Three Verses

Proverbs 17:4-6

“A wicked person listens to malicious talk; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.  The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished.  Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers.”

I’m sure these three Proverbs verses do not tie together, but each needs to be looked into and discussed.  “A wicked person listens to malicious talk; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”  Not a day passes that my email is not full of stuff that is passed on to me from church people who I like and yet they are sharing information that only supports one side of the issues and often is not verifiable and sometimes not accurate.  At best it is disturbing, it sure is not uplifting nor does it make one want to do as Christ commanded, to love your neighbor as yourself, or love your enemies.  I am also guilty of sharing information that was passed on to me, but now I am saying if I do not know, this may be one big lie, I’m not sure, but it is funny, or it looks correct.

“The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished.”  We all have one Creator, and yet many do not have good models and make a bad decision.  Both will affect how a person ends up in life, but others allow the color of ones skin or the environment they grew up in to control what they become.  It is a choice for the person, but for us who are in Christ, it is not a choice of how we respect and love those who are poor.  No more than it is to turn our back on those who have had some calamity in their lives.  At Oakwood we have a saying, “IE” Intentionally Engaging our Community with the love of Christ, it is simple, and it has much to do with those who are under-resourced or have had some calamity.  I also have had the joy of serving with Samaritan’s purse, after a flood or storm, and their goal is helping in Jesus Name.

“Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers.”  I’ve often been in denial on many things about life and age may be one of them, in that I’m blessed with a healthy body and a mind that can still work most of the time.  With that said, a few years back at a Hampton Inn in Fort Worth, Jan and I got locked out of our room and could not get back to our stuff.  It is 10 p.m. and it is a family reunion of people who most have a few years on us and we like them are ready to go to bed.  The lady at the front desk comes up to help and has a machine that will open the lock, but it also does not work, and it is now passed eleven and we just want a toothbrush and a bed.  So I go back to the front desk and ask if she can give us the items we need and a room to sleep in and the lady calls her boss to ask for permission.  Now why am I sharing such information with you, it is what came out of the ladies mouth, she told her boss, I have this elderly couple that is locked out of there room!  My first thought was we are not the only ones; this new system of locking doors must not work very well.  So I looked around, and it was me she was talking about, and she looked like she was within ten years of my age; I ’ve gone from being kind to very upset, I’m sure not elderly.

When it comes to grandchildren, they can call me whatever, what a joy they are, Jan and I have two of the finest young men on planet earth.  And I’ve been blessed to have a son-in-law who loves God and my daughter and those two boys.  I do believe they are the pride of his.  And as mother always said, that’s good pride, not the kind that gets one in trouble with God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice