A Word To The Wise
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
A Word To The Wise
Today in “A Word To The Wise“, we will consider Proverbs 24: 10-12 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
Today’s words of wisdom call us to examine our motives and our actions when we fail to take an opportunity to do what is good. As a rule, we only tend to think of the inherently bad stuff that we do as being “bad”.
But real wisdom teaches us that the good things that we don’t do leave us equally at fault. From the Book Of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church we read these words from the daily Morning Prayer; “…we have done those things which we ought not to have done, and have left undone those things which we ought to have done…”
Christianity has long recognized the distinction between the two, but also the fact that they share common ground. Failing to do good when we have the opportunity is just as bad as doing evil when the temptation comes upon us.
Our words of wisdom speak to us on the first point about having strength. It is one kind of strength that helps us resist the urges to do evil to our neighbor and so transgress the Law of God. but it is a different kind of strength that helps us to push on to do what is good and right, even when we don’t really feel like it, or we have something else we planned to do. We are warned that if we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small or puny. The day of adversity is upon us every time we are faced with an opportunity to do good. Our adversary would like to fill our heart with reason or excuses not to do anything. Out own laziness may get in the way as well. For going out of our way to help other is just not what we are naturally wired to do. this is why the story of the Good Samaritan remains perpetually popular. We know him as a man who went out of his way to show kindness to a stranger who had been robbed and beaten. He even cared for him at his own expense. All this while he had other things to do, other errands on his plate. but he spared the time and the expense to do what was right for his neighbor.
The proverb goes on to declare that we should especially speak up for those who are treated unjustly, or who we know to be innocent but we allow them to be treated criminally just the same. ”Those who are drawn to death…” are the exact words.
If we fail to speak up, if we fail to show kindness, if we fail to aid, there is no excuse int he world that will justify us before our Creator. Note the solemness of verse 12: If thou sayest, “We knew it not” God knows the truth. he knows when we really did know it, but just didn’t care to do anything.
I am really reminded in this passage of the Christians’ obligation toward the unborn. next year will mark the 40th year since abortion was legalized on a national level in the US. Over 50 million babies have been put to death in this horrible abomination. We make Hitler’s regime look like amateurs. That figure is equivalent to the entire populations of Oregon, idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. If you look at a map, it is really graphic. is it any wonder that the socialist state is failing? We’ve slain fifty million would be workers, half of whom could be in the workforce by now, all for the sake of expediency. May God have mercy on us for what we have done. But if the proverb is right, he won’t forget if we fail to do whatever we can to deliver the next generation.
Will He not repay every man according to his works?
A word to the wise is sufficient.