Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
    but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
    hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet,
    but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
Plans are established by seeking advice;
    so if you wage war, obtain guidance.
A gossip betrays a confidence;
    so avoid anyone who talks too much.
If someone curses their father or mother,
    their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
An inheritance claimed too soon
    will not be blessed at the end.
Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”
    Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

• Proverbs 20:15-22

Proverbs 20:22 ”Some of you are in the courtroom. The courtroom of complaint. Some of you are rehashing the same hurt every chance you get with anyone who will listen.
“For you, I have this question: Who made you God? I don’t mean to be cocky, but why are you doing his work for him?
” ‘l will punish those who do wrong,’ God declared. ‘I will repay’ (Hebrews 10:30).
“Judgment is God’s job. To assume otherwise is to assume God can’t do it.
“Revenge is irreverent … To forgive someone is to display reverence. Forgiveness is not saying the one who hurt you was right. Forgiveness is stating that God is faithful and he will do what is right.”

• Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name

Gold and Silver shine, but only when freshly cleaned and polished.  An advisor who speaks the truth with wisdom is priceless, to borrow a catchphrase.

Proverbs 20:16 may require some explanation.  For the poor, a garment was the most expensive thing that they had, but then, they might need to wear the garment to stay warm at night. So, whoever holds the security on a loan, had to return the garment at nightfall.  But, if this person is a foreigner or a person with questionable moral character, they might not return the garment the next day.

From my experience in India and Thailand, the poor, especially the gypsy migrant workers, might have only a lunch cannister and their clothing.  As a family, they might have a canvas for the entire family to sleep under.  As we went to work, we saw fields that looked like they were unplowed, but then the ground started moving, and people emerged from beneath their canvases to start their workday.  Note: the wives had been up by then for hours, washing their clothing and gathering firewood and water to cook their small amount of rice.  In Thailand, I was blessed with a company driver on a couple of occasions, and he took me to his home, a garage sized storage unit, but he was rich compared to his neighbors.  He had military style cots for each member of the family so that they did not sleep on the concrete floor on a rice paper mat and his latest purchase was a propane-fired cook stove.  With their clothing, that was the complete inventory of his earthly possessions.

Solomon is saying in the next proverb that food that is illegally attained might taste sweet, but it may not digest well.

Proverbs 20:18 could have been used yesterday in the post on who decides if war is necessary.  Obtaining advisors for every big decision is important.  Deciding on going to war involves everyone in the country, and the poor suffer the most.

Proverbs 20:19 speaks of the danger of gossip.  Gossip is a recurring theme in the proverbs.

And honoring your mother and father follows.  Another recurring theme.

An inheritance claimed too soon is basically telling your parents, while they are still alive, that you wish them to be dead.  This does not show honor to your parents, and if the need for the money is that severe, you have not shown responsibility in handling money.  In Luke 15, there is the story of the prodigal son.  “Prodigal” means living outlandishly, recklessly, and wastefully.  Besides illustrating the point of the father’s love, it probably resonated with those that heard the story, knowing people who had faced such ruin.

And as Max Lucado suggests, let God handle the judgment.  When we take revenge or even harbor ill feelings, waiting for a chance at revenge, we harm ourselves with anger that festers.  My wife and I had several reasons to engage in a lawsuit, but we never did.  Fighting for the job or persevering during the abuse was the only thing on our minds.  And all that is long since forgiven.  Other than using some of the stories to illustrate the depths in which people fall, why retain the memory?  The hurt is long gone.

And now let us sing.

The following song is As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.  This is sung by the Asidors.  This one was from a few years ago.  The children have grown a bit since then.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  We need good advisors, regardless of the decisions that need to be made.  Our parents can sometimes be those advisors, but regardless, we need to honor them.  May our advisors help us to stay true to You and not enter gossip or seek revenge.  Help us be more like Jesus every day.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.