Proverbs 29:19-27 continues its discussion of various classes of people – including servants, fools, young people, angry people, thieves, rulers, the righteous, and the wicked. Each verse in today’s section of Proverbs contains a negative expression of truth which begs the question, “Why are negative activities so prevalent in our world?” The answer is found in the verse immediately preceding today’s section of Proverbs: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law” (verse 18). Here, we see that regular exposure to the Word of God helps to keep people out of trouble. At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves in one or more of these people-classifications, for which reason verse 25 applies: “whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” God’s love and His goodness are for “whoever” – and that obtains for everyone. God is “not willing that any should perish” (Matthew 18:14; 2 Peter 3:9). Because Proverbs is a book of wisdom, it encourages all men and women everywhere to stay in God’s Word and to practice this supreme act of wisdom – to trust in the LORD” (verse 25). Trusting in the Lord is the wisest thing any man or woman can do, and reading His Word regularly will help to “keep” him or her engaged in positive activities (i.e., out of trouble).
In the book of Haggai, we observe how wrong priorities can gradually creep into our lives and defile our practices. The people of Israel had grown complacent – “living in paneled houses while [God’s] house remained a ruin” (cf., 1:4). No less than five times, the prophet cautioned the Israelites to “give careful thought to their ways” (cf., 1:5-7; 2:15-18). Habitual actions – especially negative ones – can lead us to physical, mental, and/or spiritual dullness and then into a deeper state of moral decay. Decay breeds impurity. Our spiritual lives constantly need to be renewed and washed from the daily dirt that we pick up just by living in a defiled world. Haggai says that people need to think before they act. The people’s priorities were wrong – focused on the physical rather than the spiritual – they were actually investing all their resources in a “purse with holes in it” (1:6). As Christians, we need to set our priorities straight, avoid wasting all our time, efforts, and resources in the here and now, and invest them in the eternal things that really matter and will last. This, too, is wisdom.
In his brief letter of 2 John, the aging apostle of love addresses an assembly of believers as “the chosen lady” (verse 1), which is an appropriate title of respect for the church – the bride of Christ. John reminds the believers in that church to “love one another” and to “continue in the teachings of Christ” (verses 5-9) because “many deceivers have gone out” (verse 7). Today, our world and our culture are filled with deceivers of every kind. Here, John instructs us not to “share in their wickedness” or “welcome them into our house or receive anyone who does not bring the teaching of Christ” (verses 10-11). As we trust in the Lord, we have a special responsibility to maintain the integrity of God’s Word and to uphold the purity of God’s church by guarding its teachings.
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