Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than a fool whose lips are perverse.
Desire without knowledge is not good—
    how much more will hasty feet miss the way!
A person’s own folly leads to their ruin,
    yet their heart rages against the Lord.
Wealth attracts many friends,
    but even the closest friend of the poor person deserts them.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and whoever pours out lies will not go free.
Many curry favor with a ruler,
    and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.
The poor are shunned by all their relatives—
    how much more do their friends avoid them!
Though the poor pursue them with pleading,
    they are nowhere to be found.

• Proverbs 19:1-7

Proverbs 19:1 ”Are you in a dilemma, wondering if you should tell the truth or not? The question to ask in such moments is, Will God bless my deceit? Will he, who hates lies, bless a strategy built on lies? Will the Lord, who loves the truth, bless the business of falsehoods? Will God honor the career of the manipulator? … I don’t think so either.
“Examine your heart. Ask yourself some tough questions.
“Am I being completely honest with my spouse and children? Are my relationships marked by candor? What about my work or school environment? Am I honest in my dealings? Am I a trustworthy student? An honest taxpayer? …
“Do you tell the truth … always?
“If not, start today. Don’t wait until tomorrow. The ripple of today’s lie is tomorrow’s wave and next year’s flood.”

• Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus

The Max Lucado approach is admirable, in that the questions that he asks usually fall toward not lying, and to be positive, telling the truth.  But the argument that usually occurs is “What if the Nazi Gestapo was at the door asking about a friend that is hiding in your closet?”  I want to know why it is always the Nazi Gestapo, but with that, you would not be much of a friend if your answer was “He is in the hall closet.  I will show you the way.”  God will understand the reason for the deceit.

Other reasons might be when you have given an oath to keep a secret and someone asks you to betray that secret.  Yes, Jesus said to avoid giving oaths, but even in Jesus saying that, it means that God holds oaths in high regard.  Someone with security clearances may have secrets that they could be in serious trouble if they divulged.

What did Jesus do?  He answered the question with a question.  He avoided a direct answer by returning their riddle with an even deeper and more complex riddle.  In some circumstances, we might be prohibited in doing that.  But I think that Proverbs 19:1 and verse 5 are talking more about habitual liars, and people who profit from telling falsehoods.  There are some career fields that lying is often expected to be part of the job.

As for Proverbs 19:2, desire without knowledge?  Oh, I want to fly an airplane.  If someone allowed me to get the keys, I might get it off the ground, but without knowledge, landing the airplane is something completely different.  As the saying goes, falling does not get you, it’s the sudden stop.  But Solomon may have meant a career goal.  In such things, you might strive your entire life without success.  Note: I had enough training in flying an airplane that I think I could land it.  I have landed the plane in adverse weather conditions.  But I know enough to know that I should not try it now, fifty years later.

The next proverb talks about a person’s folly ruining the person, but they blame it on God.  The previous proverb could be an example, but this goes far beyond striving without knowledge.  The fool says that there is no God, but when things do not work out the way they wished, they blame a God that they say they do not believe in.  Odd, how they can contradict themselves without seeing the contradiction.  But anyone who does believe in God should know the folly of blaming God, when most of the time, we need to look in the mirror.  And all the time, God allowed us to go down that improper path.  What will we do?  Will we realize our mistake?  Will we blame God?  Or will we blame some innocent person that walks by?  We need to learn from our mistakes, and we do not learn anything when we shift the blame to others.

Proverbs 19:4 and verse 7 are similar.  The rich person often has options, but the poor person gets deserted when they are in a bind.  I was out of work for an entire year after a NASA project was closed.  I met someone at the grocery store, after about six months of being unemployed.  Actually, I only saw them at the far end of the aisle.  I knew them to be church goers, and I knew he had gotten a new job quickly, having the right skills and knowledge to transfer those abilities to another local job.  I was the guy who made sure everyone else had those skills and knowledge, so finding a job match was extremely difficult.  We made eye contact, and I instantly saw fear in his eyes.  He turned around and went to another aisle.  I only wished to greet him, but he feared that I might ask for a dollar or two.  The poor are often deserted in such times.

And Proverbs 19:6 ties in with the rich side of the proverbs in verses 4 and 7.  The proverbs uses the word “gift” instead of bribe.  While bribes are mentioned in a negative way throughout the Proverbs, a “gift” seems okay, but a gift to the rich person to curry favor is not much different than a bribe, just a different label.  At Sparrows Point, in the greater Baltimore, MD area, I had done a considerable amount of work at the steel mill that is no longer there.  I think it was replaced by a deep seaport.  But one day I went out with my customer to a local bar to have a Maryland crabcake for lunch.  I said that I would pick up the tab, but he said that he would get in trouble for accepting anything more than five dollars.  The crab cake was five dollars and his glass of iced tea put him into the bribery range.  Instead, he picked up the tab, and I made sure I put a zero on my expense for lunch that day.  With an honest customer, I usually did some work off the books to keep the prices reasonable.  But he saw my efforts as being a help to his work and a massive time saver.

And now let us sing.

The following song is Draw Thou My Soul, O Christ.  This is sung by Charles Szabo.  This is just him singing and playing the piano, designed for people to sing along.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  We may not be rich, and we may know of times when we have been deserted, but you never desert us.  There may be times when we have not told the truth to protect someone else.  You know our motives.  We told a lie, but you are faithful to forgive.  If we come to You with our desires, if it is your will, we will be able to get the skills and knowledge.  Without that, it should be a clear message that our desire is not in your plan for us, at least not now.  Help us to align our desires with what You wish for us in this life.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.