“What if you and your family were starving, and someone with an abundance of food responded by offering ‘their thoughts and prayers’?” “Stop praying,” you’d say. “Do something.” A preponderance of these and similar reactions fire around Twitter in the wake of a...
Marginalized Oppressors
“A poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.” - Proverbs 28:3 In today’s world, we expect to find a playing field of winners and losers. There are sore winners, and victimized losers. You are among the abused, or you are an abuser....
A true friend knows how to wound you
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” - Proverbs 27:6 What do you say to your friend who leans in, and whispers: “You have a piece of spinach in your teeth”? I suppose it depends on how long they waited to tell you. Usually, you...
Dealing with false accusations
“Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.” – Proverbs 26:2 We are one sentence, perhaps even one word away from being canceled. It’s not a matter of political alignment or position. It’s not a matter of...
Wearing out your welcome
“Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.” – Proverbs 25:17 I was visiting Nashville a few months before I moved there, and I found myself at an after-church lunch. After chatting with one couple for a while, as they...
Wisdom can help you win
“For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory” – Proverbs 24:6 Football is a beautiful sport. It owes its beauty largely to its complexity. Every ten seconds or less, the flow of the game pauses, and there is a...
Addiction’s vicious cycle
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine…” “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not...
How do we deal with greed?
“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold” – Proverbs 22:1 “If I just had a little more money…this wouldn’t feel so hard. The decisions wouldn’t be so difficult. Life would feel easier. I’d be able to enjoy myself...
Saying things that last
“A false witness will perish, but the word of a man who hears will endure.” - Proverbs 21:28 Wisdom and proverbial sayings, they have a way of turning a phrase. A proverb gives you something pithy, but also something a little enigmatic. The phrase of wisdom is a...
Tipping the scales and justice
“Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord.” - Proverbs 20:10 What if you had the ability to make the world a little more fair? What if you could apply a little pressure to help the good guys (you and me) come out on top a little...