Observation: My obvious statement of the day is, the Book of Proverbs is full of proverbs! While some biblical books are full of stories, laws, prophecies or poetry, Proverbs is full of short pieces of advice. Some mention God and faith. Others are just common sense teachings that anyone might find useful. This short passage includes a little of both. The first proverb is about the value of hard work. The second is about the value of following God's commandments. The third is about the value of giving to the poor.
Application: In Western culture, we certainly value hard work. And we value living by the "rules," although often the rules by which we live are more centered in our own cultural norms than God's Word. But do we value generosity? Let me ask a different way: do we feel the same level of guilt around being lazy, or not following rules, as we do with not sharing what we have with others? I would guess not.
I'm not one to appeal to guilt as a motivation for doing things--we are grace people, freed from all sin by God's generosity--but guilt is still an emotion that pops up for all of us, and it's worth examining. Why would we feel worse about not working hard enough, than we do about not giving to those in need? Both are biblical values. But only one is reinforced by our culture. I would venture to say, in our market-driven world, that we are much more conditioned to value hard work than generosity, even to the point of making assumptions about other people's work ethic as an excuse not to share with them. Today, it's important that we go back to God's word and allow God's Spirit to reshape all our values, not just the ones supported by our surrounding culture.
Prayer: God, change my heart. Forgive me when I am lazy, or try to go my own way. Forgive me when I withhold your gifts--for they are indeed yours--from those in need. In Jesus' name, Amen.
