30 Precepts of the sages (part 1)
I try to spend a good bit of time reading the Proverbs. Not exclusively, but with enough regularity that I am familiar with them and what they mean. In them is life and health as Proverbs 1 tells us. One part of the Proverbs I have been spending a little more time meditating on is the 30 Precepts of the Sages in Proverbs 22 and 23. I have stayed away, thus far, from getting to involved in commentaries and books on the subject. Instead I read them in different translations and let the Lord take the lead lectio divina style.
When I am working on something deep I usually take the time to write them out in the words that come to me in the process. I jokingly call it the NRCV (New Revised Carl Version). Writing it out solidifies what I am seeing, and possibly missing in the writings. Here are the first five. I will post the rest as I write them out. Please tell me if you see something that I am missing or if these speak to you in some way.
~Selah~
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1) Proverbs 22:22
Do not do anything willful that oppresses the poor. Simply because they are poor is not a good reason to use your resources and life circumstances to further their pain. God is a righteous God and he hears the cry of his poverty stricken followers. He is their number 1 advocate. Mess with them and he will take from you all your worldly possessions. Guess who will own them. Yep, the poor.
2) Proverbs 22:24
Do not keep company with those who are divisive in speech, quick to get angry and who let their temper and their appetite drive their ambition. Their temperament is contagious, and it will be a snare to you and your life. Keep your life on the path of peace, God honors those who are peaceful in mind and heart.
3) Proverbs 22:26
Do not make unwise financial decisions. Seek God in all that you purchase and all that you do. Do not take unnecessary financial risk on things that are fleeting and of little eternal value. The time will come when you have to pay up on the bets you made and the wagers you placed. If you are not wise you will have to pay those debts up and have nothing to show for it but your shirt on your back. A bankruptcy based on your foolishness will be in your future.
4) Proverbs 22:28
Do not make a deal with a partner, and do not renege on the deals your father made at any point in time. Do not change the stakes; do not take them to court. Honor your word; honor your father’s word. Do your part with excellence, and expect the same from them. Together, as neighbors and business partners you will not fail. You will have a God honoring business plan that no man can plunder.
5) Proverbs 22:29
Take the time to become friends with those who are more skilled at what they do for a living. Do not be envious, but study them, learn from them. In so doing you will also become productive and an employee of high esteem, and high value to the boss. An employee of high value looks after the boss’s interests and does not take the back seat to any person.
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