Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.

Let’s read a verse and consider the message.

Proverbs 8:13 ESV – The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

In the first post on pride in this series of Proverbs, I spoke of the characteristic of the fool despising wisdom and instruction from Proverbs 1:7. I went on to speak of the need of humility for both the giver and the receiver of instruction.

In this post, knowing the convoluted way of justifying sin in my mind, I may use Proverbs 8:13 to be justification to reject any counsel provided, by classifying it as evil. After all, personal rebuke can be a painful experience to receive, and surely God loves me enough to keep me from experiencing any pain! (Did you hear my sarcasm?)

Let us be open to people, to those who may care deeply, and even to those we suspect may not have the best motivations for our benefit.

Pride, arrogance and the way of bad speech may be hated by the believer – nay in this verse it is described as to be hated, but it is no reason for use to reject considering the message being delivered.

An evil man, full of pride and arrogance may still deliver truth to the saint. To reject that would bring me into an attitude of pride myself.

Consider Matthew 23:1-3 for an example of accepting truth though delivered by an evil man.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.

Let’s read a verse and consider the message.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

As a young man, I was headstrong and determined to do the right thing, to be the Christian that does it right. I poured myself into study, thinking that knowledge was the path to holiness, that without knowledge of the will of God, there was no sanctification, no pleasing of the Father.

Naturally, I am a student at heart, and this desire was conveniently matching my inclinations. So during my first few years as a husband and eventually the father of a youngin, I dove into an environment that catered to this inclination.

Until John. John is a brother that had the strength to address my failing as a father and husband, due to what I called my “necessary” study time. Nevertheless, John confronted me and for that I am thankful, but what I would like to settle on in this post is the option provided in our verse of despising wisdom and instruction.

I will not reveal my reaction to John’s instruction, but it does recall to mind a few times where I provided a bit of instruction, given with humility to others and yet has been rejected. As I recall a number of these times, it turns out that the one receiving the knowledge generally reacts emotionally, claiming I don’t think of them as good Christians, or that I think I am better than them.

Red herrings!

The attack, or rejection of the comment is the result of pride, and is a rejection of possible good counsel!

If the counsel is provided in the right spirit, this reaction is from a heart of pride. Dang, even if the counsel is given by a poor or wrong spirit, the receiver, if he or she is living in a humble and contrite spirt, will naturally consider the instruction.

Have you had a friend, or even a foe, speak to you about a failing, a point of weakness, or just a general rebuke, and you have been offended? Pride!

As my wife sometimes says, Get over yourself!

A fool is one who despises wisdom and instruction. Proverbs does not describe the fool as one who simply rejects wisdom and instruction. No no no. Despise it! Hate it.

Counsel is not considered or given a time for judgement, to discern any truth to it, no matter the sting associated with it. No – the counsel is despised immediately, for pride of life will not allow truth to impact the self.

This attitude provides walls within families, and amongst friends, coworkers and acquaintances. I can not force this attitude of humility and gentleness of heart upon any in my world.

The only success I have had with others when I sense I need to talk to them is to approach them, after prayer, and with a humble humble heart, address the situation with a loving and gentle heart myself. My own understanding of my weakness, sin and general rebellion of truth is critical for the sake of others, for their acceptance of my counsel, whether my counsel is true or not.

The book of Galatians speaks of this attitude in interrelational restoration with much greater clarity than I can, so I will leave my gentle reader with a final bit of counsel.

Galatians 5:25-6:1 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

If someone comes to you with a counsel, be wise and consider it, even if it stings. Ask the father to give strength to accept it after your understand the counsel, for it is wise to ask the brother questions of the counsel in order to understand his concern.

If you are called upon to provide counsel, get right with God before you do. Seek humility, seek gentleness, seek a heart that is soft to the brother’s condition, for we all are struggling with sin.

Follow after the One who described Himself as meek and lowly of heart, even as you discuss counsel with your brother.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Thoughts on the topic of thoughts from the book of wisdom

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of our thoughts. Let’s continue considering the wisdom of Proverbs regarding our thoughts.

