Proverbs 29
1 Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.
2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice;
when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3 A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father,
but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
4 By justice a king gives a country stability,
but those who are greedy for[a] bribes tear it down.
5 Those who flatter their neighbors
are spreading nets for their feet.
6 Evildoers are snared by their own sin,
but the righteous shout for joy and are glad.
7 The righteous care about justice for the poor,
but the wicked have no such concern.
8 Mockers stir up a city,
but the wise turn away anger.
9 If a wise person goes to court with a fool,
the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace.
10 The bloodthirsty hate a person of integrity
and seek to kill the upright.
11 Fools give full vent to their rage,
but the wise bring calm in the end.
12 If a ruler listens to lies,
all his officials become wicked.
13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
The LORD gives sight to the eyes of both.
14 If a king judges the poor with fairness,
his throne will be established forever.
15 A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom,
but a child left undisciplined disgraces its mother.
16 When the wicked thrive, so does sin,
but the righteous will see their downfall.
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
they will bring you the delights you desire.
18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
19 Servants cannot be corrected by mere words;
though they understand, they will not respond.
20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste?
There is more hope for a fool than for them.
21 A servant pampered from youth
will turn out to be insolent.
22 An angry person stirs up conflict,
and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.
23 Pride brings a person low,
but the lowly in spirit gain honor.
24 The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies;
they are put under oath and dare not testify.
25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
26 Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.
27 The righteous detest the dishonest;
the wicked detest the upright.
My thoughts and take-aways:
Well its almost impossible today to not speak about the royal wedding but I find no place where it fits in with this scripture. Instead I see the following verse and it strikes me as so important:
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace;
they will bring you the delights you desire.
As parents its the part of the job I don't like. I don't particularly look forward to disciplining my children as it tends to be harder on the one who hands down the punishment. Its also hard with children of different ages and genders - according to James Dobson each child needs to be disciplined according to their needs. So I urge to you seek advice and look to the bible for direction and encouragement. We are told to discipline our children (in love, not anger).... just as we are to love them. What do you think?
Leave a comment....
Love to all!
M
Discipline. is. so. hard. I am a new mom (11 month old) and I keep thinking "he is still too young, he doesn't know"....but what I'm finding is that he does know...and he needs discipline. No more "he is too little" excuses :-(. I look forward to finding examples in His word to help me becuase it is a tough job - especially for a people pleaser like me - I don't want my child to not like me :-).
ReplyDeleteOne of the verses that stuck out to me was "Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor" (verse 23). I am definitely learning of my prideful ways and am consistently reminding myself just how BIG God is and how SMALL I am....it is so hard sometimes to understand that we are just a miniscule part of his ultimate creation (even though He obviously doesn't love us in a small way) because our own lives may sometimes overshadow it.