God's Fortune Cookies

I may offend some people but I think the book of Proverbs is the orginal fortune cookie. Think about it... it's full of wonderful words of wisdom and instruction, gems so to speak. Solomon wrote it and his was the wisest person.

I love all parts of Proverbs, there are parts about raising kids, how you should treat others and words on relationships. But there is also a couple funny parts that make me laugh everytime. Proverbs 21:9 and 25:24 both talk about living on the corner of a rooftop than with a quarelsome wife. If you read those chapters, those two verses seem to be a little out of place. I can just see it: Solomon is writing his words and they are full of wisdom and instruction and all of a sudden one of his hundred wives is complaining because he didn't put the toilet seat down or he left his clothes on the floor or forgot to take out the garbage. I know in reality that probably isn't what happened but we experience it all the time in our lives.

How many times are we in our groove doing our thing and someone disrupts it and we get frustrated or we stop or stumble or get side tracked and it takes us a moment to refocus. How often do we do that with our faith and walk with God. I know I have faith ADHD- I am focused on God's plan with my life and something shiny comes along to distract me and have me lose my focus.

Another idea is sometimes it may be easier to retreat and live on the corner of the roof than constantly be fighting. A nagging wife (or person, issue, or sin) can keep us unfocused, not content and not able to enjoy the blessings that God has given us.

I do know that I have found focus and comfort in my times of need in the Bible but the most comfort or encouragement has come from Proverbs and each time I read it, I find new gems to discover and apply to my life.


What gems have you discovered?