Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection. These five somewhat related sayings are about the way news is reported and used today. I hope you find them thought-provoking, or at least interesting, but please don’t fight over them!
“The news media has decided that the way to arrive at neutrality is to put two opposing voices together and let them yell at each other.” – Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
“In my experience, the more I know about a subject, the less I’m impressed with related media coverage” – Howard Marks, investor
“Most of Washington punditry is private letters, written to other pundits, appearing in public space.” – Christopher Hitchens
“The truth is, most of us read the news to gain ammunition, not information.” – Bill Haslam, former governor of Tennessee
“Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.” – Proverbs 11:12
Instead of my usual “quint of quotes” here are 5 Bible verses (a quint of verses doesn’t sound as good), one from James and the others from Proverbs that expand on the idea from James. Thanks to the ESV Study Bible notes for the idea.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” – James 1:19-20
“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” – Proverbs 10:19
“Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.” – Proverbs 11:12
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” – Proverbs 17:28
Reliable knowledge of good and evil is hard to come by, and the wisdom to follow it even harder. A well-known and oft-quoted Proverb is 1:7, which says:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
This Proverb tells us that we only gain useful knowledge, wisdom and instruction when we have an attitude of reverent respect for God, and that we are fools if we do otherwise. Fear of the Lord should be the rudder that guides us through the waves and storms that buffet us in this world. Every decision we make should have as its foundation: does this honor God? No other foundation is good enough for our lives to rest upon.
What’s left unsaid here in Proverbs is that we can’t expect this to come easy. We are constantly tempted to not fear the Lord in our minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, and day-by-day decisions. It’s hard, and not just because we aren’t perfect.
In the account of the serpent’s confrontation with Eve in the garden in Genesis 3, the serpent’s whole objective was to get Eve to make one decision that wasn’t based on fear of the Lord. “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?””[1] “The serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’”[2] Eventually he wore her down and she ate from the tree God told her not to eat from, all because her reverence for God had been worn down by constant criticism of God by the serpent. He wanted her to decide for any reason other than the fear of the Lord, to become a fool, and thus bring down humanity.
When we make decisions, are we always being guided by the fear of the Lord, or do we sometimes think “He didn’t really mean that”? If you’re like me, you find yourself constantly confronted by influences that oppose God. Are we foolish when we follow these influences? Yes. Do we do it anyway? Yes. Could there be a hostile spiritual influence pulling us in that direction? Sure, but it could also just be our own broken wills, prone to go our own way.
However, in 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul assures us that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” And if we fear the Lord, we will believe it.
If we fear the Lord, when we’re tempted, we will know that “he will also provide the way of escape.” We need to look for it and pray for it until we find it. When we do, God will remain in the driving seat of our decisions and knowledge and wisdom will be ours. He can overcome any of our temptations if we let Him and we fear Him.
Let the fear of the Lord be your guide. There is always a “way of escape.”
Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection, on the theme of personal responsibility and development. Please don’t take the last one literally.
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.” – Proverbs 19:3
“People could survive their natural trouble all right if it weren’t for the trouble they make for themselves.” – Ogden Nash
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Common prayer adapted from Reinhold Niebuhr
“Millions of people die every year of something they could cure themselves: lack of wisdom and lack of ability to control their impulses.” -Irving Kahn, investor who died at 109 of natural causes in 2015
“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.” – Matthew 18:8
The apostle Paul was likely one of the finest Old Testament scholars of his day, and sometimes draws on existing imagery to make a point. One example might be Proverbs 14:11-12, where the second verse is more widely known than the first, but not unrelated:
“The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Physically, it seems obvious that a house is far more durable than a tent, but both of these Proverbs tell us not to judge by appearances. Looks and reputation may suggest otherwise, but it is righteousness that determines eternal destiny, specifically acceptance of Jesus’ righteousness.
In 2 Corinthians 5:1-3, Paul gives an example of why we should focus not on what “seems right”, but instead focus on the unseen things that matter for eternity, drawing on the tent image:
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.”
Paul, defending his apostleship to the Corinthians amidst his suffering while other false apostles lived in ease, knew that an upright tent was better than a wicked house in God’s eyes, and therefore being less comfortable was entirely worth it, since there was an eternal reward waiting in heaven.
Commenting on 2 Corinthians 5, Warren Wiersbe notes that “Heaven was not simply a destination for Paul: it was a motivation. Like the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, he looked for the heavenly city and governed his life by eternal values.”[1]
When frustrated by your earthly limitations, or frustrated by discomfort in this world, know that we will not live in these tents forever. For His faithful, God is preparing an eternal dwelling for us. While it “seems right to a man” to think a house is better than a tent, every tent and house in this world is temporary. Hebrews 1:12 says of all creation, the earth and all the heavens, that:
“like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”
Do we long for our new, eternal heavenly dwelling? Does this longing motivate us to live for God? Let us keep Driving Toward Morning today!
[1] Wiersbe, Warren. Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians) (1994). P. 69.
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 