Disciplined Disciples

Proverbs 11:1-31

1The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. 2When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

3The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

4Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. 5The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.

6The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.

7Hopes placed in mortals die with them; all the promise of their power comes to nothing.

8The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead. 9With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.

10When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

11Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

12Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.

13A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.

14For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisers. 15Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe.

16A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.

17Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves. 18A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.

19Truly the righteous attain life, but whoever pursues evil finds death.

20The LORD detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

21Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free.

22Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. 23The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.

 24One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

25A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. 26People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.

27Whoever seeks good finds favor, but evil comes to one who searches for it. 28Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

29Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

30The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. 31If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

Psalm 73:1-20

1Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

2But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.

3For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.

5They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 6Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.

7From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. 8They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 9Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.

11They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?”

12This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.

14All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. 15If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.

16When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply

17till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.

19How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!

20They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies

 Hebrews 12:1-13

    1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

    4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

6because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

    7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

    12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13“Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

For this meditation, I would encourage you to read straight through the selected texts in the order listed above and then take note of the following generalizations:

Note: Proverbs often describe what “ought” to be. The world ought to be well-ordered and working properly. It ought to be at peace with itself and its inhabitants. It ought to be defined by love for one another and the creator. But it isn’t.

Consequently, the book of Proverbs warns against folly and describes what folly looks like. In a perfect world, everything would be as it should be, by design. Alas, we don’t live in such a world and wisdom requires us to adapt and learn both from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others.

 So, we are left to puzzle over things like this: Why do the wicked prosper? And the righteous suffer? Why is my life so difficult? Does God hate me? Does God even know me? If God loves me, why am I suffering? Why doesn’t anyone understand me or include me or love me? Why do I feel lonely all the time?

Part of the response to questions like these is to reckon with the fact that our enemy is a liar. Our enemy is skilled at getting us to believe the lies embedded in some of these questions. Also, our lives are difficult because we aren’t the only ones dealing with wickedness and rebellion. All of us are struggling with the generalized consequence of the whole human race trapped in disobedience to the creator. Small comfort, I know.

However, the author of Hebrews has a different perspective for us to take to heart. We cannot lose sight of the fact that, no matter how difficult our life is right now, we are nevertheless “children of the living God” and that fact does not change. Consequently, we ought to reckon with the fact that the difficulties in our life might well be aspects and/or features of God’s discipline for our ultimate well-being.

“My son, (child) do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” 7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?

I realize it is a difficult truth to embrace, but it does give us a perspective and a purpose statement, which explains to both our injured soul and psyche why our experience of suffering or our life’s difficulties are also evidence of God’s “fatherly” love for his children. It has been my experience that once I could see a point to something that, initially, seems nonsensical (like suffering or hardship) I find it easier to work through the pain of it. When the ‘why’ of it gets answered, I can attend to the “what” or the “how” of coping and learning my lesson. Admittedly, it took me years to figure this out.

I have also discovered that doing so reinforces the admonition of Scripture that nothing can/will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. So we press on in good hope. We are the children of the living God...the path will eventually straighten out and become level, so rejoice, even through the tears. Our Father, who is in heaven, has not abandoned us. He has us firmly placed in the palm of his hand. So let's join with the saints of all ages, that great cloud of witnesses and sing the doxology as we press on.