# Series (Page 89)

“A joyful heart is good medicine,but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22). I was watching a three-year-old boy interacting with some of the brethren as they left church. He was totally uninhibited. He asked them their names and ages, he enquired about their grandchildren (whether they had any, or not), and questioned them about their intended destinations. He rolled around on the front steps while he challenged one of the guys to identify the gender of the…

“Hatred stirs up strife,But love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12). Hatred is seldom admitted to. It is sometimes deeply hidden, and sometimes sitting just below the surface.But it will eventually show itself for what it is. It takes little added offence for a heart brimming with malice to overflow.Whether it be with quiet and subtle prods, or open provocations, the hater will confront. Soon come the accusations, the threats, and the regurgitation of historical irritations.Never can they be wrong. Their…

“Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,nor in your bedroom curse the rich,for a bird of the air will carry your voice,or some winged creature tell the matter” (Ecclesiastes 10:20). Mothers have ESP! I am sure that you have vivid childhood memories of your mother’s incredible ability to know your thoughts and motives on any and every matter. What made it worse was when you asked how she knew, she invariably said, “A little birdy told me.” We…

“He who walks with wise men will be wise,But the companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20). Many a motivational speaker has cried, “Show me your friends and I will show you your future.”All things being equal I doubt that anyone would doubt the wisdom of those words.The apostle Paul came at it from a different angle: “Follow me as I follow Christ,” was his advice for those seeking spiritual mentorship (1Cor.11:1).Too many Christians fall into the hands of…

“Like a roaring lion and a rushing bearIs a wicked ruler over a poor people” (Proverbs 28:15). This sounds very much like an assessment a person might make about their least favourite politician.Fortunately, not every leader is wicked.But people are famous for hearing ‘roaring lions’ and seeing ‘rushing bears’ when political expectations are left unfulfilled. Therefore, a Christian would be wise to be careful how they view leadership at any level. Many of us live in countries where all our…

‘Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?”For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this”’ (Ecclesiastes 7:10). The ‘good old days’ can get better with the telling, given the right audience and the right conditions.If anyone could look back on a life of privilege and excess, it was King Solomon. He had it all, at all times, and in all ways. If anyone knew what ‘better’ was, it was him.Here he…

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,But desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). Absalom’s hope of becoming king was deferred for a number of reasons: Being banished for murdering his brother, playing the baby-kissing-politician on his return home, staging a coup d’état against his father, and being mercilessly speared to death while hanging from a tree by his cousin Joab—to name a few. Moses’ entry into the Promised Land was deferred because of the revolt of the 10…

“Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble” (Proverbs 25:19). I love the comedic poetry of Pam Ayres. Her poem, ‘Oh, I wish I’d looked after me teeth,’ has this haunting line: “My Mother, she told me no end, ‘If you got a tooth, you got a friend.’”A reminder that dentists take holidays to the south of France on the money of those of us who refused to heed our dear…

“Like tying a stone in a sling is the giving of honour to a fool” (Proverbs 26:8). The gaming franchise Angry Birds is about the closest many of us will ever come to manning a slingshot of any kind—albeit virtual elastic models. The real ones are deadly weapons. In war-torn areas Guerrillas still use slings as weapons of choice in street battles. Those defending the high ground can send a hailstorm of rocks upon the heads of their enemies.The most…

“Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give” (Proverbs 25:14) Politicians best interpret this proverb for us. They are well known for making promises that they know they can never keep. The irony is that they boast about the ‘gift never given’ as if it were, or will be, given. But that doesn’t put the average Christian above such things.I have a friend who was given money at a time…