St. Maximos' Hut

30 I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

34 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.

This passage always gets to me. I'm probably a work-a-holic, so I'm not sure how I can also be a "sluggard". But there are definately parts of my life that are consistently covered with weeds, there if a stone wall in ruins (I think its somewhere in my garage). And some of these weeds could definately induce poverty.

So, I guess my problem isn't sloth, its time management. (Is there a connection?) Help.

Tom,

Thanks for this very thoughtful post.

It got me thinking...maybe the gap between verse 23 and the economic perspective is in the meaning of the phrase "sell it not." Andy can correct me on this, but usually when we sell something we give up our rights to it. So, according to this understanding if I sell you my car, I no longer can use it without your permission. But if I "sell" my students truth (along with alot of other things) in a lecture, I retain the right to use that truth again in the future. But if I sold the truth in the same sense that I sold you my car, I would not. Maybe this passage is warning us to not "sell" in the former sense, but not the later.

Another thing it might be saying is "don't put the "truth" up for sale to the highest bidder." That is, don't pretend something is true when it is not, just because it appears profitable to do so.

Which raises 2 questions.

1. As you say, if no one sells, (and it would be a violation of the Leviticus 19:18 to want others to do what we should not do ourselves) how can we buy? Perhaps "buy" here means "expend resources to require". Maybe its a recognition that "knowledge doesn't come cheap"?

2. Is "knowledge" a special kind of good - akin to a public good. Once I "sell" it to others, I can't be excluded from continuing to possess it (i.e. "know" it). Similarly, as you say, since our behavior is likely to reveal what we have learned, it is often difficult to exclude others from consuming it.

Perhaps this is why it seems to be under supplied!

[23] Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

The advice in verse 23 is very good. However, there are two potential flaws with it from an economic perspective. First, it is not an equilibrium. From whom are you to buy the truth if those that have it sell it not? Second, one of the essential insights of information economics is that your actions reveal what you know. So even if you do not sell the truth, if you act on the basis of the truth, you will reveal it to others. While this might not be advantageous for insider traders, it seems to be a good thing for Christians. After all, aren't we trying to reveal the truth?

Leveraged Buyouts

[7] The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

One of my favorite moments in Barbarians at the Gates is when Ross Johnson, CEO of RJR Nabisco, has dinner with Henry Kravis. One of the reasons that Johnson begins by opposing a leveraged buyout of his company is that the people that lend the money impose spending controls that could reduce his lifestyle. There is great freedom at the personal level, too, if one is able to avoid debt.

The Inner Ring

[29] Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

I was recently made aware of an essay by C.S. Lewis, "The Inner Ring", which shares the theme of verse 29. Lewis concludes, "If in your working hours you make the work your end, you will presently find yourself all unawares inside the only circle in your profession that really matters. You will be one of the sound craftsmen, and other sound craftsmen will know it."

On that note, I'm going back to being diligent in my business.

I'm traveling later today and will be on the road until Monday. Internet access is uncertain. May take a hiatus, who's got my back?

Lots in here, as usual to encourage and convict me. The one verse that stood out was:


28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
set up by your forefathers.

I'm curious, is this a call for the power of precedent? (Andy?) Does it place limits on the right to dispose of one's property?

Verse 2 addresses something I've struggled to achieve. It is natural to assume that when someone disagrees with you, that they are doing it to be frustrating and difficult. However, most people most of the time are truly attempting to do what they think is right. (And they might think that I'm being frustrating and difficult.) When I'm successful at taking the point in verse 2 to heart, it can be helpful in coming to successful resolutions to conflict.

[2] Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.




More intertextuality. Compare verse 3 with Micah 6:8. (Amazing how verses in Proverbs keep putting me in mind of some of my favorite verses elsewhere in the Bible.)

Much in here this morning to make me feel uncomfortable ...

23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps himself from calamity.

24 The proud and arrogant man-"Mocker" is his name;
he behaves with overweening pride.

are at the top of the list, but

13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and not be answered.

20 In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but a foolish man devours all he has.

26 All day long he craves for more,
but the righteous give without sparing.

especially when taken together, cut pretty close to home.

I suppose there is comfort in:

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD.

Tom,

Thanks for the encouragement. Glad you found something to help prepare you for my day. Whenever I start the day with a visit to Proverbs I find something to either help me with something on my schedule for that day (usually the more "deanly" events i.e. difficult meetings) or something to help me make sense of something that happened the day before. Lets see what today will bring....

Bill

Bill:
Nice idea, although it's always hard for me to be consistent about these things.

[3] It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
[5] Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.

I am involved in some discussions with faculty members about a contentious issue (essentially my job description as dean). I found verses 3 & 5 to be helpful in approaching those talks today.

Psalm 19 is a constant companion to me. Compare Psalm 19 verse 12, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults." with verse 9.

[9] Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

Tom

I’d love to hear what moved you in today’s reading.

Verse 28 (“Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure”) caught the eye of this political scientist. Perhaps this explains the decline in monarchical government. Unfortunately, “love and faithfulness” do not appear to be the two most important criteria for executive recruitment.

Possible tension between verse 28 and 30 might also be explored.

The two verses that spoke to me most clearly this morning are

7 A poor man is shunned by all his relatives—
how much more do his friends avoid him!
Though he pursues them with pleading,
they are nowhere to be found.

and

17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will reward him for what he has done.

They almost appear contradictory. The former states a sociological law - poor people will be treated badly by their friends and relatives. The later suggests that the Lord will reward those who violate this law articulated in verse 7.

Verse 7 is good counsel. We should take care to avoid poverty because we can not (should not?) count on others to rescue us. Verse 17 suggests that we should give generously to those in need.

Are these in tension or is wisdom to be found in the way they fit together?

Having been corrupted by a notoriously atomistic bunch (is that an oxymoron?) of Christians, we operate without the aid of a lectionary. One thing this “atomistic bunch” has noticed is that there are as many Chapters in Proverbs as there are days in the typical month. Similarly, there are 5 times as many Psalms as there are days in the month. In the former case this means you can just look at a calendar to choose the chapter of Proverbs you might read on any given day (Psalms requires a bit of math, so I won’t go into it here… but you can consider it a homework assignment).

Anyway, a little over a week ago, while standing around a fire pit, I mentioned this to Andy and Father Charles – both of whom run with bonafide Churches that are not lectionarily challenged – and Andy suggested that I post a schedule here so that we might read through Proverbs together and share our reflections regarding the same.

So, here we go. Today’s reading from Proverbs is Proverbs 19. Discuss.