This is going to sound silly, but sometimes...Proverbs makes me want to grab a stack of sticky notes and plaster them all over the house. On the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the dashboard of my truck....ANYWHERE that I’ll see them. Because the wisdom in these verses is so practical. It’s real life. And Proverbs 20 is full of the kind of reminders you want in front of your face when you’re about to make a choice you’ll regret.
The very first verse is one of those sticky-note moments in this chapter?
It is an honour for a man to cease from strife:
but every fool will be meddling. (v3)
That one belongs on the lock screen of my phone! Walking away from an argument doesn’t make me weak.....it makes me wise. And maybe I need to read that three or four times before I walk into certain conversations. It's OKAY to not have anything to say!
The just man walketh in his integrity:
his children are blessed after him. (v7)
This one feels less like a sticky note and more like a framed print! Integrity is quiet. It doesn’t draw applause. But it DOES outlive us. It seeps into our children and their children. This one challenges me to ask.....am I living in a way that blesses those who come after me?
Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? (v9)
Who can say that? Well, none of us can. And maybe that’s another sticky note...one that reminds me to lean harder on Jesus. Integrity isn’t perfection. It’s honesty. It’s owning up to weakness and running to the One who can cleanse us.
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:
therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips. (v19)
In other words, don’t get too cozy with people who can’t keep their mouth shut! I don't know how often I have cringed after having a conversation with people that love to gossip TO me about others. I have poured out and said too much about me and what I was going through, only to hang up and immediately feel sick and regretful. This one is definitely a sticky note worth seeing before I pick up the phone! (Pssst.... it's okay to limit conversations with people who are chronic gossipers. Those kinds of boundaries are healthy to have!)
Man’s goings are of the LORD;
how can a man then understand his own way? (v24)
How about THIS anchor?! I don’t always understand where life is taking me. Half the time I can’t even explain why I feel the way I do. But I'm grateful that God knows. My steps are His to order. My path is His to clear.
So maybe Proverbs 20 is just one big sticky-note chapter. Each verse a little nudge to keep me steady, keep me honest, keep me humble, and keep me trusting. And honestly? I don’t mind covering the whole house with that kind of wisdom. (Sorry Justin! 😇 )
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