FAITHFULNESS VERSUS FOLLY

November 2, 2017

FAITHFULNESS VERSUS FOLLY

Proverbs 19:1–14

Dean Macfarlan

Central Truth

God wants us to walk in integrity, generosity, and wisdom because that path leads to life. Anger interrupts that process, and retraining ourselves with God’s wisdom is the solution. By God's grace, we can turn from folly toward faithfulness

When a man's folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord.
(Proverbs 19:3)

1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity
    than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
2 Desire^{1

19:2
Or A soul} without knowledge is not good,
    and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
3 When a man's folly brings his way to ruin,
    his heart rages against the LORD.
4 Wealth brings many new friends,
    but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,^{2

19:6
Or of a noble}
    and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man's brothers hate him;
    how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.^{3

19:7
The meaning of the Hebrew sentence is uncertain}
8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;
    he who keeps understanding will discover good.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
    and he who breathes out lies will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
    much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Good sense makes one slow to anger,
    and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king's wrath is like the growling of a lion,
    but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son is ruin to his father,
    and a wife's quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
    but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

Footnotes

[1] 19:2 Or A soul
[2] 19:6 Or of a noble
[3] 19:7 The meaning of the Hebrew sentence is uncertain

How often we find ourselves blaming God and pointing fingers, rather than drawing a circle around ourselves and changing everything in that circle. Verse 3 doesn't say that it's rage against the Lord that results in folly; rather it's the folly that results in rage toward the Lord.

Brant Hansen, in his book Unoffendable, explains, "Anger is extraordinarily easy. It's our default setting." Love is very difficult. James 1:20 tells us that "the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." Hansen explains that forfeiting our anger makes us deny ourselves and makes us others-centered. It forces us to not think about humility, but to actually be humble. Grace isn’t for the deserving. Forgiving means surrendering your claim to resentment and letting go of anger. Foolishness and anger lead us down a path God never intended. Throughout Scripture, we're called to integrity, wisdom, confession, and authenticity so we don't end up in a position where we're pointing fingers at God and blaming Him for the pain in our lives and in the world.

Tawney and I have served many years in re|engage, Watermark’s marriage ministry. One observation that repeats itself with couples in crisis is that they're keenly aware of what their spouse needs to change, but fewer ask God what they need to change or for the strength to do so. Re|engage leadership has assembled the following to help people understand why they don’t change:

They aren't truly repentant (2 Corinthians 7:8-11).
They never deal with the real problem. They deal with the symptoms of sin, not the cause (James 4:1-10).
They're victims of the entitlement syndrome—"you don’t know what I’ve been through” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
They suffer from "terminal uniqueness"—yes, you're unique . . . just like everyone else.
They stop loving the truth more than fearing pain.
They think it’s better to be separated from God than suffer consequences from man.
They forget they’re vulnerable (1 Corinthians 10:12).
They think they can go it alone and live in isolation (Proverbs 18:1).
They fail to live in moment-by-moment dependence on God.

God's already done His part. Will we do ours?

1. What foolishness or folly in your life currently might be a path to ruin?

2. Have you shared your answer to Question #1 with your community group and asked for prayer and accountability?

3. What steps can you take now to shine a light into these areas and walk in integrity?

4. In what areas of your life are you currently pointing the finger at God and blaming Him rather than accepting responsibility?

5. President Abraham Lincoln said, “I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” Are you regularly self-assessing? Are you growing daily? If not, you are hurting yourself and all the people you could be influencing.