Tag Proverbs

“Whatever Works”?

Todd R 4 Comments

Proverbs in the Bible can be hard to understand, like many parts of the Bible.  Sometimes one proverb seems to contradict another, as these two seem to:

Photo by Jacek Dylag on Unsplash

“A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;
            wherever he turns he prospers.” – Proverbs 17:8
“Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,
            but he who hates bribes will live.” – Proverbs 15:27

What are we to make of this?  Can both statements be true and can both statements contribute to our growing in wisdom?  Of course, the answer is yes, or they wouldn’t both be there in the Bible.

The reason the two Proverbs aren’t a contradiction is that the first just tells us the way things are, but the second tells us the way things should be.  Said another way, Proverbs 17:8 is descriptive and Proverbs 15:27 is prescriptive.  The first makes no judgement as to the eternal value of bribes, but the second suggests that those who reject bribery will have eternal reward.  Both Proverbs are true, but in different ways.

Put the two proverbs together and we see that, even though bribes can be effective, God’s people should hate them.  Christians shouldn’t be pragmatic and do whatever works, but they should seek to do what is acceptable to God, even if it’s not effective in achieving worldly ends.

The wise should understand how bribes work, but the wise also know that “whatever works” often isn’t the right answer.

Marlboro Man Needs the Gospel

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Marlboro Man was a character used to advertise Marlboro cigarettes starting in 1954.  He became a cliché of a rugged man, often shown on horseback with a cowboy hat and some rope, confidently smoking a cigarette, and was portrayed by several different actors until 1999.  However, the origin of this famous ad campaign isn’t as well known.

Before the manly Marlboro Man manifested in 1954, Marlboro was sold as a feminine cigarette, with a red-colored filter at the tip.  Ads had phrases like “Ivory Tips Protect the Lips,” and touted that lipstick on the cigarette wouldn’t matter since it was red anyway.  But later, when the health risks of cigarette smoking came to light, Philip Morris & Co. wanted to sell Marlboro to men on the idea that filters made smoking “safer.”  However, given Marlboro’s feminine image – created through advertising – Philip Morris had to overcome that connotation, so the red tips were removed, and Marlboro Man was born as a way to sell Marlboro cigarettes to men concerned about lung cancer and other health risks.

Marlboro Man ad on a Warsaw, Poland building.

With hindsight, we know that filters don’t make smoking safer.  Ironically, and sadly, five different men who appeared in Marlboro advertisements died of smoking-related diseases, earning Marlboro cigarettes the nickname “cowboy killers.”[1]

Also with hindsight, we can see the massive power of advertising to shape our perceptions.  The Marlboro Man campaign is considered in the ad industry to be one of the best of all time, changing a “feminine” product into one of stereotypical masculinity almost overnight.  But the campaign also shows us that “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death”, as Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 say.  In this case, it was very literal death in this world.

To make Philip Morris money, the ads declared that smoking was not a “way to death,” but that it was “right to a man” to be like the Marlboro Man.  It’s not entirely unlike the line “the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist,” which was spoken by Kevin Spacey’s character in the 1995 movie, The Usual Suspects.  This line was a paraphrase of a line at least as old as the 1850’s.[2]

I recently heard a sermon where the pastor said, “the culture is trying to kill you,” and I don’t think it was an exaggeration.  Just as Marlboro ads first convinced people it was a feminine product, then turned on a dime to convince people it was a masculine product, without any real change to what was being sold, we’re all bombarded by dangerous messages every day, and many will only be seen in the broader culture as dangerous with the benefit of hindsight.  Smoking used to be considered normal.

I’m not writing this to condemn smokers, because we all have our bad habits, but to spotlight the importance of an eternal perspective.  Any culture is limited to the perspective of its leaders in that time and circumstance, and the pull of peer pressure is real.  Every culture in this world has “a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death,” but also every culture needs the gospel more than it needs effective advertising campaigns.

Therefore, as the apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:8-9 – “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.  Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

Marlboro Man needs the good news of the gospel, not condemnation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlboro_Man
[2] https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/03/20/devil/

Faithful Affliction

Todd R 2 Comments

Sometimes the Bible surprises us by explaining things differently than how our natural instincts would like.  In the case of Psalm 119:75, there are two words that we might not think of together:

“I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,
            and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

How often do we associate God’s faithfulness with affliction?  Don’t we usually associate it with our blessings?  Yet there it is: “in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”

Earlier, in verse 71, David wrote:

“It is good for me that I was afflicted,
                        that I might learn your statutes.”

Then he says the benefit he gets from learning this is more than “thousands of gold and silver pieces”. Since we benefit from discipline, would God be unfaithful if He did not discipline us?  Or do we only consider Him faithful when things seem to go well?

“My son, do not despise the LORD’S discipline
            or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
            as a father the son in whom he delights.” – Proverbs 3:11-12

He is faithful, always.  Even in affliction.  Perhaps especially.

Wisdom, “in Quotes”

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Corporate training booklets are great sources of interesting quotes.  I came upon this one from Greek philosopher Socrates (470 to 399 B.C.) in a training session on presentations: “The beginning of wisdom is the definition of terms.”  This makes a lot of intuitive sense because if people can’t agree on something as basic as definitions, it’s difficult to move forward.

However, I think there’s something even more fundamental – closer to the real beginning of wisdom -than the “definition of terms,” and that is: who gets to define the terms?  Doing that requires wisdom, so we can’t really be wise until we find someone worthy to define the terms.  Socrates probably considered himself a good candidate to provide it!  For most of us, in moments of honesty, we might admit that most of the time we are either trusting our own judgment, or maybe just improvising.

