Tag: Proverbs

Posted on

Honeycombs

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 25  Read: Proverbs 16 Listen: (3:15) Read: Mark 6 Listen: (7:23)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 16:24

Gracious words are a honeycomb,
    sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Reflection: Honeycombs

By Erin Newton

“You can catch more bees with honey.”

Just the other night I was walking my dogs when another dog-owner started yelling for me to “Move on!” Apparently, I was walking too close for this person’s liking, and they were already angry. I wish my response had been gracious words. I think I muttered an exasperated, “I’m trying!”

I love the metaphor used in Proverbs 16: Gracious words are a honeycomb. Graciousness, in the Bible, is often paired with words about compassion and mercy. In this text, the Hebrew word means “kind.” Kind words are a honeycomb.

My sister has an apiary—she keeps bees. From her experience (and a fascination with all things in nature), I have learned about the intricate part of bee life. First, honeycombs do not occur spontaneously. They are carefully made. In fact, it requires the whole hive of worker bees to make honeycomb. Second, honeycombs are made from ingredients inside bees that are then deposited (and chewed and re-deposited) by other bees. Lastly, honeycombs hold not only honey but pollen and the brood of future bees. In short, honeycombs are more than a dessert tray.

Words can be honeycomb. How should we think about this metaphor?

Gracious words are not simply something to sweeten things. We have heard about “toxic positivity” where people attempt to ward off bad feelings or ignore bad situations by infusing positive statements. Think about someone who has lost a family member. It might be simple to say, “They’re in a better place now!” It might be true but it’s not always soul-sweetening or bone-healing (as our proverb says). Gracious (kind) words should be nourishing. They are not just words for a moment but words that can give life.

Gracious words are the result of what is inside us. Like the wax created from the parts of the bees themselves, gracious words are not just phrases we memorize. Bees search for pollen and convert that to create honeycomb. We too must be looking for life-giving words from Scripture. The Gospels remind us, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matt 12.34; Luke 6.45).

Producing gracious words requires practice and work. Like building a honeycomb, we cannot expect to speak kindly when we have only ever practiced rudeness, sarcasm, insults, objectification, othering, or any sort of speech that tears down.

Kind words are carefully crafted. Kind words heal souls.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Love the Lord, all you who worship him; the Lord protects the faithful, but repays to the full those who act haughtily. — Psalm 31.23


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: When Skepticism meets Kindness

Sometimes we look at kindness and assume there is a scheme of self-promotion…We treat the servants of mercy as spies.

When Skepticism meets Kindness
Consider Supporting Our Work

We want to do more to spread God’s word. For that we need donors like you. Please consider becoming a donor.

Supporting our Work
Posted on

Inner Light of the Heart

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 24  Read: Proverbs 15 Listen: (3:36) Read: Mark 5 Listen: (5:21)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 15.13-17 

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, 

but heartache crushes the spirit. 

14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, 

but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. 

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, 

but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. 

16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord 

than great wealth with turmoil. 

17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love 

than a fattened calf with hatred.

Reflection: Inner Light of the Heart

By John Tillman

The theme of this section is the heart (or inner being) and its effects on the rest of our lives. Proverbs’ pithy, punchy format can seem like it simply states the obvious: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful.” However, obvious truths sometimes have deeper implications.

Doctors know that stress, anxiety, and depression, often thought of as intangible feelings, cause tangible harm to our bodies. Proverbs often agrees and speaks about how the spiritual affects the physical.

Emotional suffering can affect us physically and physical suffering can affect emotional well-being. Trauma responses in which victims of physical abuse relive the sensations and emotions of traumatic events are common.

“Feelings” physically affect us. Physical suffering emotionally affects us. We sometimes can’t just “get over” or “pray away” our feelings because of this mental-physical feedback loop.

Our bodies matter. Our spirit also matters. We are integrated beings—not solely spirit and not solely flesh. The resurrection body of Jesus, the firstborn from among the dead (1 Corinthians 15.20), shows us that we will not be disembodied spirits. We will not slough off flesh for a spiritual plane but be transfigured (1 Corinthians 15.50-55) into a more glorious state as heaven comes down to earth. 

Until that day, there is a bright side to physical/spiritual connection. Christians have something greater within us to rely on than our own spirit (1 John 4.4). Christ promised “rivers of living water” within us and that he would “pour out his Holy Spirit” on all flesh. The Holy Spirit is the down payment and guarantee that Christ’s promises of resurrection and eternality are true (2 Corinthians 1.21-22).

Centering our hearts on Christ can change our visages, our vision, and our vitality. The Holy Spirit is an inner light for surviving the darkness and helping others lost within it.

The world’s current reality is not the end. Many biblical authors expressed dark emotions and experienced physical suffering as the culture around them degraded them and the structures of justice and righteousness were toppled by greed and grotesque pursuits. However, they also testify that there is refreshment for our souls and hearts in scripture.

