August 15 ▪ Day 227

Scripture Readings

Proverbs 21:16
Ecclesiastes 7–8
Mark 7
Psalms 43

Verse Focus (Proverbs 21:16)

Whoever strays from the path of prudence
     comes to rest in the company of the dead.

Meditation

Our verse focus today is Proverbs 21:16 which says, in the NIV, “Whoever strays from the path of prudence comes to rest in the company of the dead.” This is a pretty sobering warning! Imprudence leads to death. The proverb is almost shocking in its clarity.

The virtue of prudence comes up frequently in Scripture, particularly in the book of Proverbs. There is a strong connection between wisdom and prudence. As Proverbs 8:12 says, “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.” Wisdom lives with prudence. Or, to put it another way, prudence lives with wisdom.

But what exactly does prudence mean? When I try to pinpoint the definition, I find my understanding has gotten a bit fuzzy and wordless. So I looked up the definition of prudence in the dictionary. Merriam-Webster gives four aspects to its definition. Prudence is:

1. the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason;
2. sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs;
3. skill and good judgment in the use of resources; and
4. caution or circumspection as to danger or risk.

Okay, that really sounds like a dictionary, doesn’t it? A bit dry. Another dictionary speaks about prudence as being “wise” and “cautious” about practical affairs, so that you use discretion and provide for the future. It also says that prudence gives “provident care in the management of resources.” “Economy” and “frugality” are listed as synonyms for prudence. But both of these definitions are of what prudence means in modern English. The Biblical definition of prudence has a bit of a different slant.

First, there is that close connection between wisdom and prudence. They are practically inseparable, although today’s modern dictionaries don’t mention wisdom with respect to prudence so much as various aspects of wisdom in prudence — shrewdness, good judgment, and discernment. But the Biblical understanding of prudence is permeated with wisdom — there is insight, discernment, and the ability to weigh different courses of action. It’s not just about being cautious (although that can be a frequent outcome), but it’s about good management in general. Not just with things, or decisions, but in your relationships and your ability to deal with other people. Obviously, a good bit of prudence relates to wisdom in financial matters, but it also is concerned with having a teachable spirit.

Foresight is also important in prudence. In fact, if you look at the word origins, our English word comes from the Latin word prudentia, which means foresight or sagacity. Prudentia is actually a shortened version of the word providentia, from which we get the English word “providential.” So we have not just foresight, but heavenly-gifted understanding of the future. Prudence is the ability not just to discern and judge, but to see the consequences of different types of behaviors. Prudence gives you the ability to avoid disaster.

I find quite a bit of irony in considering this verse after the death of my brother from Covid-19. To my mind, getting the vaccine, masking, and keeping social distance are prudent courses of action during this pandemic. My brother did not see these as prudent steps and he ended up paying for his lack of foresight with his life. He now rests in the company of the dead. Christ will have mercy on his soul, but for me it is a bitter illustration of today’s proverb.

Father God, help us to have not just prudence, but Biblical prudence. Give us wisdom, insight, and understanding. Help us to make wise choices and to manage all things well. Keep us straying from the path of prudence by your grace to us in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The warning in today’s proverb actually dovetails nicely with our readings in Ecclesiastes 7 and 8. The Teacher admonishes us to consider how life ends, and whether or not we will leave behind a good legacy. In chapter 7, Solomon tells us that the day of death is better than the day of birth; similarly, he tells us that the end of something is better than the beginning (v. 1, v. 8). Although it is not the most intuitive advice, Solomon also recommends sorrow and mourning as these will develop wisdom. Wisdom is always preferred, and the Preacher reminds us that wisdom will protect us just like money can protect us — only wisdom can also preserve your life (v. 12).

Those who are middle-aged and older may succumb to the temptation of nostalgia, convinced that things were better in the past than in the present. But Solomon warns against this kind of thinking and tells us that it is not wise. As verse 10 admonishes, “Say not, ‛Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.”

Solomon advises us to be joyful “in the day of prosperity (v. 14),” but cautions us to remember that God is the one who allows both prosperity and adversity. He warns us to avoid extremes — either of righteousness or wickedness.

As the chapter concludes, Solomon speaks of how relationships can bind one. Upright men are rare — Solomon finds only one in a thousand — but he claims that he has not found any upright women (v. 28). In verse 26 Solomon says, “I find… more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are fetters.” Solomon is, of course, speaking from personal experience. According to 1 Kings 11:3, he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. It is well known that his love of women was one of the things that turned Solomon’s heart away from the LORD.

Even though God created mankind to be good, people have “sought out many schemes (v. 29).” Indeed, as Solomon asks in verse 13, “Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?”

In chapter 8, Solomon reminds us to obey the government — “keep the king’s command (v. 2)” — and speaks of how it will go well for those who fear God. Yet delays in justice will encourage people to do evil; worse still, Solomon observes that sometimes “the righteous… get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked… get what the righteous deserve (v. 14).” This is also the vanity — or meaninglessness — of life here on earth. Thus Solomon counsels us to appreciate the good things. In verse 15, he says, “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.”

Solomon concludes chapter 8 by saying that God’s ways cannot be understood. We may seek Him and strive to know the work He does “under the sun (v. 17),” but it remains hidden even to the wise.

