Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet
    than a house full of feasting, with strife.
A prudent servant will rule over a disgraceful son
    and will share the inheritance as one of the family.
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
    but the Lord tests the heart.
A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
    a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker;
    whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.
Children’s children are a crown to the aged,
    and parents are the pride of their children.
Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
    how much worse lying lips to a ruler!

• Proverbs 17:1-7

Proverbs 17:6 Children’s children. ”Godly influence generates mutual love and respect in a family, which extends from generation to generation (cf. Ps. 90 with Ex. 20:12).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My wife loved noise, growing up in a family of nine children, but she would not like strife.  Even those, like my wife, who enjoy the noise, also enjoy the occasional peace and quiet.  As for me, I could take a steady diet of peace and quiet, but I like being around the grandchildren who have no clue what those words mean.

The prudent servant is more honored than a disgraceful son.  It is not a hard and fast rule, but I have heard of servants being mentioned in a will.  But this verse (17:2) speaks as much to disgraceful behavior.

Proverbs 17:3 speaks of the means of purifying silver and gold, but God tests our heart.  It often is a baptism of fire, but rarely in the literal sense.

Verses 4 and 7 are similar. The wicked listen to deceit.  The liar listens to a destructive tongue.  Eloquent lips do not work well with a fool, but the ruler who listens to lying lips can be the downfall of the nation.

God has His protective eye on the poor and needy.  Mocking them is not a good idea.  And the person who gloats over someone else’s misfortune will not go unpunished.  My parents took my wife and I through an area that had been destroyed by a tornado, 2-3 weeks after the tornado.  The people were still sifting through debris, trying to find anything that was salvageable.  My wife told them that she did not want to make that detour, and she cried the entire time.  A few years later, I heard a public official make a statement that they did not want ghouls going through to look at the devastation.  The people who lost everything do not need busy-bodies onlooking their misery.

And Proverbs 17:6 stalks about how our grandchildren are our crown, while parents are the pride of their children.  This should be the case, but sometimes families fall apart.  As I have mentioned before, many of the Proverbs are wise sayings and not a guarantee.

And now let us sing.

The following song is May the Mind of Christ, My Savior.  This is sung by “The Worship Team.”  This is a lyric video.  So, you can sing along with the words that are displayed on the video.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  We need to be able to discern between the lies, the eloquent talk, and the destructive tongue.  We all need peace and quiet, and we never want strife.  Yet, You purify our hearts with tests of fire.  Help us to help the needy around us.  May our hearts go out to them.  And may we be a prudent servant, willing to do extra work for Your glory.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.