Proverbial Giving
Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
By Rev. Randy Quinn

My dad is one of those “handy” men who can do almost anything with his hands.  Not only did he do all of the maintenance on our cars, I also remember helping him build more than one building – including pouring the concrete, framing the walls, installing the plumbing and electrical as well as the finish work on countertops.

He always amazes me, and I never doubted that my dad couldn't do anything he decided to do – although I'm not sure I learned how to do the same things.

I often worked alongside of him, but rarely did I do more than retrieve tools and hold things in place while he did the work.  (So I'm a really good helper if someone has work to be done – but, unlike my father, I can't nail a nail without bending it, I'm afraid to stand on a ladder, and I don't trust myself around electricity.)

I do remember holding the boards while my dad ran the saw – and he would often mutter as he did so.  One of the things he said is a familiar proverb to every carpenter I've ever met:  measure twice, cut once.

Measure twice, cut once.  These familiar words of wisdom came out of the experience of carpenters who cut in the wrong place – but they have application in numerous other places, as well.  “Measure twice, cut once” comes to my mind often when I'm making decisions.  I hear the voice of my dad reminding me to think things through before I act because too often we cannot undo an error.

We all have similar quotes that come to our minds in particular situations and settings, depending upon which ones we learned and when we learned them.  My children have heard some of them from me and I'm sure they will tell them to their children at some point in the future.

I don't think I could rattle off the whole list I've learned, however.  I could name a few off the top of my head, but most of them are tied to particular events or circumstances rather than sitting in a file drawer listed alphabetically.  Some of them you've probably heard – or said yourself:

Ø  Keep both hands on the wheel.

Ø  You have two ears and one mouth – so listen twice as much as you speak.

Ø  If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

Ø  You can't put toothpaste back in the tube.

 

The book of Proverbs is filled with short little statements like that – several hundred of them, in fact – set side by side with little or no thematic connections between them.  Most of them are stated as a turn of a phrase or a poetic couplet – often using the Hebrew poetry form of parallel ideas stated either in the positive or negative form.

Last week I suggested that they may have served as a sort of curriculum for teaching young people in Israel about the lessons of their forebears.  The proverbs were collected over a period of several generations before being put into writing and included as a part of the scriptural canon.

The Proverbs all seem to come from life experiences, however, “carpenter shop” experiences that have provided lessons in the past that are being offered to us in the present.  Assumed in the collection is a belief that there is an order to life, an order that comes from God, an order that is to be imitated.  The proverbs assume that small things in life matter – that what we see in our actions is a clear reflection of God at work within us.

The context for the original lessons may not be quite as obvious to us, but the applications of those lessons continue to be recognized several millennia later.  Our text for today is a sampling of those lessons, proverbs that can all be found in the same chapter that may have a common theme of the appropriate use of wealth and power:
 

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.

Pr. 22:1-2
 

He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

Pr. 22:8-9

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court,

for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.

Pr. 22:22-23

Now, I wish we knew the “carpenter shop” story behind each of these.

But we don't.  All we have is a list of the morals of the stories.

I can make some guesses about the stories, and I'm sure you can too.  I suspect, for instance, that someone spent a lot of time worrying about getting rich and lost all respect among his neighbors, leading some to observe that “a good name is more desirable than great riches”.

That lesson was taught to their children, much as my dad taught me about the importance of measuring twice and cutting once.

I can also imagine that someone, somewhere along the way, abused their position of power and authority.  Perhaps it was a member of the royal family or a leader in the community.  Perhaps it was a man who had employed several poor folks from the city on his farm in the country.

In the imaginary story, I can see him as he began to abuse his role and lost the respect of those around him.  If he later met an unfortunate demise I can imagine the sages would have put together a proverb to teach the lesson to their children as well as the children of important families in their society.  “Do not exploit the poor, for the LORD will take up their case.”

It's merely conjecture, to be sure.  But the proverbs seem at times to provide a paint-by-number portrait that is waiting to be colored in.

When you look at the whole of the book of Proverbs, you find there are a few common themes – among them are the importance of character and virtues as well as the warnings about vices and the temptations of money.  The lessons can be rather pointed and blunt; and sometimes they are told with a sense of humor and wit.

My problem with the book of Proverbs, however, is not the lessons that are there.  Very few of the proverbs rub me in a way that I find offensive.  What I find difficult about the Proverbs is that I personally learn better from hearing the stories than I do from listening to the morals of the stories.

I'd rather read twice as many stories and half as many lessons.  I want to hear the stories from the wood shop that led up to the proverbial sayings of the wise sages of Israel.

Unfortunately, all I have are the Proverbs themselves.

And the lessons in these few verses seem to speak about that common Biblical theme of money.  Money is something that the Bible addresses far more often than it does prayer or even salvation.  Money and wealth are spoken about both as evidence of God's blessings and as a dangerous idol.

Money itself is neither good nor bad.  But our relationship with money can be either good or bad.  Because, you see, money can easily control us if we don't begin with an understanding that God is in control of our lives – and our money.  And when money is in control of our lives, it is an unhealthy relationship; but if God is in control, our money can be used to glorify God and serve others.

How we relate to money does matter.  That's part of why we will be offering a course in personal finances beginning this week.  Money matters.  It matters to God how we use money.  It matters to me as your pastor, as your spiritual guide, how you relate with your money.  You see, our scripture for today say

Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.
Pr. 22:2; 9

When I decided on a theme for the sermons this month, I thought about proverbial living and proverbial giving as well as proverbial loving – which I'll address next week.  I use the word “proverbial” in the sense of exemplary, living and giving and loving in ways that serve as role models to others around us, modeled after the sages of Israel who teach us what God's desires are.

It doesn't happen overnight.  It doesn't happen after one sermon, any more than it happens after reading the Proverbs through one time.  It takes time to reflect on what the Proverbs say and to incorporate these teachings into our lives.

Friday night I was there when the Sports Complex was dedicated in memory of Stan Braksick.  As I reflected on that event, I was thankful for the privilege I had to know him and to see how his life in many ways lived out these proverbs.

His life was an example to us, and we have the opportunity to live them out as an example to those who will follow us – our children and the people we encounter in the places we work and the places we frequent.

It is God's desire that we be known for our giving as well as our living.

May it be so today and always.  Amen.