[Though questions for The Blessings of the Righteous January 27, 1015]

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

1. Introduction. A whole three months on the book of Proverbs? Plenty of advice awaits us on this journey. I apologize for being gone for so many months. First I ended up in the hospital and then rehab with a bad hip fracture, then my computers all went bonkers. But now I’m back, just in time to glean wonderful blessings from the study of a marvelous collection of proverbs in God’s Word.

2. Holistic Righteousness. What is the difference between “holistic” and “wholistic”? You can stir up a real argument on that question, but instead of that, can we agree that for this lesson, “holistic” refers to spiritual reality and leave the details to the scholars? In the first seven verses of Proverbs 10, the wise man’s proverb deals with the futility of false gain (v 2-3). How does God deal holistically with those who clamor for gain? After reading verse 5, can you come up with a spiritual application to the example of a “wise son” who “gathers” in the summer and another son who sleeps in the harvest?

3. The Mouth of the Righteous. Did you know that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body? Well, it’s not, according to scientists. The tongue is a combination of many muscles. But would you like to have the mouth (and tongue) of a righteous person? How different would that be from a “filthy” mouth or a mouth that is used carelessly? What function of the mouth did Jesus use with overwhelming power at Creation? Can God give us the wisdom to use our mouths to bless, to comfort, to lead? How?

4. The Hope of the Righteous. Read Proverbs 11:3. Do you believe that the good prosper and the bad waste away? Always? Eventually? Sometimes? How often have you heard a fellow Christian say that “God saved my life” or “It was an answer to prayer”? Do righteous people ever fail in their business or get a terminal disease? Are the wicked often prosperous and excel in other ways? What is the use of giving your heart to Jesus if you won’t get more of a reward than you would not even thinking about such things? Is it wrong for us to long for the final heavenly reward? What is our greatest hope as Christians? How will it be fulfilled?

5. The Truth of the Righteous. Your lesson authors have chosen to focus on the curse of lying in this lesson. Has anyone ever told you a lie? How did it make you feel? Remember when cigarette ads were packed with untruths? Or when elected officials were caught telling untruths? Are all lies bad? What if a lie is the only way you can get through a border to a foreign country? Is lying forgivable in those and other circumstances? What are the benefits of telling the truth no matter what?

6. The Reward of the Righteous. Imagine getting to know someone who has no faults and does not sin, someone who is without a doubt a “righteous” person. (Have you ever met someone like that?) Can you and I, who fall far below the standards upheld by that person, also experience righteousness? I stumble and fall just about every day. How can I be judged worthy of Christ’s righteousness? Suppose you set out to live a life filled with righteousness to the best of your abilities as you give them wholly to God. What is your reward?

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