The Spoken Word

Proverbs 14:1 – 14

1.)        We live in an information saturated world.  What we need today is not more information but useful information.  When I envisioned this concept I thought of computer terminology.  I used the term microbytes in a giga megabyte world without knowing all that it meant.

Thanks to David Kesse who sent me an e-mail with some information as it relates to computer terminology and data.

A bit is the smallest measure of information; 8 bits make up a byte.  1024 bytes equals a kilobyte.  1024 kilobytes equals a megabyte.  As you gain more information 1024 megabytes equals a gigabyte.  This continues with tera, peta, exa, zeta, yotta bytes of information.

So, with this new information I should rename this sermon series, essential bytes in an expanding world of yottabytes!

I appreciate feedback on my message.  Someone told me that the syrup that I had was not maple syrup.  I realized that it was flavored brown sugar water.  Someone also told me that I should have focused on a few of the Proverbs and not talked about all of them.

I pray that somehow God used my attempts to teach you about at spiritual growth through the word of God to bring life and value to your faith and life.  Keep giving me your feedback as I seek to improve.

2.)        I want to read the introduction to Eugene Peterson’s translation of Proverbs, from “The Message,” before we focus on Proverbs 14:1, 2, and 4.

“Many people think that what’s written in the Bible has mostly to do with getting people into heaven – getting right with God, saving their eternal souls.  It does have to do with that, of course, but not mostly.  It is equally concerned with living on this earth- living well, living in robust sanity.  In our Scriptures, heaven is not the primary concern, to which earth is a tag-along afterthought.  “On earth as it is in heaven” is Jesus’ prayer.

“Wisdom” is the biblical term for this on-earth-as-it-is-in-heaven everyday living.  Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves.  It has virtually nothing to do with information as such, with knowledge as such.  A college degree is no certification of wisdom-nor is it primarily concerned with keeping us out of moral mud puddles, although it does have a profound moral effect upon us.

Wisdom has to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes towards others that make for peace.  Threaded through all these items is the insistence that the way we think of and respond to God is the most practical thing we do.  In matters of everyday practically, nothing, absolutely nothing, takes precedence over God.

Proverbs concentrates on these concerns more than any other book in the Bible.  Attention to the here and now is everywhere present in the stories and legislation, the prayers and the sermons, that are spread over the thousands of pages of the Bible.  Proverbs distills it all into riveting images and aphorisms that keep us connected in holy obedience to the ordinary.”

3.)        The phrase, “obedience to the ordinary,” is a way to describe what we do in our Christian life.  Each of us experiences a different set of circumstances and life stages.  In those times there are lots of ordinary aspects of living.  As we are obedient to the Lord in those ordinary moments we express our faith.

We are thankful for the special faith moments in our lives that serve as mountaintop experiences.  But most of life is served in the ordinary valleys of life and faith.  A great highlight for some of our youth might be going to camp and the spiritual decisions they make.  But the consistent, ordinary, life of faith lived in obedience is the life that Proverbs can help us each day.

Let us look at verses 1, 2, 4 of Proverbs 14 and see how they apply.

4.)        “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish tears hers down.” (verse 1)

The life insight is, “we all have the capacity to build up or tear down.”

This Proverb identifies a woman but I apply it to all people.  We all have the ability to build something, do something constructive, or we can do something destructive.  You can do this physically or emotionally or spiritually or financially or relationally.  We can build, construct, something positive with our lives.

We can also tear things down.  I expand this to mean we can do things to each other emotionally, spiritually, financially, etc. that hurt others, do damage to ourselves and others.

The show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has a moment when a home is torn down.  The family is on vacation and you see them watching a laptop computer of their home being torn down and destroyed.  It brings out a variety of emotion.  The emotion for them is powerful and hopeful because the old is gone and the new will be built in its place.

What would happen if the crew would just tear down a perfectly good home and show that to the homeowners?  That would be painful and the emotion could be violent and anger filled.

Let this proverb help you to be obedient by being a person who builds up people.  Look at those in your house, your work, your neighborhood, your congregation, your community, your county, your state, your country and world.  Be a builder.

5.) “He whose walk is upright fears the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises him.” (verse 2)

The life insight is, “Our relationship with God is revealed in our character.”

Do we fear the Lord or despise the Lord?  That answer will come out in our character and how we walk, live, the path before us.

To fear the Lord means to be afraid in a healthy sense.  It can mean to be reverent, to worship and to stand in awe of the Lord.  These are all healthy attitudes that come out of our character as we are shaped by our path.

Consider the path, the walk, that we ask each new member when they join the church.  They promise, among other vows, to be loyal to the First United Methodist Church by their prayers, presence, gifts and service.  This vow, this commitment, identifies a path of ordinary, practical ways to be obedient.

Your upright walk with the Lord is lived out by a daily prayer life and a daily reading of the scriptures.  You come to worship regularly, consistently, faithfully as a way of revering the Lord.  You give your gifts of money to the Lord by aiming for a tithe, giving 10%, or giving beyond a tithe.  You desire to honor God by looking for ways to bless people with money.  Your service reveals the Lord’s place in your hearts as you give your time.  You know and are using your spiritual gifts to serve the needs of ministries in the church and beyond for the Kingdom of God.  You experience joy as you volunteer, serving others.

When a person is not living a life of obedience to the Lord distance comes between you, the Lord, and these four areas.  Prayers.  You don’t pray, and often don’t want to acknowledge that God exists.  Presence.  You are not participating in a worship service with other people.  You don’t want to be around others who enjoy worship and their faith.  Gifts.  You spend on yourself.  The thought of giving money to God, or even charity seems ridiculous.  Service.  You don’t give any of your time to God.  You don’t know what your spiritual gifts are and you don’t care.

Let this proverb help you to be obedient by cultivating your walk with the Lord and gain a sense of fear, reverence and awe.

6.)        “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox comes an abundant harvest.” (verse 4)

The life insight is, “To produce you need resources.”

You don’t have any costs for food when you don’t have an ox.  That’s great.  But when you don’t have an ox you can’t produce an abundant harvest.  That is the truth that is taught.  In order to make money you have to spend money.  In a spiritual way we could say, in order to have spiritual fruit in people we have to invest (give of our resources) in them.

Let’s make this practical as it relates to our children’s ministry.  If we have no children in our congregation then we don’t have to spend money for Vacation Bible School expenses.  Our costs are down, but is that good?

So, when we spend money on curriculum and supplies for Vacation Bible School for children we using resources to produce spiritual fruit.  We have to spend money, invest money, in order to have a harvest of spiritual life.

From a farming perspective the money spent on fertilizer for crops is paid back at harvest time with the yield increase.  The price of fertilizer might seem like an extra expense at the time, it is, but without it your harvest is not as abundant.

Let this proverb help us be obedient by spending money wisely for the ministry needs that are vital.

7.)        I hope you have been able to glean thoughts from this message.  Next week we will look at Proverbs 16:1 – 16.   Share a closing prayer.