Mirror

Proverbs is a mirror into the heart. It tests values. Judges. Refines.

Pause. Think for a minute of yourself, situation, and something you desire, and what is difficult/fearful for you. Now fill in the blank:

Better is _____________ with the fear of the Lord

    than __________ and trouble with it. (15:16)

Solomon filled it in: Better is lack—the difficulty—with the fear of the Lord than great treasure—great! What we desire in doublefold!— and trouble with it. Oh. Ouch.

Can we truly say: “Better is what is difficult with the fear of the Lord, than what I desire and trouble with it”? Better is ill health with the fear of the Lord than health and trouble? Better is having what I base my purpose in (family, job, career, ministry, people pleasing) stripped away with the fear of the Lord than having it and trouble with it? Look around our world—children sacrificed to careers, reputation and honor sacrificed to drugs, dignity sacrificed to a way of escape, health sacrificed to perfectionist workaholism, self-identity sacrificed to people-pleasing.

Proverbs is easy to read, but hard.

A _______ son makes a glad father. (15:20).

How do we fill that in? Solomon with “wise.” Do we say: respectful, successful, a-two-car-garage-and-1.5-kids, educated?

Without _________ plans fail,
    but with _________ they succeed. (15:22)

Solomon answers: without counsel plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed. Sometimes I think we can fill it in with self-effort, independence, a well-laid-out plan, the latest self-help book. Accountability, the humility of asking searching advice, and submitting to it is hard.

The mirror of Proverbs reveals our hearts.

Yet the mirror of Proverbs reflects Christ as well. He the true human who lived out true wisdom. He in you, enabling you to live in wisdom, reconstructing your values. Staring into Proverbs by the Spirit, beholding Jesus, we’ll mirror him. 

We desire to mirror him in every aspect of our lives in motives, discernment, friendship, money, pride, self-control. Reading the Proverbs topically with tools such as God's Book of Proverbs (see my full review here) can be helpful. Reading the fifteen proverbs on "Neighbors," do we match Jesus in this area? Are we practicing the fear of the Lord here? Proverbs are brief snippets, each containing a different facet of truth on the themes of life. That is why some contradict themselves:

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.

Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes” (Proverbs 26:4-5, ESV).

 Yet, gathering the various proverbs on an idea gives a fuller picture. There are times to answer a fool according to his folly, and to not. Seeing all of proverbs allows us to see the complexity of wisdom, to respond as Jesus did. Jesus, who stood silent before the foolery of his unjust trial; who confounded the "wise" with parable answers. Let us mirror Jesus in all of his facets, with the whole truth of Proverbs.