Thoughts on various proverbs

Day 139: Proverbs 21-24

Proverbs 21:30: "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD."
The Lord has plans, and we have plans, and no plans will succeed against the Lord. I'm still processing the meaning of this proverb, but I think it's significant. 

Proverbs 22:1: "A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold."
My dad always stressed the importance of a good reputation. While we often are told to not care what other people think about you, I think it's important to have a good name for yourself. It's not necessarily that we should be so concerned about what others think that we succumb to negative peer pressure; rather, we should consider the source of all wisdom (God) and care about what He thinks. The reputation we have affects those around us and influences our families, but for Christians, it also reflects on God.

Proverbs 22:6: "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."
This passage is encouraging to me, especially when parenting can be so hard. I've told this to myself many times. Now I know that this isn't always true; I know people who have been raised in godly, Christian homes, and this hasn't yet been the case. However, I do think that God isn't finished with them yet.

Proverbs 22:16: "Those who oppress the poor to increase their wealth and those who give gifts to the rich—both come to poverty."
 
Proverbs 22:22: "Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will exact life for life."

These two passages spoke to me specifically because in my Argumentative and Persuasive Writing course, we have been reading Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. This book investigates the lives of low-wage workers--those who work in all those hourly jobs who can barely make their income match their expenses. It's a really interesting look, and when you read passages like these Bible verses, it opens the reading up to a whole new perspective. 

Being Affirmed through Scripture

Day 137: Proverbs 13-16

I have said before, and I'll say it again: Parenting is hard work. And as parents, I'm sure we've all wondered whether we are doing the right thing by our children. Especially when it comes to discipline. Well, I read this verse tonight, and it reminded me that disciplining a child isn't mean or evil but instead it is because you care about them. Proverbs 13:24 says, "Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them." Look at that last part: "Those who love their children care enough to discipline them."

Typically, when I read scripture I try to look at everything within its proper context so that I understand it correctly and don't interpret something wrong. But today, I'm just glad to read that verse. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel happy. It affirms me as a parent. And sometimes when I read the Bible, that's what I want--to be affirmed. There's so much out there that makes you feel bad about yourself, and so it's nice to feel like you're doing the right thing sometimes.

Being affirmed is important to humans. I'm not sure if it's a human thing, or if it's the way that God made us to be, but when you read scripture and feel good about yourself, well, that's a good thing. The main thing we have to consider, though, is not to get sucked into the prideful part of self-confidence or affirmation. It's easy to become prideful when we feel we are doing right, but God doesn't want us to be that way. It's an interesting balance.

Thank you, God, for showing me that there is a point to parenting--that discipline shows love. This discovery shows me how much you love me, too. It's a nice parallel.

Gifts from God

Day 130: Psalm 126-134

Parenting is still hard work. It's interesting to me that in today's reading it says,

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."

Thank you, God, for reminding me of that. It's not easy to remember this in the midst of disobedience and discipline, but they really are a gift. They're miracles, actually. Thank you, God, for the gift of children.

Hard Day of Parenting

Day 129: Psalm 120-125

It's been a long day. Peyton is sick (he has a fever, he has a bad cough, and he just vomited all over the place), and Elizabeth is being difficult. Sometimes parenting can be so hard. I often wonder how to be the best parent I can, to teach my children how to do the right thing and how to become more like Jesus. I wish there was a manual on this stuff because it sure isn't easy. It's definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. With as important as this responsibility is and how one of God's commands was "to be fruitful and multiple," I'm surprised there isn't more in here on parenting. I sure could use some godly advice!

What's your legacy?

Day 88: Ezra 5-10

Ezra. An entire book is named after him, and he doesn't even appear until chapter 7 in the book named after him. He only appears in four chapters total in the book of Ezra.

I didn't remember one thing about Ezra before reading the book today, but after reading what is written about him, I think he was a great man. He was a godly man who helped the Jews rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. One of the facts you might find interesting about Ezra (I did) is that he is a direct descendant of Aaron, Moses' brother. In fact, Aaron was the first priest (I think), and here you have Ezra who is another priest. He comes from a priestly heritage and is living his life in the same way as he grandparents did.

In thinking about Ezra and the long line of faithful people from which he comes, I'm struck by how his faith came from his family. So often we look for these fabulous conversion stories--like those that happen in the New Testament--but there is also something to be said about generations after generations of people following the Lord. Faith so often happens because of family relationships--whether you inherit a faith from your parents, grandparents, or siblings. While not everyone comes from a family that believes in the Lord or in Jesus, some of us, like me, do. I think it's important to be reminded that we have an even greater responsibility to pass along this faith with others--not just our children but our friends and neighbors, too.

I often wonder if my children are inheriting anything good from me. I have faults, and I think I'm a horrible parent on many days (I am!). I think it's important to ask myself, though, what kind of heritage am I leaving my children? Am I instilling in them a faith that will last up to 16 generations, like that of Aaron's to Ezra's? I really hope so.