The state of our hearts affects the rest of our lives. The one who feeds on the Lord, feasts even if his body starves. The one who fears the Lord can stand against fearful things.

Through the Holy Spirit, our brightened souls can put a gleam of glory on our faces no matter what darkness surrounds us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Show your goodness, O Lord, to those who are good and to those who are true of heart. — Psalm 125.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: When To Step Out Boldly

We must find when it is necessary for us to step boldly from the shadows and lay claim to Jesus

When To Step Out Boldly
Consider Supporting Our Work

Our ad-free content that brings biblical devotionals to inboxes across the world is donor supported. Join our donors today.

Supporting our Work
Posted on

A Culture of Mockers

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 23  Read: Proverbs 14 Listen: (3:45) Read: Mark 4 Listen: (5:01)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 14.6-9

6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, 

but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. 

7 Stay away from a fool, 

for you will not find knowledge on their lips. 

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, 

but the folly of fools is deception. 

9 Fools mock at making amends for sin, 

but goodwill is found among the upright.

Reflection: A Culture of Mockers

By John Tillman

The writers of Proverbs would have loved first generation Twitter.

In 2006 Twitter used SMS texts which had a 160 character limit. Twitter reserved twenty characters for usernames, leaving 140 for messages. (The previous sentence is 139 characters.)

The technological limit sparked a cultural moment for brevity. On blogs, news sites, and rival social media platforms, people posted thousands of words per day. “Tweets” were a tight 140 characters and were with you everywhere you could get a text, not just on a computer. Necessity made brevity the soul of the platform and a differentiating feature in the early days of social media.

That appreciation of brevity was brief. The old limits have stretched to 280 characters. The current site, X, sees longer posts as a value-add. They charge users a monthly fee for the privilege of being a “verified” premium user who can post up to 25,000 characters. (Our devotionals are 400 words and average 2200-2500 characters.)

But length does not automatically equal value when it comes to wisdom. Each phrase in Proverbs packs a punch. Proverbs is one of the most quotable (or “tweetable”) books of the Bible. The punchy phrases and well balanced opposites are intended to be memorable and meaningful.

The writers of Proverbs would find plenty of the people they called “mockers” on modern social media. I’m sure you have found them too.

“Mockers” in the Bible refuse instruction, scoff at knowledge, and hate correction. (Psalm 1.1; Proverbs 15.12) They reject wisdom and enjoy insolence and provoking anger. (Proverbs 21.24) If you call them ignorant, expecting to humble them, they’ll be proud. Mockers are those for whom cruelty is funny. They call empathy weakness. They call love being a sucker.

Our culture is rife with mockers, and social media algorithms love them. Mockers get highlighted and pushed to new viewers. Mockers are given power and influence. Mockers are praised, hired, applauded, and even elected. In our culture, it is easy to become a mocker. Proverbs helps us see a better way.

Instead of mocking, be discerning. Knowledge comes effortlessly to the discerning. Mockers search but never find wisdom.

Instead of rash falsehoods, be prudent. The prudent think ahead, taking care with words and actions. Mockers rush to tell lies, even foolish ones.

Instead of prideful unrepentance that scoffs at confession or recompense, admit wrongdoing and self-correct by making right what was wrong.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Let those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation say forever, “Great is the Lord!” — Psalm 70.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Faith After the Storm

Jesus commanding the storm is intimidating and disturbing. He is no longer someone we can shake awake and push around…

Faith After the Storm
Read more: Hardest Words to Say: “I’m Sorry”

Is it easier to smooth things over with certain people? What prevents you from restoring peace?

Hardest Words to Say: “I’m Sorry”
Posted on

Greed Versus Integrity

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 20  Read: Proverbs 11 Listen: (3:41) Read: Mark 1 Listen: (5:05)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Feb 21  Read: Proverbs 12 Listen: (3:07) Read: Mark 2 Listen: (3:55)
Feb 22  Read: Proverbs 13 Listen: (2:45) Read: Mark 3 Listen: (3:41)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 11.1-4

1 The Lord detests dishonest scales, 

but accurate weights find favor with him. 

2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, 

but with humility comes wisdom. 

3 The integrity of the upright guides them, 

but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. 

4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, 

but righteousness delivers from death.

Reflection: Greed Versus Integrity

John Tillman

Proverbs may feel like lists of unrelated aphorisms. However, most sections have common themes. Proverbs 11 repeatedly returns to greed and integrity.

The first verse proclaims that the Lord loves honest scales. The last declares the wicked and the righteous will receive “their due.” Before paying out what is due, God will weigh it out on honest and accurate scales. We anxiously await the rewards of integrity and long to see the greedy face justice.