In our last post in the book of proverbs, we considered the thoughts of the wicked, being an abomination to the Lord, compared to the words of the pure being pleasant.

In this proverb, we are comparing a false “front” with a “hesitant” thought process.

Let’s read the verse and consider the message.

Proverbs 21:29

A wicked man puts on a bold face,
but the upright gives thought to his ways.

I referred to a false front in my introduction, since in my mind, a wicked man has no true basis for any confidence, other that a fleeting, appearance of confidence. This is a bold face, not a bold heart, not a life of confidence, but a bold face! An appearance of confidence. Make no mistake. Much of the confidence we experience amongst our peers is a manufactured confidence, a “confidence” that is based out of a fear of failure, or of desperation, or of competition with others.

As a young believer, I would exude a confidence to provide encouragement to others, and yet this often produced a separation amongst the believers. I may have shared this story before, but it is so applicable to this passage and was a great teaching lesson for my spirit

We were in a church, leading two home Bible studies and teaching a Sunday School Adult class, when my bold face fell away. It was a Tuesday night, and I was pontificating over some doctrinal item I thought all of Christianity depended on, when one of my sons came into the room and expressed a concern I would have rather kept secret.

Quickly I herded my son to his room, assured him I would discuss the issue with him after the folks leave for the night, and then returned to the study.

But something had changed.

I was no longer Saint Carl, teacher of many, knower of Bible, blah blah blah. I had become a sinner, saved by grace, just the same as the rest of the group. That few minutes of reality that my son brought to the group exposed a truth to the group that was life giving. (It is a good thing I wasn’t teaching on how to be a good and loving papa!) I had been carrying a false front, a bold face, that had slipped somewhat that night, and it was the best thing to happen for the group, and for me.

That night helped me to begin to understand that Bible knowledge is not the “be all and end all” of a teaching ministry, but that sharing a life of painful honesty is critical in the Christian life. A bold face, a proud look, a high faluting manner only separates believers and causes walls to be erected.

Since then, I have found that, though Bible truth is important for our knowledge, carrying it in pride can actually be detrimental to the ministry. People won’t relate to you, and a feeling of “us vs them” starts to develop. They may begin to think that a teacher has a different level of spirituality than they, that their secret weaknesses or sins need to be hidden in order to look good, to be accepted by the teacher, who is hiding a few secrets also. What a rat race, a game of hide and seek, a time of fear and self protection.

My dear readers, as you go about your day today, drop your proud face, your false front, and be real with just one person, with one believer that you are seeking to encourage. Show that your need of Christ is real, that your needs are real, and that as a believer, you struggle with life everyday.

But with this admonition in verse 29, note that Solomon also gives additional wisdom, that the upright gives thought to his ways. This truth provides guidance after understanding the danger of the proud face, the false front.

A person who gives thought is not a reactionary person, but one who considers his response with wisdom and understanding of the situation he finds himself in. He not only considers his response to a situation with wisdom and understanding, but also looks at his own ways, the ways of his past, that he may learn from them.

I will readily admit that my past is littered with this proud face I spoke of above. For some reason, I fall into this image of myself far too often, hurt someone I love and then have to repent of my attitude and ask for forgiveness. As I look into my past, I have found two benefits of giving thought to my ways.

1. With every instance of pride welling up in my heart, I have also experienced a subsequent shaming, a death to the pride I nurtured, that is painful, yet necessary. This is the life of the believer, a life of repentance and returning to God and the Body of Christ.
2. With the benefit of remembering my history, I have found that the times of pride (hopefully) have become shorter, and the repentance somewhat less grievious. Don’t get me wrong – true repentance is a poison pill for the pride of the heart. True repentance is a direct attack on the pride of the heart!

Consider your ways. Give thought to your ways.

Look to your past and be honest with yourself. Have you built walls and set up barricades to true relationship by assuming a superiority over others? Have you humbled yourself before God and others in order to prioritize relationship over self fulfillment?

