Nuggets from Proverbs

Day 12 – The House Filled With Wind

Good morning! I pray this devotional on Proverbs is a blessing to you. It has been a convicting one for me! Today, we once again see how Noah Webster’s definition of certain words just shed light and give much more meaning to what we are reading. He defines “troubleth” as:

1. To agitate; to disturb; to put into confused motion.

Are you someone who “brings trouble” to her house? Do you bring agitation and disturbance into your home? Do you bring confusion into your home?

The fool does all these things. I found it quite poignant that Solomon would add the rest of the verse – “shall inherit the wind”! Have you ever seen the cartoon where someone turned on an oscillating fan in an office where the desk was filled with paper? What a catastrophe that produced! It’s like a hurricane hit the office! I believe this is what Solomon was trying to portray here. I think of the contentious woman who is never happy with her circumstances and is always complaining. She troubles her own house and creates a whirl wind of trouble. She reaps what she sows.

On the other hand, the Christian who is wise is quite the opposite. The wise person’s home is peaceful. True peace can only be obtained when we are truly born-again and are displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Noah’s definition of wise is:

1. Properly, having knowledge; hence, having the power of discerning and judging correctly, or of discriminating between what is true and what is false; between what is fit and proper, and what is improper; as a wise prince; a wise magistrate. Solomon was deemed the wisest man. But a man may be speculatively and not practically wise. Hence, 2. Discrete and judicious in the use or applications of knowledge; choosing laudable ends, and the best means to accomplish them. This is to be practically wise. Gen 41.

Does the fool display such wisdom? Of course not. The fool is busy doing the opposite and turning on that oscillating fan in their homes which produces nothing but chaos. There’s no peace in that home. It is not to say that a born-again Christian cannot be a fool. We have all done foolish things at one time or another. As well, there are born again believers out there who don’t read God’s word daily but only on occasion. The lack of scriptural knowledge results in foolish living. But the believer should be growing – moving forward in the Lord – seeking to better himself and becoming more Christ-like.

The fool will always be the servant of the wise one. The fool will always be in subjection to the wise Christian because the fool won’t have Scriptures to cling to or refer to – the fool won’t even be interested in applying Scriptures to their circumstances so that they may grow. 

The fool is worse than a newborn baby – at least the newborn baby desires to drink and does so to survive. The fool is not interested in growing and it is evident in their childish spiritual behavior.

Are you the foolish Christian today or the wise Christian? Better yet, are you the unsaved fool? The Word says that the scenario of the unsaved fool who will not listen to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be likened to the Christian witness casting his pearls (the Gospel) to swine (the unsaved). 

Instead, the unsaved fool thinks he is spiritually OK – the unsaved fool goes to church, knows the scriptures, does the motions but their actions speak louder than words. They are the hypocrites that Jesus speaks of.

James’ account below is also quite the eye opener and we should examine oursleves if we are guilty of being the person he speaks of:

I can see now why Jesus would tell Peter: 

Dear God…
May the words I speak
Be clean and pure
Not just in my eyes
But foremost in Yours