Proverbs 17:2 ESV A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+17%3A2&version=ESV] Family loyalty, degraded as it is in modernity, is a virtue. Just as children are to honor their parents (Ex. 20:12), parents are to care for their…
Proverbs 17:1 ESV Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+17%3A1&version=ESV] Modernity is prone to thinking in purely economic terms. We want top GDP, much money, high-up wealth, if you’ll pardon the grammar, and we have a deadly tendency to forget the costs. We want everybody…
Proverbs 16:33 ESV The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A33&version=ESV] What is Fortune? Is she a blind goddess, a biased mistress, or nothing at all? How are we to deal with the ‘cast of the lot,’ when the world turns out one way or the…
Proverbs 16:32 ESV Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A32&version=ESV] “But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway.” So says Faramir of the One Ring, and in that sentence he…
Proverbs 16:31 ESV Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A31&version=ESV] The terror of growing old is familiar to man. Gilgamesh dived deep in search of immortality, Alexander carved his name into cities, and Count of St. Germain simply told everybody he was. Nowadays, we can watch…
Proverbs 16:30 ESV Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things; he who purses his lips brings evil to pass. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A30&version=ESV] What’s the difference between paranoid and prudent? Should I cut off my friend for looking suspicious? Should I disregard how that stranger is hiding a dripping red knife behind his back as he approaches? When…
Proverbs 16:29 ESV A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A29&version=ESV] Violence is a convenient way to solve a problem. Somebody ticking you off? Punch the daylights out of him. Political rival being the absolute worst? Imprison him. Spouse being yappy when you’re tired?…
Proverbs 16:28 ESV A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A28&version=ESV] We all like to think that our relationships are ironclad, incapable of breaking down. We all know, when we’re not deliberately closing our eyes, that while our relationships may be strong, some of them nearly unbreakable, they only stay…
Proverbs 16:27 ESV A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A27&version=ESV] When dealing with a difficult relationship, we have two impulses: first, to cut them out as soon as possible and (try to) never look back; second, to hold on forever, thinking that perhaps one last interaction can…
Proverbs 16:26 ESV A worker’s appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A26&version=ESV] Reality is reality. Sometimes that sucks. Sometimes that’s awesome. Sometimes, as here, we need to take a second and a third and even a fourth look before we understand both sides of the problem. This verse falls into the…