This project has changed the way I read the Bible. I’ve never before taken it to pieces and thought about each verse with the same level of intent to get the meaning. I took the first five, memorised them (I have a trick for that which I’ll post about tomorrow), and then thought about them in the time since I last posted about proverbs.
Apart from the insight I’ve gained, I also feel like I’ve eaten a really good meal. Mentally. It’s the best feeling ever! I feel like I’ve been given some really good, sturdy, trustworthy advice and I feel … safer.
Reading from the first five verses of Proverbs 10:
My favourite out of the five is “Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.” What caught my attention was “treasures” and “no value”. Treasures are valuable, that’s why we call them treasures. But this proverb says that how you get the treasures determines how valuable they are.
The second half of the proverb interested me too. Normally, proverbs are split into two parts which have a kind of symmetry. For example, verse 1 says that a wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish one grief to his mother. (Pretty obvious: behave well and your parents are happy. Act like a moron, and they’ll worry about you). There’s a symmetry between father/mother and joy/grief — a pairing of opposites.
In this proverb, however, the two parts don’t seem connected, even though they’re joined by “but.” You’d expect it to say, “ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness is more valuable than pearls” or something. I don’t know why it’s been structured this way, but it made me think about it more than the other proverbs, so perhaps that’s why — to draw attention.
What this proverb is saying is don’t pursue something you want in a wrong way, and that righteousness protects. Righteousness is an old fashioned word. It means doing the right thing. Being good. Not cheating, but being honest. It’s a really broad word, it covers all areas of human existence: relationships, employment, business transactions, sexuality, you name it. (We’ll find a lot more about righteousness as we read on).
Let’s say someone starts a business, and in order to make it grow, exploits their employees. Doesn’t pay them right. Doesn’t look after health and safety. Whatever else. Maybe that business is very lucrative, but what they’ve actually created is “of no value.” Value here isn’t just a monetary thing, but a moral thing. The organisation is built on injustice.
This example raises the question: which has the greater value, money, or the people who work for you?
Treat your employees right, on the other hand, and they’re more likely to work better, instead of quit, and people are more likely to want to work at that company: an example of how righteousness protects.
I also liked the third one. It says that God will look after people who act righteously. It’s not a principle, as in some formula or observation about life. It’s a promise. For this one to work you’ve got to trust God, which isn’t an easy thing to do! How do you trust an invisible being that may or may not be there? (Let’s be honest: faith isn’t the easiest thing at times, is it?!).
I like it because it’s not just a principle you can apply to life, like “work hard” or “do the right thing”. It’s talking about a personal relationship, which is the basis of Christianity (and Judaism, apparently, since our Bible is three quarters Jewish, let’s not forget).
To scoot over the other two: laziness makes you poor, but diligence makes you wealthy. That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it. “Get rich quick” schemes don’t work. Winning the lottery is often the worst thing to happen to someone who doesn’t know how to handle money. This proverb says that you make money through taking care of it properly and responsibly. No shortcuts!
The last one: if you don’t help out your family when you can, you’re a disgrace. Wow. Check that out for blunt!
At the end of this first foray into scripture, I feel built up, more mature, and better able to deal with life. The inside of my head feels cleaner, too. I have got a surprising amount out of just five sentences. I’m looking forward to the next five.
