Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping
    of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
restraining her is like restraining the wind
    or grasping oil with the hand.
As iron sharpens iron,
    so one person sharpens another.
The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and whoever protects their master will be honored.
As water reflects the face,
    so one’s life reflects the heart.
Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
    and neither are human eyes.
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
    but people are tested by their praise.

• Proverbs 27:15-21

Proverbs 27:18 ”We must observe that our Lord Jesus Christ is our Master. He said to his disciples, after he had washed their feet, ‘You call me Teacher and Lord-and you are speaking rightly; since that is what I am.’ Is it so with you, dear friends? Let conscience answer the question. Is Jesus Christ really Master and Lord to each one of us? It is a wonderful way in which he masters us if we are, indeed, his servants. I can never forget how, in my own case, it came to pass that I, who had been bought with his precious blood and, therefore, belonged to him, had yet lived forgetful of his claims. He passed by and looked on me-and that very look made me go out to weep bitterly! But he did more. He laid his hand on me-it was a pierced hand-and from that day I had a twist in my understanding and my judgment. Those who knew me saw that something extraordinary had happened to me that had altogether changed me. From that time I thought very little of men, and very much of One whom, until then, I had despised. Many of my former pursuits ceased to have the slightest charm for me and I had, for my one pursuit, the desire to do everything to his honor and glory. From that twist I have never been able to escape and I have never want­ ed to do so-from that mystic influence which he cast over me, I have never come forth and, what is more, I trust I never shall.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, from his sermon notes

The Message

For those who have seen this before, worded differently, there are five references to a quarrelsome wife in the entire NIV.  Every one of them is in the book of Proverbs.  This is the last one.  I promise.  But trying to retain a quarrelsome wife is like catching the wind.  Wow!  With 700 wives, most of them had to be quarrelsome.  I would trust what Solomon said on this subject.

On my favorite television channel, Cornerstone, they have a panel of women who answer viewer questions.  The television show is called Sister to Sister, and the show has a Bible verse as its theme, Proverbs 27:17.  And since the television show is produced in the Pittsburgh area, they know something about iron and steel.  And other than the mainstream media’s women talk shows, one of which I will never watch due to the fact that the show being on the air is offensive to me, these ladies may say things that I disagree with, but their hearts are in the right place.  I can learn from them, like iron sharpening iron.

I remembered picking strawberries in my youth.  Note: We had a fig tree, but I never developed a taste for them.  But my mother would have me pick strawberries and place them in a bowl.  About halfway down the row in the strawberry patch, she asked me to show her how many I had picked.  The bowl was practically empty.  She then yelled at me. “You were supposed to get a bowl of strawberries for dessert for tonight’s supper.  You were not supposed to eat them.”

But the second half of this proverb is true, even in non-life-threatening times.  Sure, a bodyguard will have the heart of his master, but the guy who pulls off a miracle, or so it seemed, to save a major project should have the boss’ heart as well.  These days, bosses do not always see such effort and reward it, but sometimes they do.

Proverbs 27:19 speaks of the person’s life reflecting what is in your heart.  You may say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, but when your words and actions do not reflect that, what is in your heart will begin to show.

Death and destruction never seem to stop.  Things fall apart.  And the best illustration of the human eyes not being satisfied is to take a small child to the toy store.  “Daddy, I want …”  Fill in the blank.  What the child will essentially say is, “Daddy, I want everything in the store.”  But then, they will see a new toy being advertised on their favorite television show, and they want that too.  Do not fool yourself, many adults are the same way, but their toys cost a lot more.

We hear of baptisms of fire.  We just read about iron sharpening iron.  Here we come to a note on the tools to purify silver and gold.  As a metals person for twenty years, you melt the metal, and the impurities will float on the top.  But Solomon flips the narrative.  He says that people are tested with praise.

That doesn’t make sense, at first.  My mother was one of those rare people who never praised anyone in the household.  She was afraid the praise would go to our heads, and we would stop trying to achieve even higher goals.  That was her excuse.  Okay, she was capable of finding some imperfection in anything I ever did, but that is what Solomon is talking about here.  We can be tested in the praise of others.  Do we become prideful?  God does not like the proud.  Do we become content?  Then we fail to continue to yearn for higher achievements.  Praise can be dangerous.  And in this world of winners and almost winners and participation trophies that are quickly discarded, it is okay to be just one of the members of the team.  It is okay to lose.  Talk to many star athletes and they will tell you that they learned more when they lost than when they won.

And now let us sing.

The following song is Only Jesus.  This is sung by Casting Crowns.  In the official song video, the singer throws away the trophies.  I wonder if they are the same ones.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to value wisdom.  May we never get complacent.  We should always strive to be more like Jesus.  We will never get there in this life, but that should not cause us to quit trying.  In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.