Intro — Seeking True Wisdom
Today’s Reading — Humility Before God
Scripture:
Proverbs 30
1 These are the sayings and the message of Agur son of Jakeh. Someone cries out to God, “I am worn out, God, and I don’t have any strength.”
2 I am more like an animal than a human. I don’t even know how to think.
3 I have never learned about wisdom, and I have no knowledge at all about God.
4 Who has ever gone up to heaven and come back down? Who holds the wind in his hands? Who wraps up the sea in his coat? Who has control over the world? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Tell me if you know!
5 Everything God says is true, and it’s a shield for all who come to him for safety.
6 Don’t change what God has said! He will correct you and show that you are a liar.
7 Two things, Lord, I beg you to give me before I die:
8 Don’t let me be a liar or a dishonest person. And don’t let me be so rich or so poor that I ask for no help or steal.
9 Give me just what I need.
10 Don’t talk about a servant behind the master’s back. The servant will curse you, and the master will punish you.
11 Some people curse their father and even their mother.
12 Others think they are perfect, but they are stained with sin.
13 Some are stuck‑up and act like snobs.
14 Others have teeth like swords and jaws like knives. They destroy the poor and homeless.
15 Greed has twins named “Give me!” and “Give me!” There are three or four things that are never satisfied:
16 The world of the dead and a childless wife, the thirsty earth and a flaming fire.
17 Don’t make fun of your father or disobey your mother. The birds will peck out your eyes and eat you alive.
18 There are three or four things I cannot understand:
19 How eagles fly so high, how snakes crawl on rocks, how ships float, and how people fall in love.
20 A woman who is unfaithful to her husband says, “Sleeping with another man is as natural as eating.”
21 There are three or four things that make the earth tremble:
22 A slave who becomes a king, a fool who eats too much,
23 a hateful woman who finds a husband, and a slave who takes the place of the woman who owns her.
24 On this earth four things are small but very wise:
25 Ants, who store up food during the summer;
26 badgers, who live among the rocks;
27 locusts, who have no king, but march like an army;
28 lizards, which can be caught in your hand, but sneak into palaces.
29 There are three or four creatures that really strut around:
30 Lions, the strongest of all animals and afraid of none;
31 roosters, goats, and warriors.
32 If you are foolishly bragging or planning something evil, then stop it now!
33 If you churn milk you get butter; if you pound your nose it bleeds; if you stay angry, you cause trouble.
Reflection:
True wisdom begins with humility. What would it look like today to depend on God rather than your own understanding?