Throughout January, I chewed upon the Proverbs like never before. As an aid in my study, I grabbed a pair of commentaries by Bruce Waltke. They are creatively titled The Book of Proverbs 1-14, and The Book of Proverbs 15-31 and are part of the NIV Commentary Series. I am grateful to these resources in helping me gain a deeper understanding of the wisdom the Proverbs were meant to impart.
I would like to share one note from Proverbs 29:8 that stood out as I studied. Before diving into Waltke’s notes on this verse, it would be helpful, to begin with, the text of the verse:
Scorners set a city aflame,
But wise men turn away anger.
Waltke’s notes on this verse contain the following:
“The mockers bring a community’s inner resentment against social injustices (e.g., cheating, favoritism, and nepotism) to a boiling point by laughing at the moral order, distorting the truth, and arousing people’s baser passions through heated rhetoric.
By contrast the wise turn back anger by addressing the issues of the human heart, not by proposing superficial measures that cover over the internal tensions. They call upon the community to repent of wrong-doing; to confront its difficulties while trusting the sovereignty and goodness of God; to seek the well-being of others, not of self; to speak with both calm reason for truth and with grace; and to act kindly and charitably toward one another.”
The scorner and the wise are known by their actions, which produce certain effects. It would make sense then to reason from our actions in order of effect to cause. What effects do we see flowing from our actions? This one diagnostic question reveals to us the state of our inner life, or at the very least the one that produced said effects.
If we look around and see chaos reigning, there is a good chance our actions have not comported with that of the wise. Wise and reasoned responses rarely produce the turmoil that sets cities and lives aflame.
I desire for my life to exhibit the actions and behavioral responses of the wise. I want the thoughts of those who know me best in life to be that I lived a wise life that honored God. That's the end for which I'm living. The insights above give aim to my flight. They paint a clear and bright bullseye for which to aim.