Superman

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And find out knowledge and discretion…

By me kings reign,

And rulers decree justice.

By me princes rule, and nobles,

All the judges of the earth.

I love those who love me,

And those who seek me diligently will find me.

Proverbs 8:12, 15-18

One of the best known fools of all time suggested that there is a separate morality that applies to those who would be the “supermen” of society.  These “supermen” are able to bend and even break the common wisdom and morality of God to achieve the best final end for the collective whole.  This idea was examined in the book Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.  In this book a man, who thought himself to be the “superman”, violated the clear wisdom and morality of God for what seemed to be the greater good (and his own greatest good, not surprisingly).  The rest of this stunning novel displays how the foolishness of man in imagining that he could rewrite God’s wisdom to attain a better and quicker end was pride and leads only to destruction.  God’s wisdom is universally applicable.  Whether in the workplace, in church, at home, in governing nations and in governing dog kennels.  God’s wisdom is without exception and violation of His perfect character is never a “shortcut” but only ever a path to destruction.

An Ox to the Slaughter

Immediately he went after her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

Or as a fool to the correction of the slaughter.

Proverbs 7:22

The sinful nature within the believer weaves a rich tapestry of deception and temptation.  Things that seems so clearly wrong and terribly can quickly become frighteningly enticing when we begin listening to the wrong sources and entertaining the arguments of evil.  Proverbs 7 is giving a clear picture of a woman who is tempting a fool to immoral sexual behavior; however, it also gives us a pattern of the way that our sin can drag us away as James wrote about in James 1:14-15:

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 

Our path to destruction begins by entertaining the arguments regardless of the fact that we know them to be in opposition to God’s character.  This is personified in the wanton woman of Proverbs 7.  She uses her volume and her feet (v. 10).  She enticed him with both religious language (v. 14), and personal flattery (v. 15).  She tempts him with sensory pleasures (v. 16-18).  She assures him that they will not be caught…it will be their little secret (v. 19-20).  It is easy to blame the temptress – but it is the man himself who chose to pass by her house at night (vss. 8-9).

A Husband's Fury

For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

He will accept no recompense,

Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.

Proverbs 6:34-35

Few wounds in life surpass that of marital infidelity.  Leo Tolstoy is said to have had an affair in his younger days and his wife still wrote about that event with bitterness and hurt decades later.  Human culture is at strictest odds with the character of God on this issue.  One such worldling produced the thought: “Just because I am not faithful to my wife and children does not mean that I don’t love them.”  This man could not be more mistaken.  There is no love at all for his family.  This attitude betrays the reality that this man loves only himself.  The same could be said of any who cross the lines of marital faithfulness.  They do not love their spouse, nor do the love the one to whom they are running.  They are using others for their own pleasure and advantage without the slightest concern for their well being.  How much more the wrath of the one who is the victim of such selfishness.  By God’s grace many marriages have been healed, and many have forgiven for these egregious errors.  Yet, make no mistake, the scars last for the rest of this lifetime on everybody involved.

The Lord Hates...

These six things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
Proverbs 6:16-19

Part of any successful marriage involves finding out what your spouse hates and avoids that thing, action or behavior as much as possible.  When we look at the seven things which the Lord hates we find that they are not matters of preference but serious character issues that grow out of the sin nature of any person who is not in a right relationship with God.  Note also that it is not just actions, it is the very character of the sin nature controlling a person.  Stated in the positive we can conclude what the Lord loves – humility, honesty, the peacemaker, the heart that plans good, and one who speaks honestly and positively of others.  This special pattern of “six things…even seven…” in the Proverbs is a way of highlighting the last item on the list.  In this case the highlighted abomination before the Lord is the one who makes problems between people.  The busybody, the gossip, the one who inflames others to disagreement or conflict.  If what is on television is any indication we can say with all certainty that we has people find conflict intriguing, interesting, and even fun to watch.  The Spirit of God will always be leading the believer away from these negative things which the Lord hates to the positive attributes that bring greater peace and concord among the brethren.