Two-liners...

Today: Proverbs 10-12

Most of us have heard of one-liners--those snappy comments that are funny or insightful (and sometimes both!). Today's passage had a lot of interesting two-liners, mostly about wisdom and foolishness. Here are a few that stood out most to me:

The more talk, the less truth;

the wise measure their words.

When the storm is over, there's nothing left of the wicked;

good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren't even fazed.

The stuck-up fall flat on their faces,

but down-to-earth people stand firm.

When you're kind to others, you help yourself;

when you're cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout
is a beautiful face on an empty head.

A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump;

a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree.

Fools are headstrong and do what they like;

wise people take advice.

Worry weighs us down;

a cheerful word picks us up.

Tomorrow: Proverbs 13-15

A brave heart

Today: 1 Samuel 25-27

Everybody loves a story. And since it's Valentine's Day, I thought it might be interesting to talk about a love story found in today's passage--the unconventional love story of David and Abigail.

When they met, Abigail was actually married to another guy--a foolish idiot named Nabal. Nabal stupidly determined not to treat David (a stranger) well, even though David and his men had protected Nabal's possessions. Abigail recognized her husband's folly. She was savvy. Without completely disrespecting her husband, Abigail approached David with food, an apology and wise words. Her bravery saved the life of her husband and her family and simultaneously saved David from committing a murder that he would have regretted. Let's review his words to her:

David said, "Blessed be God, the God of Israel. He sent you to meet me!
And blessed be your good sense!
Bless you for keeping me from murder and
taking charge of looking out for me.
A close call!
As God lives, the God of Israel who kept me from hurting you,
if you had not come as quickly as you did, stopping me in my tracks,
by morning there would have been nothing left of Nabal but dead meat."
Then David accepted the gift she brought him and said,
"Return home in peace.
I've heard what you've said and I'll do what you've asked."
When Abigail got home she found Nabal presiding over a huge banquet.
He was in high spirits—and very, very drunk.
So she didn't tell him anything of what she'd done until morning.
But in the morning, after Nabal had sobered up, she told him the whole story.
Right then and there he had a heart attack and fell into a coma.
About ten days later God finished him off and he died.
When David heard that Nabal was dead he said,
"Blessed be God who has stood up for me against Nabal's insults,
kept me from an evil act, and let Nabal's evil boomerang back on him."
Then David sent for Abigail to tell her that he wanted her for his wife.
David's servants went to Abigail at Carmel with the message,
"David sent us to bring you to marry him."

This story is interesting because it illustrates how, by walking in wisdom, Abigail was rewarded for her brave heart. By the end of this story, she moved from being the wife of a fool to the wife of a soon-to-be king.

But what would have happened if Abigail stayed silent?

Tomorrow: 1 Samuel 28-31