Daily Proverb (Ch. 17)
The book of Proverbs is nice because it has such great advice for our daily lives. This book is one that is better to read slowly and take in each verse rather than reading through a large chunk of it at a time. It’s also very easy to start reading the book of Proverbs. Since it has 31 chapters, you just read the chapter of the day that it is. This is not something that I do all the time, but I just remembered this recently and read Proverbs 15 and 16 and tomorrow’s chapter is Proverb 17. If you try this, take time. See how each verse applies to your life. I would recommend reading it out loud to help you stay focused and add in comments about how each saying applies to you. Here’s a few examples of how I go through some of the verses.
Proverb 17:15 says: “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.” What I find interesting is that often times, is that I spend more energy on students who are misbehaving during class while letting good students that are doing the right thing just slip my attention. It’s like I am more focused on helping the bad students be good rather than helping the good students feel acknowledged.
Proverbs 17:17 says: “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.” Is this true? Does a friend love all the time? There are times when a friend might be busy and might not be there for someone during a hard time. They are a “friend”, so maybe this verse should say good friend instead.
Proverbs 17:20 says: “He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.” Several times, I have heard students swearing and have justified it in my head, saying, Oh they just swear when they’re with their friends, but I’m sure they don’t do it in public. And I haven’t really confronted them about it. I am starting to see that even swearing, even though it might seem like a small thing, has the tendency to influence a person and a few negative words can lead someone down a worse path in the future. I should say something like this if I hear students swearing again. I’m not telling them not to swear because I said so and because it’s bad. I’m telling them because it’s not helpful to their overall representation of themselves.