Proverbs

You'll have to excuse me a bit of irreverence with the picture to the left...

OK, some major impressions from the book of Proverbs:

1. Wisdom's a pretty big deal. I suppose it makes sense that Solomon, the wisest dude ever, would tell us this, but wisdom certainly gets her due in Proverbs. Here's what she says in 1:32-33: "for the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Truly, wisdom is a matter of life and death in Proverbs!

2. Are only women wise?!? Lots of the feminine gender in the book of Proverbs. Some of it is in a negative context (looking at you 5:3, as but one example), but most of it is positive. Wisdom is described with feminine pronouns (1:20), the mother is often held up as a source of wisdom (1:8) and then there's the powerhouse of a woman described in chapter 31. Throughout, I have loved it that the Old Testament champions women, and, to be sure, Proverbs' whole woman-as-the-paragon-of-wisdom-thing is how it is in our house!

3. Proverbs has a lot of say about how we should act. I love some of the practicals and then there are some key themes. My top 3:
a. Your money. Be shrewd! 10:15 as one example.
b. Your mouth. Be careful what you say! 15:1 as one example.
c. Your righteousness. How you act is important! 18:10 as on example.

4. One other theme that I really appreciated was the importance of being willing to receive counsel. It's all over Proverbs! Having the humility to sit and listen to advice, encouragement, even rebuke and critical feedback is a key value in Proverbs. It seems like wisdom is not purely something that comes from within. Lots of examples, but two of my favorites are 11:14 and 27:17. I ain't gonna lie; if more leaders had this figured out, the world would be a better place.

5. Wisdom starts with fearing God. We get this clearly at least twice, in 1:7 and 9:10. How important is this?!? Without an anchor or foundation in a healthy fear of the Lord, it seems like wisdom either runs amok and becomes unwise, or it engenders an unhealthy pride. This of course points us back to our rootedness in God. As a leader, it's even more critical. Oh how I long to have a robust and appropriate fear of the Lord so that I can lead with wisdom!