Funny how this sermon thing works.  You write something out and then it keeps you up all night with the changes that feel righter or more right – better.  As you can guess, I never sleep on Saturday nights and it wakes you up early.  Someone posted a proverb this week and it sent my mind traveling (ADHD much?).  Proverbs has 31 chapters and each one has multiple verses.  Bible Gateway even had one today for verse of the day.  For what we would like you to do today, I would ask you to open your heart as you read these Proverbs.  This is Proverbs 17 with 28 short verses.  Let the Holy Spirit guide your thoughts. 

Proverbs 17 NIV

17 Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.

² A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

³ The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

⁴ A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

⁵ Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.

⁶ Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.

⁷ Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

⁸ A bribe is seen as a charm by the one who gives it; they think success will come at every turn.

⁹ Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

¹⁰ A rebuke impresses a discerning person more than a hundred lashes a fool.

¹¹ Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

¹² Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

¹³ Evil will never leave the house of one who pays back evil for good.

¹⁴ Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

¹⁵ Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent—the Lord detests them both.

¹⁶ Why should fools have money in hand to buy wisdom,when they are not able to understand it?

¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

¹⁸ One who has no sense shakes hands in pledge and puts up security for a neighbor.

¹⁹ Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin; whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

²⁰ One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper; one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

²¹ To have a fool for a child brings grief; there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.

²² A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³ The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice.

²⁴ A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵ A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the mother who bore him.

²⁶ If imposing a fine on the innocent is not good, surely to flog honest officials is not right.

²⁷ The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered.

²⁸ Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.

My kids, and I am sure there are others’ kids too, like to play the “what if” game.  True life questions:  For example Dad, if we should always tell the truth, what if her baby is actually really ugly?  Well, ask yourself – is beauty in the eyes of the beholder.  Or if we should always tell the truth and she said she is going to the mall but she is back home, is she lying?  Can the truth change?

Or if I want to oversimplify:  If a stitch in time saves nine, what if the new stitches made the coat too tight and he missed the hand rail on the steps and broke his neck? 

Proverbs are generalizations to capture wisdom like “¹⁷ A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

Biblical proverbs are true – not sayings that say multiple sexual partners are okay or pursuit of money is the end all

Why because the great deceiver will always try to twist it.  An eye for an eye is out of context because we are not the judges.

So think about ⁹ Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.  If this is said with a spirit filled heart, then it is done in the loving manner as God intended.  It could also be said:  Snitches get stitches.  It is too common now in our world of instant media reporting to hear only the part or repeat only the part that meets the agenda.  If you have an agenda, make sure it is a Holy Spirit filled one.  Intent is the key.  If someone spills milk, and you ask why did you spill that?  Are you asking because you are mad that they spilled the milk or because you are worried that they are not okay because they don’t usually spill milk. 

God Bless you and keep you in the spirit.