Drop the false face, be honest with someone (to the point of trust you have in the person). Build a bridge to another person through a humble spirit and an open heart.

God will be in the middle of it!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Thoughts on the topic of thoughts from the book of wisdom

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of our thoughts. Let’s continue considering the wisdom of Proverbs.

Proverbs 15:26

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
but gracious words are pure.

This passage gives a link between our thoughts and our words and is a proverb that describes opposing truths. I would like to provide a few additional translations of this verse to get a wee bit of clarity.

Proverbs 15:26 (NKJV) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
But the words of the pure are pleasant.

Proverbs 15:26 (RSV) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
But the words of the pure are pleasant.

Proverbs 15:26 (WEB) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

I love spreadsheets, and this verse begs a table to compare the “root” of our actions with the “fruit” of our thoughts. Confused?

What I want to try to show is that this verse has a cause and effect action. This principle is clearly taught in the New Testament, in that fruit is the result of the type of root (tree)!

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.

Two roots are being referred to in this verse. Let’s consider both.

Thoughts of the Wicked

Wicked thoughts (or more pointedly – the thoughts of the wicked) produce disgust to the Lord, a feeling of abhorrence within the Godhead. These thoughts are disgusting to the Lord, an abomination, a vile thing. It is not wicked words that are being described here, but the very thoughts of the wicked. Of course, as the wicked thinks, so will he speak. But Solomon is focusing on thoughts here.

Let’s remember that God is a living “person”. Please do not misunderstand – I am not trying to take away from the truth that He is the one and only living God, but we sometimes think of Him as so lofty and high (rightly so) that we sometimes forget that He experiences anger, sorrow, disappointment, joy, abhorrence ….

I need to intentionally remember this!

Words of the Pure

Words of the pure are pleasant to Him, and by extension to all that hear them. Of course, our verse strictly states that the words of the pure are pleasant words, yet if we follow the initial thought of the verse, there is an association of the Lord’s response with this last clause.

According to Matthew 12:33, we know that speaking pure words comes from a pure heart. And because our topic of this post is our thoughts, lets remember Paul’s admonition in Philippians 4:8.

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

As believers, we are told not only how to think, but what to think. Notice that in this list of thought “objects” is the “positive” aspect for each category. (Truth as opposed to lies, honor as opposed to shame…) If we are to seek pure words in our communication, (in order to bring pleasantness to the Lord and all around us) then we need to train our thinking per the instructions provided by the apostle.

Think about it! To provide the Lord pleasantness is surely a calling we should join into each day.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Thoughts on the topic of thoughts from the book of wisdom

The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of our thoughts. Let’s continue considering Proverbs wisdom on our thoughts.

Proverbs 14:15

The simple believes everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

My momma used to say “ignorance is bliss”. It has stuck with me, along with bunches of sayings she would recite. She was a wonderful mother, but with this saying, I’m not sure she spoke the truth. (Thinking back, she would say this often to me specifically – starting to wonder if she was implying something!)

Anyhow, the Word tells us of the gullibility of the simple. They believe everything they are told, that they hear, that they come across. It implies that the simple understand the world to be their servant, that the messages provided by everyone within their life circle are positive, right and beneficial for their lives. This passage implies that critical thinking, a solid knowledge base, and a commitment to truth is of no importance to the simple.

To be “simple”, in the book of proverbs speaks of inexperience, gullibility and a lack of judgement. It is usually associated with youth, but this proverb also provides a solution to this destructive lifestyle.

Give thought to your steps!

I may be extending this passage out further than is obvious, but hear me out. My wife and I have been “planners” for the last 25 years of our married life. It started when we considered moving into the USA from the GWN. We sat down and made a 5 year plan, set intermediate goals to accomplish this target and worked to these ends.

One of our first plans included attaining citizenship in the USA. In our simplicity, we judged a five year span of effort would be sufficient to meet this goal (legally!) Golly, I don’t know if any of my readers have ploughed through dealing with the bureaucracy such as we faced, especially after 911, but without that goal we would have surely given up.

