Monday, September 6, 2010

Proverbs 27:1-14

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, 

for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; 

someone else, and not your own lips.

3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden, 

but provocation by a fool is heavier than both.

4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, 

but who can stand before jealousy?

5 Better is open rebuke 

than hidden love.

6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, 

but an enemy multiplies kisses.

7 He who is full loathes honey, 

but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

8 Like a bird that strays from its nest 

is a man who strays from his home.

9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, 

and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.

10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, 

and do not go to your brother's house when disaster strikes you— 

better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; 

then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.

12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, 

but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; 

hold it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.

14 If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, 

it will be taken as a curse.

Questions to consider:

  • What relationships are cited here?
  • What are the positive and negative manifestations of these relationships?
  • To whom are you positively and negatively related now?
  • Why?
  • What can you do today to have right relationships with others?

Possibilities for prayer:

“Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

There are MANY excellent proverbs in this passage but I like this one for today. Have you ever been in a situation when a friend has said something that was hurtful or wounding, even if that person meant in a helpful or wounding way? It’s counter-intuitive to think that “wounds” (from a friend) are better than “kisses,” but sometimes friends have to have difficult conversations that are uncomfortable and can cause wounds. Funny how these words written so many years ago are still incredibly applicable in our lives, right? Today, let’s first thank God for the friends that we have in our lives. Then let’s ask for discernment in determining when our friends are doing and saying things out of love, even if they’re hard to receive.