Proverbs 15:29 ESV The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A29&version=ESV] Where do we go when life gets hard? We have a lot of options, in a sense. We could pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, early 1900s style. We could rely on family, on…
Proverbs 15:28 ESV The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A28&version=ESV] The fruit of a man is his insignia, his flag. Just as a pirate sloop is known by its skull-and-crossbones, just as a British ship-of-the-line is known by its Union Jack,…
Proverbs 15:27 ESV Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A27&version=ESV] Evildoing starts at home. In fact, evildoing starts evil closer, in the heart. We have a tendency to tell ourselves we can just do this slightly wrong thing over here and not let it…
Proverbs 15:26 ESV The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord, but gracious words are pure. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A26&version=ESV] We have an unconscious way of assuming that, at the end of the day, what goes on inside us is ours alone. I can be angry or sad or mad or covetous, and as…
Proverbs 15:25 ESV The Lord tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow’s boundaries. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A25&version=ESV] Powerlessness is a terrifying thing. When “the enemy comes in a’roaring like a flood, coveting the kingdom, and hungering for blood,” we generally feel quite powerless. What are we against the culture’s overwhelming depravity? What are…
Proverbs 15:24 ESV The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A24&version=ESV] At first glance, this verse seems only a recapitulation of the truth that righteousness brings life. Indeed I thought precisely that when I first read it (and it’s not entirely wrong). Yet consider the…
Proverbs 15:23 ESV To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A23&version=ESV] The right word at the right time means a lot. In a story, it’s the proverbial lightning. When you’re in trouble, when you’ve got a problem that’s really not working…
Proverbs 15:22 ESV Without counsel plans fail,but with many advisers they succeed. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A22&version=ESV] Men throughout history have recognized the value of wise council. “These were hard times, heartbreaking for the prince of the Shieldings, and powerful counselors… would lend advice,” states the poem Beowulf (1). As much as we like to think that we…
Proverbs 15:21 ESV Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A21&version=ESV] Doing stupid stuff can be a blast. Sometimes this ‘stupid stuff’ is innocent, a matter of taste, thrill-seeking balanced with the rest of life. Sometimes, though, we place our own pleasure before wisdom.…
Proverbs 15:20 ESV A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A20&version=ESV] Modernity as a whole despises its ancestors. Progress is the creed of liberal and conservative alike, and we look at the past with something like contempt. Even when we honor it, we honor the past for breaking…