kind-of-but-probably-not-so-coincidental God things.

Consequently, you can imagine that I've underlined nearly every single one of the verses in nearly every single one of the thirty-one chapters.  That Solomon guy.  He knew his stuff.

My monthly journey of underlining and re-underlining my way through the intricate wisdom and philosophy of this book has lead me to understand one thing...

I have much more in common with the fool than I do with the wise man.

Here are just a few examples:

"The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin."  That chattering bit gets me every time.

"A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue."  So, is that holding of the tongue a literal thing, Lord?  Like with my fingers?  Or do you want me to actually shut up?


"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion."  OK, fine.  But the pig thing's a bit harsh, don't you think?


"A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand."  Quarrelsome?  I like to think of it as being right.

"Do you see a man who speaks in haste?  There is more hope for a fool than for him."  Pretty straight forward and to the point.  Not looking at a whole lot of hope at this point. 

Oh, and this one is one of my favorites:

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."  Ouch.


The Word (Proverbs, more specifically. Surprise, surprise.) is pretty clear that Lord disciplines those that he loves as a father disciplines his children.  In Hebrews 12, it pushes the point further, saying that "if you are without discipline...then you are illegitimate children and not sons" (verse 9).

Logically, I would much rather be disciplined than be a bastard child.  But with the amount of discipline I require, I often find myself wondering if being a bastard would be a little less painful.

Of course, in the end, thoughts like that are as foolish as Proverbs so clearly reminds me that I am.  No manner of bruises or wounds that my ego may obtain from the incredibly gracious discipline I receive from the Lord could ever compare to the painful emptiness of never knowing Him as Father.

I suppose that being a fool is not the end of the world, so long as Father God sees the wisdom in me and is able to purposefully and intricately but not necessarily gently beat it out of me.