There’s another necessary factor.  If we find someone we can trust to define wisdom for us, but when it comes time to act we go against their advice, their definitions do us no good.  Therefore, we don’t begin to be wise without having the will to choose rightly.  Although we say we trust someone’s wisdom, by not acting on it we disrespect them, and perhaps Wisdom itself, by not following through.  We might have more knowledge, but not more wisdom.

So, I’ll suggest a better quote (there were no Bible verses in my training booklet).  In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, Solomon – another historical figure (like Socrates) famous for wisdom – wrote that:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
         and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” – Proverbs 9:10

Solomon neatly fills in what the earlier quote is missing, because:

  • There is a Holy One, whose very character of holiness is the definition of terms we need.  His decision making has no flaw and is trustworthy.
  • He is the LORD, who has authority, and uses it to lovingly advise His people on how to live wisely.
  • Fear of the LORD means that respect for Him is required for us to not just go off on our own, but to follow His perfect advice.  This fear turns the abstract knowledge into useful wisdom.

Wisdom ignored isn’t wisdom.  As I’ve written earlier, “Wisdom is about taking the right action, not about accumulating facts.”  The verses leading up to Solomon’s above saying are Proverbs 9:7-9, which say:

“Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
         and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
         reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
         teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.”

We cultivate wisdom by considering God’s works and His will for our lives (through the law and the Holy Spirit).  We cultivate wisdom by allowing Him to define our terms as only He can.  It is the presence of the fear of God – respect for His wisdom – that determines whether we scoff at correction (verses 7-8 above) or increase in learning (last verse).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
         all those who practice it have a good understanding.
         His praise endures forever!” – Psalm 111:10

The God of Intended Consequences

Todd R 1 Comment

Case studies, detailed write ups of real-life business situations, are a common teaching tool for business students.  From these examples, students are supposed to draw lessons for their own job and for management.  One case study I read covered Nordstrom; a large retailer famous for their strong customer service[1].  At the time studied in the case, Nordstrom had recently hired an up-and-coming manager with a strong track record and trusted him with a lot of power to run the business.  Since the purpose of a retailer is to sell things, management decided to pay every employee in every store more if they sell things.  Seemed to make sense.

However, there’s a thing called the “Law of Unintended Consequences,” or more simply, a lack of foresight.  In the Nordstrom case study, this Law led to disaster.  Employees stopped cleaning the store.  They stopped stocking shelves and organizing displays.  Customers couldn’t find what they wanted, but they were hounded by enthusiastic employees who were eager to sell them something (and get credit for it).  Instead of each employee doing what they specifically needed to do, they all swarmed around annoyed customers.

Photo by Viktor Bystrov on Unsplash

Not only did sales go down as a result, but Nordstrom damaged what had been its key strength of customer service.  This happened decades ago, and Nordstrom has recovered, but what an interesting story.  More recently, JC Penney had a similar disaster when they decided to back off their aggressive discounting strategy – the entire reason many people shopped there.  A lack of foresight can lead to disastrous unintended consequences.

Nordstrom’s problem was what economists call a “coordination problem,” where a group of people aren’t properly organized to achieve a goal.  Even if you have a theory that sales are the sole objective, making everyone focus on sales might not be the right way to coordinate.  As Yogi Berra apparently said: “In theory there’s no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is.”  Humans don’t usually behave the way theory says they will.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-11, titled “The God-Given Task” in my study Bible, says this:

“What gain has the worker from his toil?  I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with.  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

The point is the scope of man’s awareness, in his business, or economically.  Man works, and sometimes it looks like pointless toil, and sometimes it is beautiful.  But, as an image-bearer of God, man knows there is more to it – eternity in his heart.  Therefore, we have some sense of a bigger picture, but the whole picture can’t be seen, only bits of it.

God on the other hand sees all, and nothing appears as unpredictable chaos to Him.  His foresight includes all future circumstances, and everything is predictable.  In the movie Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum’s character explains chaos by putting drops of water on the back of someone’s hand and saying there’s no way of knowing which direction the water will flow.  But, when God watches Jurassic Park, he knows exactly which way the water would go.  Every.  Single.  Time.  And not because He’s seen the movie before.  We look at water and see chaos, but God looks at it and says “Peace!  Be still!”

Proverbs 3:19 tells us:

“The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;
            by understanding He established the heavens;
 by His knowledge the deeps broke open,
            and the clouds drop down the dew.”

Because the world was created with wisdom (and not by accident), gravity does what it’s supposed to do, photosynthesis does what it’s supposed to do, and likewise with many “laws” of science.  God as omnipotent creator orchestrates all those laws of science how He wants, but in terms of people He has the same raw material as the managers of Nordstrom.

However, God doesn’t get blindsided by anything, including but not limited to:
People not doing what they’re told – He can, and does, include this in His plan.
Second- and third-order effects of rules, such as employees not stocking shelves.
Theory that might not apply in practice.

Managers of your company or organization don’t have perfect foresight.  They can’t be certain that their strategy is correct, and they probably don’t know what every employee does on a daily basis, but God as CEO of the entire universe knows all and has a personal relationship with every member of the “company” – and all its competitors.

He has a plan, and while He doesn’t tell us the entire plan, He “has put eternity into man’s heart” that we may learn to trust Him and know that everything will be fixed in the end.  Therefore, dedicate more of your time, treasure, and talent to God and see what happens.  He intends that there will eternally be good consequences, and when He intends something, it happens.  Guaranteed.

Our God is the God of Intended Consequences.

[1] I can’t find the case online or in my files so I’m going from memory here.  Forgive me if I go astray, or if you work at Nordstrom.