There is a lot packed into these two chapters. Solomon’s advice carries a lot of wisdom; however, I find myself a bit aggravated by his comments about women who prove to be chains and fetters. Solomon wouldn’t have much occasion to meet any upright women; I’m sure there were many such women among the families of Israel, but they would not have come into contact with the king. I also try not to take offense because women had different roles in Solomon’s society and they made a life for themselves through the men in their lives — so if the women ended up binding men, I’m sure part of that was a function of what kind of lives they were allowed to lead. So while I reject Solomon’s gender-specific warning against relationships that can harm you, I do believe that we must be careful of those people — men and women — who would turn our hearts away from God.

I also find myself meditating more and more on Solomon’s advice to be joyful in the good things we have in life, whether that is meals, companionship, or labor. There is always something nearby that can cause us dissatisfaction. But the choice is ours. Do we want to live with endless want and striving? Or do we desire joy and contentment? If the latter, then it’s a matter of focusing on what is good and being thankful for the plenty we have. Why do we let what is bad spoil what is good in life? Why not instead choose to remember what is good — choose to focus on love, life, peace, and joy? Isn’t this what Paul also admonishes us to do (Philippians 4:8)?

As I was reading Mark chapter 7 today, I was thinking about the situation that led up to Jesus’ comments about what makes a person clean or unclean. The Pharisees washed their hands before eating and so they criticize Jesus’ disciples for not doing this. Washing your hands before eating was the “tradition of the elders (v. 3),” and they had “many other traditions (v. 4)” like this. Jesus defends his disciples, but he does so using the argument that the Pharisees are holding more tightly to their traditions than they are to God’s commands.

What doesn’t come up in this discussion is the fact that the tradition of washing your hands is actually a very good thing. We may have more science to tell us why it’s important to wash your hands before eating, but we still know that it’s a very good practice. It’s become even more important to keep our hands clean as we navigate the current pandemic. Handwashing is one of the tools at our disposal for maintaining health.

So, handwashing is good. Likely many of the other traditions were good, too. But good isn’t the point for Jesus. The point is what is best, not what is good. And I think we learn from this that we can easily get confused and find ourselves ranking good things above the things of God.

It’s easy to know the right thing to do when your choice is between good and evil. But when the choice is between good and good, we have a lot more difficulty with that. Increasingly, I think the life of faith is about making wise choices when many of your options are good options. To aid us in these choices, we have prayer, Scripture, and the Holy Spirit. And let’s not forget the counsel of other believers, too.

As we read the gospels, it’s easy to despise the Pharisees because of how they opposed Jesus — and also because they were self-righteous snobs. They were the “establishment.” But we are today’s Pharisees. We have traditions of the church, we honestly desire to seek God, and we think we’re doing what is right and best. Don’t get me wrong. These are good things. My point is simply that we need a bit more humility in our faith. Recognize that we don’t know everything and that we can be prone to delusion. Remain teachable. Be open to God’s Spirit. Continue to pray for wisdom and understanding. Jesus says, in verse 8, “You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” This is a message for us as much as it was for the Pharisees. Are we guilty of Isaiah’s charge? Do we honor God with our lips, while our hearts yet remain far from Him?

I always enjoy the story about the Syrophoenician woman who begs Jesus to cure her daughter. When Jesus demurs, her clever answer — “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs (v. 28)” — secures her daughter’s healing. But I think about this story. Jesus’ “crumbs” were sufficient to remotely cast out a demon from the little girl. That’s a pretty remarkable feat of healing! And this is a crumb? It makes me wonder if we are satisfied with crumbs from Jesus when we could have so much more. I suspect we are much too easily placated. Perhaps we’re afraid to ask for big things. I know that I can be afraid. My faith is weak; I fear that God might not answer me — and so I don’t even ask.

Today’s Scripture challenges me to believe that God can do remarkable things. I am challenged not to settle for the crumbs when I am a child of the King. As John 14:12-14 says:

¹²Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Today we read Psalm 43, a companion to yesterday’s psalm. The psalm concludes in verse 5 with the haunting refrain from Psalm 42, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” Where yesterday’s psalm considered the psalmist’s internal landscape, today’s psalm looks at his external circumstances. And thus the psalmist speaks of God’s vindication.

As I read the psalm today, the first part of verse 3 strikes me. “Send out your light and your truth,” prays the psalmist, “let them lead me.” Again, this seems exactly like what we need. We need God’s light and truth to guide us. When we are in distress, and when our circumstances are out of our control, that is when we most need to follow God’s directions. Hope in God, pray, and follow the light and truth you see. For me, today, that means — from our Scripture readings — being content with the many good things that God has given me, but also having the courage to ask for big things in Jesus’ name.

Father God, thank you so much for giving us the Scripture to guide us and teach us. Thank you for all of today’s joys: prayer and conversation; fellowship and friends; a completed meditation. I ask for you to bring me the perfect job that will meet my financial and creative needs, and to do so speedily. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, and renew my heart. I need you to take out all the things from my heart that defile me and replace those things with Christ’s own purity. Thank you for the grace that you give us. Thank you for your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.