Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
    until someone comes forward and cross-examines.
Casting the lot settles disputes
    and keeps strong opponents apart.
A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city;
    disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.
From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
    with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
The tongue has the power of life and death,
    and those who love it will eat its fruit.
He who finds a wife finds what is good
    and receives favor from the Lord.
The poor plead for mercy,
    but the rich answer harshly.
One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

• Proverbs 18:17-24

Proverbs 18:21 ”Nathaniel Hawthorne came home heartbroken. He’d just been fired from his job in the custom house. His wife, rather than responding with anxiety, surprised him with joy. ‘Now you can write your book!’
“He wasn’t so positive. ‘And what shall we live on while I’m writing it?’
“To his amazement she opened a drawer and revealed a wad of money she’d saved out of her housekeeping budget. ‘I always knew you were a man of genius,’ she told him. ‘I always knew you’d write a masterpiece.’
“She believed in her husband. And because she did, he wrote. And because he wrote, every library in America has a copy of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
“You have the power to change someone’s life simply by the words that you speak. ‘What you say can mean life or death.’ ”

• Max Lucado, A Love Worth Giving

It seems that even in the days of Solomon that a slick lawyer can make a bad case sound good.  Solomon’s time was before the Rhetoric philosophers of Greece, but someone who works harder at pulling the heart strings than telling the truth…  Those have been around since early on.

While these days settling a dispute by tossing the dice seems absurd, but in casting lots in biblical times, with prayer, God had His hand in the casting of lots, and the dice settled the matter permanently.  God’s Holy Word should be our guide as well as the Holy Spirit’s work within us today.  But matters never seem to be settled, even when God’s Word is clear on the subject.

Proverbs 18:19 may be referring, in part, to the previous ruling using a casting of lots.  When it is family, it never seems decided, even when God has had His final word on the matter.

Proverbs 18:20-21 are similar in that the tongue can put food on the table or prevent the food ever getting there.  It relates back to the first group in this set, with an opening remark in court seeming to be wonderful until you check the facts.  All using the tongue, for good or bad.  But I loved the anecdote by Max Lucado.  When the tongue is used for good, it can be a very good thing.

Proverbs 18:22 could be one of those nice sayings that does not always come true, but in this case, finding a wife who acts the part of a wife, is truly a treasure from God.  The corollary can also be said, and sometimes when the husband does not hold up his end of the bargain, it can turn the good wife into something short of a treasure.  The verse would work more often if the verse was stated as husband to wife and wife to husband.  Both of those “titles” require more effort than you might think.  Parent is another word that is used more as a title than as a verb.

My wife could have been defined by this Proverb, but she worked hard for that distinction.  We both worked hard at being parents.  It was a partnership, and I feel I got the better end of the deal.  Being her caregiver near the end of her life was a labor of love and I doubt I gave her back one tenth what she had done for me over the years.

Proverbs 18:23 could be a lament.  The poor often suffer more than their due while the rich seem to think their money can buy happiness and the loyalty of those poor around them.

But the last proverb of this chapter is a cautionary tale.  I have been stabbed in the back by friends.  The only true friend that stays with me regardless is Jesus.  My wife, while she was alive, was my best friend, but humans can fail us.  Jesus, once He is in your heart, will never leave you.

And now let us sing.

The following song is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.  This is sung by Chris Rice.  The green in the first verse provides the chords, in case you are playing the guitar, or wanting to sing harmony.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Lord, help us to sit still long enough to hear the argument rather than being swayed by the first person who speaks.  Our tongues are dangerous, but they can be used for good as well as chaos.  Lord, if we got the short end of a stick, let that be it.  Help us to realize that the other family member or friend is more important than one argument, but if that argument is about You, help us to stay firm in our faith and let distance keep us from anger.  And Lord, I personally thank you for the 48 years that my wife and I had together.  She was a treasure, and I am sure she has a shining crown in Heaven.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.