Discipline and Punish: The Ways of the Lord

Day 42: Joshua 5-9

At least five times a day I have to tell Elizabeth to obey me. I give her an order, and she disobeys. I punish her each time and hope that one day she will eventually learn to obey (or at least obey more often). Her tendency is to disobey; she wants to do her own thing, to make her own decisions. But I still punish her when she disobeys--even if it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

As a parent, I can understand more about the idea of obedience, as well as the connections between obedience and punishment (or discipline). I didn't understand it much as a kid. I didn't think punishment was fair, even though I had deserved it, and I often grew angry at my parents when they disciplined me. Punishment was supposed to curb my bad behavior, to direct me towards doing the right thing. And it worked most of the time. One day I'm sure it will work for Elizabeth, too.

As we become adults, though, there is no parent to give us a spanking or to discipline us. We make our own decisions and we must suffer the consequences when we sin and disobey God. And even though God may not put us to death or have our peers stone us (like what happened to Achan), He still disciplines us.

As a Christian, I believe Christ has redeemed me and covers my sins even when I fail. However, just because I am forgiven and redeemed does not mean that I won't suffer consequences because of my sins. Sometimes the consequences are mental and emotional; other times they are physical. Other times the consequences occurs realistically in my life or my relationships. Regardless of what I do, God still disciplines me. He is still trying to get me to obey, just like I keep trying to do with my children. And He does so because he loves me and wants me to live a life that he envisions for me. But I also think he disciplines us because God is holy and we are not, and he wants us to remember this fact. God is holy; we are not. We are, however, made holy through Jesus, yet we still sin and must be punished.

God loves us and wants us to be holy like he is holy. I hope to live my life in holy obedience to God.

Elizabeth and the Ten Plagues

After reading about the ten plagues. I had an idea of an activity to do with Elizabeth. So when I got home from work last night, Elizabeth and I sat down at the table, got out markers, glue, magazines, and scissors, and we went to work. First, I read her the story of each plague. Then, we went to work creating a posterboard of the ten plagues. Here is what she made.

We couldn't find magazine pictures of frogs, gnats, flies, locusts, or hail, so we just drew them ourselves. Note that I'm going to have to go back and change where I wrote "Boils" on #7. That's supposed to say "Hail." As you can tell, she did a great job drawing boils in #6!

I had my computer on the table with us and whenever we couldn't find something in the magazines, I searched for a picture of the item on the internet. Elizabeth said to me, "Mommy, you have A LOT of pictures on your computer. You have pictures of EVERYTHING!" It was really cute.

Some of the plagues stories scared Elizabeth (and me, too). But we talked about that--about why might God choose to kill firstborn children or livestock or fish. While we didn't always have answers, it helps to talk about it and to discuss the topic instead of pretend that it is just normal. We also talked about Pharaoh's choices and how had he made better choices or obeyed God earlier, then he and his people would not have suffered like they did. It's about obedience. Obeying God and humbling ourselves.

Overall, we had a great time doing this together. I like how what I am reading in the Bible is permeating other areas of my life. I'm also thinking and reflecting on what I read and what I write many times during the day.

What will your children do?

Day 7: Genesis 25-28

This evening has been a frustrating one for me as a parent. I've constantly had to discipline one of my children due to her disobedience, whining, and stubbornness. She will not do what she is told and thinks that she knows more than me about what she needs. She has been sent to her room at least twice and has been threatened with punishment, including spankings, too many times to count. I'm about to lose my temper.

So, I took a shower to cool off.

Now I'm m reading the passage for the day. One of the first things I read about is Isaac telling Abimelech that Rebekah (Isaac's wife) is his sister. Does this story sound familiar? Several years earlier, Isaac's father Abraham does the same thing with his wife Rebekah. For the sake of argument, let's assume that Isaac knew about Abraham's actions (it just seems too coincidental not to, righkt?). Years later, Isaac does the same thing with his own wife. Isaac had learned from his father, and in this case, it's not a good thing. Isaac made the same mistake that his father Abraham did--and it could have cost him his wife...and his life!! Children learn from the actions of their parents.

And then in chapter 27, Rebekah encourages Jacob to trick Isaac into giving him the blessing of the firstborn. She's not a very good example to her son either. It's no surprise that years later Jacob suffers a great deal when the favoritism he shows to his son Joseph is not taken well by his other sons.

Yikes! I don't want to be reminded of this on an evening when I've had enough crying and whining and disobeying for a week!! But I don't want my daughter to behave the same way I did tonight. I want to teach her patience and love above all else. But if I'm going to teach her this, it would help if my actions showed the same. I really do want to pass on to my children good things--things that God sees as good and valuable. What a reminder!