Proverbs 3:9: “Honor the Lord with thy possessions, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.” This verse has been stuck in my head for a few days, since I last read it in my daily reading pattern. “Firstfruits” isn’t something that comes up frequently in 21st century America; it’s one of those words that’s…
Tag: Proverbs
A Call for Discernment
Last week I briefly touched on the “Instagram worthy” Scripture quotes, and this week I’m going to take a hard look at another that I’ve seen cropping up more and more often over the last couple years. You’ve probably seen it too, and I will freely confess that it sounds great: “The Lord will fight…
Reputations Based on Speech
One of the lesser known facts about our family dynamics is that of the two adults, I’m the bigger sports fan. That doesn’t mean that I’m a raging fanatic, only that if any kind of sporting event is playing in our house, it’s because I turned it on. Similar to my tastes in reading, where…
Wise in Your Own Eyes
There’s nothing quite like Proverbs for pithy words to live by. Short, not usually sweet but very to the point, and although even children can understand them on some level, there’s always something deeper to mull over. It’s been my habit as part of my daily Bible reading, off and on for as long as…
Complaining
I hadn’t been at my new job very long, maybe a couple of weeks and certainly less than a month, when I noticed a disturbing and unhelpful pattern of behavior occurring in my office on an almost daily basis. It would start with a round of heavy sighs and a disgusted shaking of the head…
On Friendship
Disclaimer and total honesty: I’ve been staring at my screen for three days, and these thoughts on friendship just are not coalescing into a good post. You get my rambling and disconnected thoughts anyway. “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” (Proverbs 13:20). These words have echoed…
Pleasure in Understanding
“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” (Prov. 18:2) Ouch. The book of Proverbs has quite a bit to say about fools, and sometimes that can inspire a little bit of pride as I read them. “Nope, that’s not something I would ever consider doing! All good here!” (I’m…