Friday! Proverbs!

A foolish son is destruction to his father, And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.

Proverbs 19:13 NASB

The second part of this proverb is often used in disparaging ways regarding wives, but is it?

If someone repeats to you the same thing is a problem and you do nothing, maybe your hard heart is really the issue.

Where is your love response?

A constant dripping implies water is dripping somewhere and may well be an indicator of a bigger problem. That is simply being ignored.

And what of the first part?

If as parents we are ruined by the choices our children make, maybe we're putting them in the place of God. 

What's ruined?

My reputation. 

The family reputation.

What makes our reputation, our name, more important than the person?

We lose sight of the child trying to protect our reputation. 

Jesus was always about the person. 

If he cared about reputation, he would not have been born in a stable, or been born at all.

Jesus was always about the person.

When we wield a verse like this as a weapon we lose sight of the One who gave up his rights, who stepped towards us in love, and who gave up his reputation for us.

#dearlyloved

#childrenofGod

#lovelikeJesus

#seetheperson