To read, “The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead,” makes us expect a dramatic rescue or for trouble to fall on the wicked like pianos on cartoon villains. We long for verse 10: “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.” But often, the wicked rack up win after win while committing sin after sin. When is God going to pay out what is due? “How long, O Lord?”

Proverbs are primarily wise principles. The upright bless their city. The deceitful destroy it. (Proverbs 11.11) Pride brings disgrace. Humility brings wisdom. (Proverbs 11.2) These proverbs assume that there will be prideful, deceitful people who are acclaimed as wise and accumulate wealth. If these people did not exist, we would not need the proverb to remind us of their fate.

The implied promises of proverbs not only will come true, but are true now. God’s wisdom forms rules in our moral universe that are as inescapable as the rules of the physical universe.

As I type this and you read it, we are falling through space, pulled by gravity, orbiting the Sun. Gravity is pulling us down. (“Gravity,” Lecrae) We live in a solar system motivated by gravity. We cannot stop falling. We only manage how we experience it.

We also live in a system motivated by greed. The great powers of our world, the corporations, governments, and the mega-wealthy, orbit greed like planets orbit the Sun. Greed is pulling them down.

What can we do? How do we navigate a greed-motivated solar system? One way is with integrity. 

Greed and integrity are enemies. Integrity short circuits greed. Greed corrupts integrity. The principles of Proverbs teach us to resist the wicked gravity of greed and many other temptations. However, we cannot do it on our own. We need the intervention of divine wisdom and help.

God gives the wisdom we need. We only need to ask. (James 1.5)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; save your servant whose trust is in you. — Psalm 86.2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Listen to: In Medias Res

We all meet Jesus in medias res, in the middle of our lives, our troubles, our tragedies, our deserts.

Consider Supporting Our Work

We need donors like you to continue our work. Please consider joining our donors to support our ad-free biblical devotionals.

Supporting our Work
Posted on

Beyond Femme Fatales

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 16  Read: Proverbs 7 Listen: (2:21) Read: Psalm 37 Listen: (4:21)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 7.7-13

7 I saw among the simple, 

I noticed among the young men, 

a youth who had no sense. 

8 He was going down the street near her corner, 

walking along in the direction of her house 

9 at twilight, as the day was fading, 

as the dark of night set in. 

10 Then out came a woman to meet him, 

dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 

11 (She is unruly and defiant, 

her feet never stay at home; 

12 now in the street, now in the squares, 

at every corner she lurks.) 

13 She took hold of him and kissed him 

and with a brazen face she said:

Reflection: Beyond Femme Fatales

By John Tillman

The film noir term femme fatale came from French, meaning “deadly woman.”

Proverbs 7 reads like a classic 1930s film noir scene. Like Humphrey Bogart peering through the blinds of his detective office down on a dirty and dangerous city, the father looks down on his street. 

Imagine Bogart narrating…

The street grows dark. Wise folks hurry home before full dark falls. But a young fool walks towards a dangerous corner. Is he ignorant that the corner is frequented by Miss Temptation? Or does he know? The lady leaps out of the dark and grabs him, kissing him suddenly and seductively. Her smooth, sultry voice sings of food and pleasure. Like a lost puppy, he follows. Might as well be signing his own death certificate.

The father is demonstrating a particular temptation but the lesson is not intended to blame women for initiating sin or cast all women as temptresses. Both genders employ temptation and both fall victim to it. We must look beyond “femme fatales.”

We must also do more than attempt to avoid temptation. If the foolish young man had been home for Shabbat with his family, nothing bad would have happened. But that’s not enough today.

It’s not that we have no dangerous corners to avoid. It’s that dangerous temptations no longer stay on dangerous corners. Temptations leap right into our bedrooms and living rooms through our televisions, apps, and devices.

The recent NFL Championship broadcast set aside ten percent of advertising spots for gambling apps and sites such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and Sportsbook. These apps multiply gambling addiction by algorithmic addiction.

We don’t live in a film noir world where only the dark is dangerous and only the foolish are tempted. “Femme Fatales” of temptation such as apps, algorithms, Ai companies, and the paranoia factories we call political media are everywhere.

Temptation will grab you like a headline, an advertisement, or an algorithm. It will kiss you like a comfortable lie or false promise. What will you do? How will you resist?

The father says to make God’s commands part of your being. (Proverbs 7.1) The apple of your eye, the tips of your fingers, and the beats of your heart must be shaped by scripture. (Proverbs 7.2-3) You must also make Lady Wisdom your sibling. (Proverbs 7.4)

Only through scripture and the help of Jesus, our brother, can we resist temptation. Flee to him when you feel temptation’s clinging grasp.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

You strengthen me more and more; you enfold me and comfort me. — Psalm 71.21


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Listen to: Lady Folly

Wisdom is the guard against the places where seduction can bait a fool.

Read more: Justice Starts Within

Justice starts within. It doesn’t stop there.

Justice Starts Within