September 27, Proverbs 23
But surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. - Proverbs 23:18
The text sounds encouraging, doesn't it? The second half of the verse enhances the positive, encouraging sense of the words, that in that certain future, "your hope will not be cut off." But this line about a future that is surely coming falls in the middle of a chapter filled with warnings (with more than half a dozen "do not" instructions). Could it also fit the context of these multiple warnings that surround it? Let's meditate on this for a few minutes.
Among other matters, the wise father warns his son not to make getting more money the focus of his life (verses 3 and 4). He tells him that money has a way of sprouting wings and flying away, an apt poetic expression of a phenomenon most of us have experienced.
The discerning parent also warns his inexperienced child to respect the property rights of other people and not take advantage of weaker people around him (verses 9-10). He reminds him that when you take from such weak ones, they have a strong Redeemer who will "plead their case against you." That capital R Redeemer is God, watching out for disadvantaged people and taking vengeance on those who would take advantage of them. You get the point, don't you? A big kid takes a little kid's ball away on the playground, just because he can. But an even bigger kid, who happens to be the offended little kid's older brother, comes and persuades the ball thief to return the stolen ball to its rightful owner. When we grow up, the stakes get higher. The persuasion may become more violent or litigious. (That last one means, "You'll be hearing from my lawyer and we'll see you in court.")
He warns the young parent to not withhold correction from a child, even if it is unpleasant to correct them. A child left without needed correction will come to much worse harm than a little timely, appropriate corrective disciplinary action.
He reprises the warnings from earlier chapters about the dangers getting sexually involved with someone he has no right to be involved with. He reminds him again that some very bad things lie at the end of following that impulse. Wisdom warns us about drinking alcohol. He had already called alcohol a mocker, a brawler and a deceiver back in 20:1. Here he presents an extended picture of the warning. He shows the kind of calamity that drinkers are in danger of suffering, no matter how appealing it may be in the present moment.
So, in the middle of all that, the counselor advises, "Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off" (verses 17-18). When paired with the verse immediately preceding it, our text becomes clearer. The fact of the future is not either encouragement or warning, it is both encouragement and warning. The sinners we may envy have a sure future, but not a bright one. If we ignore the wise warnings like those found here, there is a sure future ahead for us as well, and we will not like it when it comes. But if we heed the warnings and make wise decisions to avoid temptations, there is an assured future full of hope for us. When our reverential fear of the Lord guides our decisions and restrains our conduct, it may seem like we're missing out on some fun, pleasure or excitement. But when the future comes, we'll be glad we were blessed to know God's will and given the opportunity to live in a way that leads to a better, brighter future.
The credit card company advertisement asks, "What's in your wallet?" If a stranger on television can ask you such a personal question, maybe it will be ok for me to pose another one to you. Based on your attitude toward God and his wise counsel for your life today, what's your answer to the more important question: "What's in your future?"
Copyright © 2021 by Michael B. McElroy. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—September 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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