Proverbs 18
I recently found out not all “followers” or “friends” on social media are created equal. In other words, we may have hundreds, even thousands of friends that we may not even know. In fact, there are ways you can buy subscribers and followers. Once you hit a certain number of followers, you start making money. Who knew the class clown’s popularity would turn into cold, hard cash?
Out of the many “choice morsels” in this chapter that we could unpack, the one that stuck out to me is verse 24, the last verse. The verse about friendship! Just today as I was reading, I noticed something I had not before. I find it interesting that Solomon transitions from the plural (friends/companions) to the singular (friend). I gleaned from this, it is better to have one good, faithful friend than numerous unreliable ones – who may even lead you to ruin. In my life I have found this to be true!
I often equate friendships with the temple of Israel described in the Bible. The temple had outer courts, inner courts and the Holy of Holies. Our friends are the same! We may have many outer court friends and some inner court friends, but I would suggest the inner court friends are rare. Maybe we find 1-3 in a lifetime. Those are the friends that “stick closer than a brother!” Those in some cases are holy relationships.
Hold on them, cherish them and invest in them for the return will be great!
Blessings,
Pastor Adrian
Out of the many “choice morsels” in this chapter that we could unpack, the one that stuck out to me is verse 24, the last verse. The verse about friendship! Just today as I was reading, I noticed something I had not before. I find it interesting that Solomon transitions from the plural (friends/companions) to the singular (friend). I gleaned from this, it is better to have one good, faithful friend than numerous unreliable ones – who may even lead you to ruin. In my life I have found this to be true!
I often equate friendships with the temple of Israel described in the Bible. The temple had outer courts, inner courts and the Holy of Holies. Our friends are the same! We may have many outer court friends and some inner court friends, but I would suggest the inner court friends are rare. Maybe we find 1-3 in a lifetime. Those are the friends that “stick closer than a brother!” Those in some cases are holy relationships.
Hold on them, cherish them and invest in them for the return will be great!
Blessings,
Pastor Adrian
Posted in Proverbs Challenge
4 Comments
Verse 9 stood out to me. My dad was not educated, but he worked hard, never less than two jobs and sometimes 3. When we wasn't earning a paycheck, he was painting the house or some other home project. He taught me the dignity and the value of hard work, whether it be in a factory, on a job site, or in an office. I believe we serve God with our labor, and that He values the work we do, not by how much it pays, but by how much it serves others. There are many things to teach our children.....Faith, morals, and respect are high on the list, but let's not forget work ethic.
"One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys".
Mike, I too grew up with a father and mother who worked to make our lives fruitful. That was not an easy task given the size of our family. What it taught my siblings and I was the joy of working together as a team and a sense of mutual accomplishment at the end of the day.
I am grateful for these lessons early in life.
P.s Liz, do not give up on these "life lessons" ;)
My husband and I are remodeling a house and trying to let our children develop some lifelong skills like painting, washing walls, patching, removing outlets, and so forth. But anytime we ask them to the most minuscule project, it ends up being a bigger mess for us to fix later. I laughed at this verse...
"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys."
â€â€Proverbs‬ â€18‬:â€9‬ â€ESV‬‬
While that may mean something deeper, I laugh at Gods humor because this whole chapter reminded me of my children.
This verse can also relate to the work we produce at home, our relationships, our work. If we are being careless or slacking in our work, we may as well not do it at all!
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,"
â€â€Colossians‬ â€3‬:â€23‬ â€ESV‬‬
"Words from my mouth may go deep, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook." (V4)
How many of us want to appear wise and so we garner as much knowledge on a topic as we can, in order to share the depth of our acquired information. Knowledge is good, however; in contrast to our "knowing" is the revelation of "understanding" which comes to us only when we drink continuously of the water that flows from God's fountain of Truth.