The Proverbial Snack.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.

I may or may not have laughed out loud when I came across this verse.
And cried at the same time.

Proverbs does a great job of cutting to the heart and creatively using language to paint a picture.  And in this case, to cut right to the chase.  For some reason the use of ‘stupid' shook me awake from the metaphors and analogies strewn throughout the verses.

After reading a few chapters however, the art of written word is not what sticks with me.  It’s the cutting part.  The part that feels like a cup of cold water to the face.  The chapters feel like one tall order after another.

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. 

Unfortunately, I have not always been a "man of understanding" in remaining silent... 

Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.      

Steadfast in righteousness probably not on my top five list of self-descriptors...

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.     

 I was born with a big mouth?

Proverbs is a great road map.  Except for it’s more like a trail map.  Through the AT’s hundred mile wilderness.  It’s all laid out for you, but it’s going to take some serious sweat to get from point A to point B.

The great news is that there are a lot of really incredible promises laid right beside those charges.  One of my favorites:

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.

Promises that are the pat on the back after the slap on the shoulder.  That all the hard work involved with developing habits of righteousness and corralling tendencies to behave rashly leads to something good.  Things like finding that for which you search.

With the humble is wisdom.
The righteous will never be moved.
A gracious woman gets honor.

And there are also just some beautiful truths about life.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.
Anxiety in a mans heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

And so there is a little nibble of Proverbs.  You’ll encounter some things to look forward to like honor and security and wisdom.  And you’ll also get knocked around a little bit on issues of being lazy, speaking when you shouldn’t or ignoring what you know is right.

I highly recommend digesting some more of this, even if some parts are kind of hard to swallow.  I hear if you can’t take a little reproof your stupid...so there’s that.