A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:31

Proverbs 15:31 ESV The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A31&version=ESV]   To listen to reproof is an essential life skill, more important than making the bed or driving or good manners (though helpful for all three). Wisdom is not innate to sinful man. In fact, sinful man intensely dislikes…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:30

Proverbs 15:30 ESV The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones. [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+15%3A30&version=ESV]   Sickness of the body is a universal human experience. We all can remember a snotty nose or a headache or a stubbed toe. Too many of us know all about serious injuries, chronic illness, even the…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:29

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…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:28

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,…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:27

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…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:26

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…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:25

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…

A Bible open to proverbs with authorial attribution to Colson Potter in bottom left

Proverbs 15:24

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…