PROVERBS 10:19-21
Too much talk leads to sin.
Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.
The words of the godly are like sterling silver;
the heart of a fool is worthless.
The words of the godly encourage many,
but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.

Just shut up!
I need to hear these words routinely reverberate in my head and heart. Probably aught to make them into a screensaver for my computer! I make a living by talking. Talking is my calling, a key element in my personality, the defining feature of my primary spiritual gift, and the primary way I fulfill my life passion. While I like solitude with only the sounds of nature filling my ears with their music, the more I come to understand myself the more I realize I need conversation.

My mouth is the most in-shape part of my body! I exercise it daily by giving advice, proclaiming biblical truth, teaching biblical reality, active listening to parishioners (yes, this means talking with the goal of understanding what I hear), reporting, team leadership, problem solving, and more.

Sometimes I overuse my mouth. I’m too hasty to give advice or speak biblical truth into people’s lives who aren’t ready to receive it and into situations I haven’t yet come to fully understand. I fill awkward silences with words, some of which, when I look back at them, would have better been left unspoken. I’m tempted to speak beyond my knowledge or understanding.

Because I’m paid to speak countless hours every week, when it’s all added together, I find it easy to the abundance of words crowd out time needed to nurture my own godliness. I fear that many times my words have been less than “sterling silver” and more “worthless” because the man who spoke them suffered the accumulated affect of neglecting his own spirit.

So today I recommit myself to “be sensible and keep [my] mouth shut” more often; to listen more to God through reading, listening to the counsel of others, and time alone just thinking and saturating myself with life in Christ.

Lord of my mouth, grant me the supernatural gift of controlling my tongue and shutting my mouth. Increase my ability to observe, ask good questions, meditate on you, and spend time simply being. Your talkative child, – Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 10:16
The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
but evil people squander their money on sin.

Spending that doesn’t squander
Karen and I just returned from a trip to Jamaica. In Jamaica there are plenty of opportunities to spend money on every indulgence and whim the human body can imagine. While many of these “opportunities” are exciting and fun in the moment, they often end with disappointment and shame upon returning home.

On the flip side, there were some awesome opportunities my dad and I took advantage of while we were in Jamaica that truly enhanced our lives. While there I had the chance to go deep sea fishing and golfing. These two excursions may not seem like life enhancing outings, but to my dad and me, they were experiences of a life-time. We bonded together as father and son, as well as gained an increased awe for God’s creation.

My dad’s hard work enabled us to go on this trip together, something I am very thankful for. His earnings enhanced our life with rest, relaxation, fun and learning. The work of others was squandered on relationship damaging flings and binges. Godliness should show up in our entertainment as well as in our activities at church. Are my earnings enhancing my life or being squandered?

God of work and rest, help me to use money in a way that enhances my life and the lives of others in my work and in my recreation. Keep me from squandering your blessings in sin by removing the desire for sin from my life. - Dan Jones

PROVERBS 9:7-9

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.
Instruct the wise,
and they will be even wiser.
Teach the righteous,
and they will learn even more.

Avoiding unnecessary poverty

Sad, but true. “The rich get richer and the poor, poorer.”

Mockers think they know it all. So they forever mock the choices others make since those choices are obviously stupid. Driven by the need to display their vast knowledge by correcting everyone else, these folk only reveal how lacking they are. They possess an impoverished store of knowledge. They ignore the truism, “It’s better to keep silent and keep people guessing how much you know that to open your mouth and erase all doubt.”

Mockers often allow insecurity or arrogance to lock them in mental poverty. Most people, I think, struggle with one or both of these maladies. Those who overcome them, become teachable and slowly fill their mental coffers with wisdom and learning. Those who do not, remain forever unable to receive rebuke or correction, and forever impoverished.

Correction seldom feels good for me. And rebuke never goes down well. My own struggles with insecurity and arrogance guarantee discomfort. But I am determined to wisely listen to disquieting words. I want to “be even wiser” and to “learn even more”. While I don’t have to possess material wealth, I very much want heart and mind wealth.

I know people who strike back when offered even the gentlest and most tactfully offered correction. God forbid that I ever be that kind of impoverished person.

Father, you correct your children because you love them. I will accept your expressions of love. Use wise authors, mentors, leaders, friends to speak truth into my life. Help me to keep an open ear and a wide open heart. May the wisdom you have allowed me to gather during the first half of my life only multiply in the second! - Mike Leamon

(Dan's on vacation to warm weather and beaches! And he didn't take Mike with him. Now that was truly wisdom. Dan will be back blogging in about a week.)

PROVERBS 8:9-11
My words are plain to anyone with understanding,
clear to those with knowledge.
Choose my instruction rather than silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.
For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies.
Nothing you desire can compare with it.

