Thursday, September 06, 2007

Proverbs

As I was reading my scriptures this morning, I felt overwhelmed by the saturation of advice, instruction, and invitation for improvement found in just a few verses from Proverbs. It seems like every verse made me say to myself, "I need to be better at that. I should be doing that. I fall short there." At the same time, it stirred feelings of hope and encouragement. I find Proverbs strikingly relevant to our day. For my own sake, I want to jot down a few bits of council from today's study: Proverbs 12:15-28; 13

A Fool

1) right in his own mind - (I've been told more than once, in subtle and less than subtle ways, that I especially need to work on this.)

2) his wrath is presently known - no restraint

3) speaketh like the piercings of a sword - The counterpart to this phrase speaks of health. Our words have the power not only to pierce emotionally, but may even cause physical sickness. They can destroy life.

4) proclaimeth foolishness


A Wise Man, Prudent

1) hearkeneth unto counsel - humble enough to accept and change

2) covereth shame - I think that this means to protect others from shame by controlling our wrath.

3) his tongue is health - This makes me think of Emily and Kjirsti. That is an excellent way to describe it: their words are health to me.

4) concealeth knowledge


A Slothful Man

1) shall be under tribute - does not or can not exercise power over himself

2) heaviness in the heart maketh it stoop

3) roasteth not that which he took in hunting - I find it interesting that the slothful man went out hunting in the first place. That is where the scripture began to resonate with me. I often do the "hunting," but I do not complete the task and truly become a good steward over what I've gathered.

4) desireth and hath nothing

5) wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished


A Diligent Man

1) shall bear rule

2) a good word maketh [the heart] glad - I found this an interesting commentary because it seems an unusual topic under diligence, but I realized that I need good words and a glad heart to be diligent. When I am lacking these things I become slothful.

3) his substance is precious - He is a good steward over his gatherings. He values what the Lord has granted him.

4) his soul shall be made fat - Finally, something that should be fat! :)

5) he that gathereth by labour shall increase


One more thing:

"The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment."
-Prov. 12:19

Falsehoods can not stand the test of time. Most of us know lies can hardly live through days, not to mention years or centuries. It is hard to tear down truth - perhaps even impossible. What does that mean for gospel truths and our understanding of God and Christ, etc.? Falsehoods will reveal themselves in time, but the truth can not be dissolved.



3 comments:

kjirsti said...

Mary, what an inspiring scripture study. That makes me want to get into mine more, I have been slacking to say the least. Thank you, I really really enjoyed your comments.

P.S. My recommendation is do away with the word verification on your blog.

Unknown said...

It's good to hear from you Kj! The reason I put the word verification feature up is because I was getting some spam. Maybe I should try again. Thanks for the suggestion.

Lindsey said...

Loved it Mary, you are such a smartie and use it to increase your faith :) Again, you're my hero :) Thanks for the scripture study topic of the night :)