My point is that, to give thought to your steps, in my opinion, speaks of where we are going, of planning our path in the will of God and to work with an understanding of the world around us. I say “the world around us” since wifey and I planned this prior to 911, and with the knowledge we had at the time, the five year goal was still aggressive. After 911, it appeared impossible. It became apparent during one summer, that we would loose all that we worked for. Our house, our freedom to stay in the US, our church fellowship and my career. (I actually am one of a very few men that has ever been let go by a government agency – fired by a state government!)

In all that, the Lord led the way through all the fears and dangers, all the disappointments and changes, and looking back, has instilled in this family a tenacity that may not have grown without the trial.

To reiterate, this particular effort taught us to be critical thinkers also, since believing what others told us led us down wrong roads, conflicted with other messages and was simply foolish.

Always question the message being heard and filter it through the truth God has provided us through the Word of God and His Spirit. Even the Word of God needs to the compared with the Word of God and to simply believe a passage without “arguing with it” seems to be unwise in my eyes now.

As you may know, I am an engineer in my occupation, and I tend to question everything. But to question God’s Word, not in its truthfulness, but in seeking to understand it’s intended message has been a key issue for me for the last 15 years or so.

Many of my previous beliefs have undergone serious development, and some of them have had to be repented of. This is a very uncomfortable experience. Changing my thinking on any aspect of my faith changes multiple aspects of my daily life. Thankfully, as an added benefit, the general tenor of my thought life has greatly improved.

Don’t be simple. Don’t simply believe the Bible. The message is deep, complex and wonderful. Who can know the mind of the Lord? The further you dig the more wondrous Jesus becomes.

Don’t be afraid to reverently ask questions of the text, to ask God for understanding, to challenge your own thoughts in subjection to the Word of God. The prophets did. The apostles did.

Should we not seek to understand the message instead of simply “believing everything” you hear?

Consider!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

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Thoughts on the topic of thoughts from the book of wisdom

Somehow I fear this introduction may be a bit confusing, but if y’all think on it long enough I think all y’all may come up with the correct thought I am trying to get y’all to think about.

Ya think?

Thoughts, Ya ever think of thoughts?  I know – that is a strange question and one that may be self defeating.  This may take me down a rabbit hole that I will regret.  

So instead of getting all messed up with pondering of an ol’ man, lets consider a few verses of the good book, and see if they bring any clarity to our lives.

It turns out that the book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of thoughts.

4:26 Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure

We are to consider, ponder, reflect, think on our lives. The word ponder has the meaning of “to weigh out, to balance, or to make level or smooth”.

“Ponder” is a verb – we are instructed to ponder our lives, our history. To consider our past as a teaching guide for our future.

Check out your history.

In your Christian walk, have you been a Proverbs 6 believer? You know – the type of person that does not reflect the kindness and love of God?

Proverbs 6:16-19

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Or have you sacrificed your own desires for the sake of others? Have you considered peace with your brother to be more important than a pet teaching, or do you refuse to listen to others? Have you sought peace with your Christian brother, the one who seems to think differently than you? Or do you seek ways to find fault, an error seeker, a self justifier?

Golly, even to love your enemy is to be a goal for the believer. Have you sought peace with your co-worker who recently hung up on you when you were chatting with him? (a bit too specific there Carl – Maybe you got some work to do there!)

Be honest, for self deception is the greatest enemy in this exercise. To what benefit is waxing over our faults? To what advantage is the ignoring of our history,

I often boast of my stability in the Christian walk I live (at least in my thoughts!) and yet this boasting is a self deception. We need to reflect on our lives, consider our walk with God, failings and all.

Painful? Most likely! Growth and maturity, or in the words of the proverb “surety of our way” does not come out of leisure and comfort!

This is a fairly heavy post and will end here. I am sure I will return to this topic a bit later, since the book of Proverbs has much to say on our thoughts.

Hope to visit again soon

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.