Common sense isn’t enough
Knowledge doesn’t automatically produce wisdom. Consider how many of us smoke, overeat, don’t get enough sleep, or say things we know we shouldn’t. We aren’t stupid but we are foolish. Still, I cannot ignore knowledge on my way to acquiring wisdom.

Everyday common sense requires at least some level of education both from the school of hard knocks and academia. However, many daily choices require much more than baseline common sense and so require a greater degree of knowledge. It takes more than common sense to enjoy a healthy marriage, experience spiritually productive relationships in God’s family, and interact productively with one’s culture. These require more learning – book learning.

So God gave us the Book. More than that, he gave us men and women with the gift of unique insight and understanding who wrote that knowledge down in an explosion of books through the centuries. He gave us people with the capacity to make discoveries about nature, financial economy, government, and so on, who share their understanding in even more books.

Problem is, even though I love to read, I have to discipline myself to make reading a priority. This blog is one tool to keep me reading God’s Word for my own growing understanding. Too few Christians read, let alone read books that deepen and broaden our understanding.

When it comes to making important decisions wisely, we fall back to what we consider common sense. Without education, however, common sense becomes simply another expression of our prejudices, misperceptions, unexamined assumptions, and ignorance.

Common sense is only a beginning point. Instruction and knowledge are better than silver and gold because they lead to wisdom.

All knowing God, may I never become arrogantly satisfied with the knowledge I currently possess. With your help, I will keep learning and broadening my understanding. I will be teachable. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 8:22-31 (abridged)
The LORD formed me from the beginning,
before he created anything else.
I was appointed in ages past,
at the very first, before the earth began.
I was the architect at his side.
I was his constant delight,
rejoicing always in his presence.
And how happy I was with the world he created;
how I rejoiced with the human family!

Only 1 original
I was watching TV when a commercial came on advertising a certain shampoo. This shampoo can eliminate dull hair with dandruff and flakes and replace it with shimmering, moist hair that cascades down over your head. At least that is what the advertisement seemed to be saying. However, the main concern of the advertisement was not what this shampoo can do for my hair; it was that I might be tempted to buy an imitation, knock-off brand instead of the real deal. I was assured; the original product was only available at salons not Wal-Mart.

It is not just with shampoo that I settle for less. Unfortunately, I end up with the generic brand of wisdom when I settle for anything less than God’s wisdom. Wisdom was created first by God. True wisdom, comes only from God. True there are many “venues” offering “wisdom” for sale, but if scrutinized carefully, they are all generic forms, imitations of the real deal.

As wisdom was created first, even before the world itself, there is only one dispenser of true wisdom. There is only one place where I can find 100% pure wisdom and knowledge: Jesus Christ. While generic shampoo will not ruin my hair, generic wisdom will take me away from God’s perfect plan for my life. When it comes to life why settle for anything less than the original? After all, the price on the original is better than the generic brands.

Father of wisdom and knowledge, help me to avoid deception when it comes to pursuing wisdom. I want to follow the best plan for my life and today I acknowledge that plan is yours. Teach me your ways; show me your plan for my life today. - Dan Jones

PROVERBS 7:4-5

Love wisdom like a sister;
make insight a beloved member of your family.
Let them protect you from an affair with an immoral woman,
from listening to the flattery of a promiscuous woman.

(Dan and I have been independently selecting a section of each chapter in Proverbs for reflection. Neither of us knows what the other has selected until after writing our reflection. Today we happened to select the same verses. Here is a great example of how two people can take one set of words and examine it from two very different, yet complementary angles.)

Brothers and sisters

There are few relationships that rival the bond between a brother and sister. While the two of them may fight like cats and dogs, when confronted by an outside challenge they will defend each other to the death. I know it is not like this in every family, but in my family there is a strong bond between brothers and sisters.

My older sister and I are especially close. We can share our struggles and concerns with each other without feeling guilty or judged. We support each other through encouragement and accountability. There is admittedly some friendly rivalry that takes place, but when pressed, we would both stand up for the other to the death.

When my sister speaks, I listen. When she shares a concern I take it to heart. The only trouble is she lives in NC so our conversations are not as frequent as we would like.

My relationship with wisdom is much like my relationship with my sister. I listen, take to heart and respect the opinion of wisdom. Unfortunately, at times our relationship becomes distant. Instead of trying to live independently, the writer of Proverbs calls me today to move wisdom into the spare room. Let wisdom become part of everyday life. Rub shoulders with God multiple times each day.

