Friday!

Proverbs!

Proverbs 6:1-2, 9-11 CEB

[1] My son, if you guarantee a loan for your neighbor or shake hands in agreement with a stranger,  [2] you will be trapped by your words; you will be caught by your words.

... 

[9] How long, lazy person, will you lie down? 

When will you rise from your sleep?  

[10] A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to lie down -  [11] and poverty will come on you like a prowler, destitution like a warrior.  

Proverbs 6:1-2, 9-11 CEB

As a parent it's tempting to use v9-11 as a weapon to get a child to get up, get moving.

However these Proverbs weren't written to children, and this interesting piece about a little folding of the arms leads to poverty stands in direct contrast to God's invitation into rest, to sabbath.

It seems that these v9-11 are connected to the opening premise of this chapter, where the person has made a mistake, an overcommittment, and needs a nudge to front up and sort it out.

The problems of our own making won't just go away, so get up, face up, before the consequences really hit. Proverbs is not a weapon to hit someone else with but an invitation into our own heart responses and offering guidance. 

So where do I have the power to shift something in me that will otherwise lead to financial, physical, emotional, social or spiritual poverty?

#proverbs 

#wisdom

#somethingtochewon