Proverbs 1:3: Living at a higher standard (or failing to)

“to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;”
-Proverbs 1:3

I was supposed to be rock climbing right now. Which, if you know me, has probably already made you laugh. Hey, I was going to give it a try. Truth is, I woke up rather ill today and didn’t even make it through the day. Besides that, I was having plenty of conflict in my personal life, and it was just the wrong day for it.

When I got home I (early, because my manager sent me home), I really just wanted to sleep. Proverbs was rather far from my mind at the time.

It just seems sometimes that the little details just jump in the way, and it makes it impossible to consider the larger issues. When I finally did look at my verse for today, I realized just how far off the mark I had been today.

Not that I was particularly unjust or unwise. Maybe I was at times, I really can’t say. I’m only saying that it wasn’t my goal today. This silly cold, as minor as it was, got me looking at the ground.

When I was leaving work, I realized that I hadn’t prayed since this morning. With everything going on right now, that’s probably something I should have been doing from the start.

Solomon reminds us that our eyes should be cast a little higher. He gives us a few more purposes to Proverbs in this verse:

“wise dealing:” I like the ESV translation here, because too often this word is translated “wisdom,” which is the same word from verse 2. But it is a different word in Hebrew, and it has a slightly different meaning. This does not just speak to our ability to judge correctly, but if we live that way. It’s one thing to know the right way, it’s another thing to walk it. “Prudence” would be a good translation here.

“righteousness:” There is a slight distinction between living “wisely” and living “righteously,” and this latter term speaks specifically of the moral rightness of our actions. To be “prudent,” as the last term could be translated, is to have discretion, wisdom. Here we are not just prudent, but living rightly. You can walk wisely in the wrong direction, and you can be reckless in righteousness, but Solomon asks us for both.

“justice:” “Justice” speaks of our actions toward others. We are supposed to treat others with righteousness, not just ourselves. I’ve known far too many people who sought to live correctly, but didn’t care a bit about the people around them. They had no justice.

“equity:” We should be fair and equal in our dealings. To paraphrase Jesus, what good is it to only love those who love us? Everyone does that! We can be just with our friends and treat our enemies like dirt, but that is neither loving nor fair. Solomon desires our righteousness to be consistent with everyone.

Solomon tells us right off the bat that these are things that should be occupying our hearts. These are things we should be seeking.

How quickly I get concerned over the things of this world. How quickly do I forget to pray during hard times. How quickly do I worry about fixing a problem and forget to be fair and just when doing it.

I am thankful for the reminder that Solomon gives us in this verse. I am thankful that he is here urging me to look up to higher things. If only I had remembered earlier, perhaps I would have been a better example today.

I am thankful also for the reminder of how much I need Jesus. Such a little thing like a cold caused me to turn within myself and forget, for a moment, the great things above me.

Like Peter, when my eyes are on Him, I feel as though I can walk on water. But then I look down, and I start to sink. The great thing about Jesus is that He will always catch me.

And with His help, I will be able to stand tomorrow, even though I may have stumbled today.