Holy God, I desire to live in your presence each day rubbing shoulders with holy wisdom and insight. Keep me from selfishness that ignores wisdom’s whisper that I might avoid falling into sin and destruction. - Dan Jones

Good sex advice from a sexist

Okay, enough already! Four out of the last seven chapters have warned against the immoral woman. I get it. And I’m bothered.

I’m bothered because Solomon doesn’t seem to account for the possibility that the immorality lies within his son. Doesn’t it ever occur to him that his son – prince and feared authority figure – just might be the one to pressure innocent women into sex? Probably not.

So I have to practice good principles of biblical interpretation to glean God’s truth for me. First, I have to accept that God only slowly increased revelation about himself and his truth to humanity. Solomon and his “man-after-God’s-heart” father, King David, possessed a harem of wives and mistresses without God’s condemnation. Honoring women with singular loyalty and the reality that sin, including sexual sin, originates in the heart of the individual not the seductiveness of “that” woman would have to wait for Jesus and his radical insights into gender relationships.

So, second, I have to apply Solomon’s proverbs through a New Testament lens. Not only must I refuse to put myself into a situation that opens the door for a woman to tempt me sexually but, more importantly, I must guard my own heart and mind.

It’s this second part that bothers me as much as Solomon’s sexism. Most of us, including myself, need to be hammered about sexual temptation. My culture is saturated with sexual energy in which at least 25% of marriage partners give into adultery, say the polls. Newsweek reported that about 30% of male protestant pastors give in to sexual relationships with women who aren’t their spouses! (see http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/adultery.html)

I dare not fall into an arrogant mentality that concludes I don’t need four out of seven chapters warning me about sexual unfaithfulness! (Still, I’m looking forward to broadening the subject matter as I work my way through Proverbs!).

Lord God, thank you for the partial revelation you gave to Solomon and for guiding the compilers of Proverbs to include so much material warning against sexual sin. As a follower of your fullest revelation, Jesus Christ, I will use these proverbs to increase he guard of my own heart. Grant the needed wisdom that will make the second half of my marriage and career as faithful as the first half. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 6:1-5
My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt
or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger—
if you have trapped yourself by your agreement
and are caught by what you said—
follow my advice and save yourself,
for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy.
Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased.
Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do.
Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter,
like a bird fleeing from a net.

Wise generosity
Sounds like Solomon wrote from experience! Me too. While this is a proverb and, as such, not a hard and fast rule, it’s true enough times to expect pain if it’s neglected.

Loaning money to friends and family or agreeing to cosign on a loan places me on the path to strained or broken relationships. Sure there may be a happy side trail we two may walk, but beware. Even when loan payments are regularly made, the dynamic of the relationship changes.

When my heart feels the pain of a friend in a financial bind, we are both better off if I just give money rather than loan it. As important, I must consider whether or not a bail out is best for my friend. If financial binds are common and result from repeated poor decisions, my gift may be the last thing my friend needs! There’s something about hitting rock bottom that offers more hope to an unwise person than the perpetual bail out.

This proverb doesn’t discourage me from generosity. It pushes me to make hard choices that will most likely benefit friendships and family harmony in the long run. These words move me beyond feeling bad to acting wisely.

Father, continue to teach me how to be generous with wisdom. - Mike Leamon

PROVERBS 6:16-19
There are six things the LORD hates—
no, seven things he detests:
haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that kill the innocent,
a heart that plots evil,
feet that race to do wrong,
a false witness who pours out lies,
a person who sows discord in a family.

Defiant attitudes
Raising children requires dealing with bad attitudes. Every child is defiant at some point and often it is at the worst possible moment for you, the adult in charge. It is not hard to tell when a child is pushing against the boundaries trying to see exactly where the line is going to be. Their eyes, mouth, posture, and general behavior all cry out, “I can do what I want and you can’t stop me.”

As parents, we are charged with helping our children learn good boundaries and relational skills. We are responsible to address this attitude of defiance, discord, and destruction with firmness and love.

God, our Heavenly Father, does no tolerate bad attitudes any more than a good parent does. He hates arrogance, pride, destructive behavior and deceitfulness. The seven things God hates are the same things every child has to be corrected in. As a child of God, I too must learn to put off these bad attitudes and actions in exchange for the fruit of the Spirit.

It is no wonder we find ourselves in “time out” so much spiritually when we so often sport attitudes and actions that God hates. God does not reward bad behavior any more than good parents reward bad behavior in children. Instead of being mad at God, a good self-examination followed by confession and repentance is in order.

Heavenly Father, forgive me for sporting a bad attitude when things do not go my way. My desire is not to be self-centered but Christ-centered. Help me to let go of every selfish attitude and action and replace it with the fruit of the Spirit. - Dan Jones