Friday, May 11, 2007
Proverbs 9: 7-12
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it. (ESV)
by Angie Osborn
This passage promises that wise actions will result in reward, days will be many and years will be added to our lives. Literally? Possibly, but maybe the reward is more figurative. Maybe the focus is on the quality of our days rather than the quantity. There are many days when I fall into bed at the end of the day feeling terrible. I feel guilty that I let anger lead me into wrong actions. I feel sad that I didn’t take the time to cuddle with one of my children. I feel bad that I didn’t handle a student at school with more love and compassion. The list goes on. If I am living in the Lord’s wisdom, however, he will lead me in those situations. By leaning on his strength and love and wisdom, the quality of my life will improve as I allow him to work through me
Copyright Information
Daily Bible Meditations are taken from The Helping Hand,a Sabbath School student quarterly for youth and adults. Copyright © 2008, Seventh Day Baptist Board of Christian Education, Inc.
Scripture quotations marked "ESV" are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Text provided by the Crossway Bibles Web Service .
dbm