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Proverbs About Boasting, Praising, and Wrath
July 12, 2014

Last week as we learned that Jesus died so that we might have independence. In all of his dealings with the religious authorities, Jesus exercised much wisdom, and the Book of Proverbs is a great place to read about wise practices. Today we will consider just three verses from the beginning of Proverbs 27.

Proverbs 27:1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

It is normal to be excited about the possibilities of what the near future may hold. We cannot allow the excitement of what might happen to override the fact that at the current moment, nothing has actually happened. Instead of boasting about what might happen, even if it seems likely to happen, it is best to reflect thankfulness to God after the fact, and prior to the event, to request God's blessing according to His will.

Proverbs 27:2
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Self-praise is to be avoided because we have a natural bias to be in favor of whatever it is we do. Most people are not critical of what they do and many are easily satisfied with their efforts. Any accomplishment is a success and those that are recognized by others, even complete strangers, are more meaningful.

Proverbs 27:3
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

Sometimes the hardest part of working with others is to deal with an angry fool, because an angry fool doesn't see the error in their way and are offended and what you have told them. Another proverb says sometimes we answer a fool according to their folly, and sometimes we don't; it all depends upon whether the fool is happy or angry.

Reading through proverbs is a great way to learn about some elements of wisdom from a Biblical perspective, and today, we have briefly considered only three from only one chapter.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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