Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

TUESDAY AUGUST 4


WEB WISDOM

READ:
Proverbs 26:21 NLT
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A quarrelsome
person starts
fights as easily as
hot embers light
charcoal or fire
lights wood.
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Scroll to the bottom of many online news sites and you'll find the "Comments" section where readers can leave their observations. Even the most reputable sites have no shortage of rude rants, uninformed insults, and name_calling.

The book of Proverbs was collected about 3,000 years ago, but its timeless wisdom is as up-to-date as today's breaking news. Two proverbs in chapter 26 seem at first glance to contradict each other, yet they apply perfectly to social media. "Do not answer a food according to his folly, lest you also be like him" (v.4). And then, "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes" (v.5).

The balance in those statements is in the "according to ": Don't answer in the way a fool would answer. But respond so that foolishness is not considered wisdom.
My problem is that the foolishness I encounter is often my own. I have at times posted a sarcastic comment or turned someone else's statement back on them. God hates it when I treat my fellow human beings with such disrespect, even when they're also being foolish.

God give us an amazing range of freedoms. We are free to choose what we will say, and when and how we say it. And we are always free to ask Him for wisdom. __Tim Gustafson

**Things to keep in mind: is what I am saying true, and is it loving?
What is my motive? Will I help anyone? Will this reflect the character of Jesus?
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Let love be your highest goal.

*********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Proverbs 26:1-12*****************************
1 As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so honor is not
fitting for a fool.

2 Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse
without cause shall not alight.

3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for
the fool's back. 4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
lest you also be like him. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes. 6 He who sends a message by
the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.

7 Like the legs of the lame that hang limp is a proverb in the
mouth of fools. 8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling is he
who gives honor to a fool. 9 Like a thorn that goes into the
hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools. 10 The
great God who formed everything gives the fool his hire and
the transgressor his wages. 11 As a dog returns to his own
vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. 12 Do you see a man wise in
his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>
The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament
(Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, song of Solomon) is Hebrew
poetry that uses a variety of poetic devices. In today's reading,
metaphors and analogies are used. The foolish person is compared
to weather that is inappropriate for the season (v. 1), an animal that
needs to be constrained (v. 3), a leg that is useless (v. ), and a sling
that is powerless (v. 8). These comparisons warn about the self-
destructive nature of foolish choices. __Bill Crowder