Understanding Proverbs

As I've been going through this Old Testament book, I've been thinking about how much it informs the mindset and teaching of Jesus and the writers of the New Testament. Although Proverbs can sometimes be a bit of a challenge to read through chapter-by-chapter, because of it's bitty nature and it is quite repetitive with lots of different strands and trains of thought, when you do look at the book systematically, a really clear worldview emerges. I think this is key to understanding Proverbs today, and not just looking at it as a bunch of random quotes or pieces of advice.

The biblical worldview as shown in Proverbs mainly covers the areas of justice and sin. The principles clearly taught in the Old Testament law find memorable illustration and examples in these short, pithy sayings. Just as a preacher can really stun you by bringing home some biblical truth with a well-chosen picture, Proverbs is perfect for bringing to life biblical principles in action.

Justice
A key theme on my heart at the moment! The writer(s) of Proverbs have a really clear understanding of God as a just God and therefore he has utter confidence that evil will be punished, truth will out, and the righteous will be vindicated. 'He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints.' (Prov 2:8) 'It is a joy for the just to do justice, but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.' (Prov 21:15) It is a real temptation for God's people to envy those who seem free from moral restraint, who indulge in sinful pleasures and sometimes seemingly without consequences. But many proverbs remind us that there is a price for sin, and it doesn't pay. 'Do not let your heart envy sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the Lord all the day; For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.' (Prov 23:17-18)

Sin
Proverbs exposes the very nature of evil and sin as something at the heart of us, not just limited to the actions we commit externally. Proverbs changes the way that we think, because it constantly emphasises that our thoughts make us who we are. People's actions in Proverbs are linked back to their thoughts; and motives are seen as crucial when the Lord looks at us and weighs up our deeds: 'The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.' (Prov 17:3) The father urges his son 'let your heart keep my commands' and to write mercy and truth 'on the tablet of your heart' (Prov 3:1,3). One of the most famous verses in the book says 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding' (Prov 3:5). The message is clear: if we get our hearts right, then our thoughts and actions will be pleasing to God. God hates 'a heart that devises wicked plans' (Prov 6:18). The many passages about the dangers of a seductive woman warn the hearer to not lust after her beauty in your heart (Prov 6:25), because that will soon lead to physical adultery. The overall message of the book is 'Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way.' (Prov 23:19)

This is not to say that we can somehow achieve our own salvation by changing ourselves and becoming 'good' people. But as believers, part of God's chosen people, washed clean from sin, we do have a divine calling on our lives to be righteous (see 2 Peter 1). The distinction the Psalms so often make between the righteous and the wicked reflects this (see Psalm 1). The descriptions of men like Noah and Job as righteous also indicate that there is a righteousness the people of God can possess through the power of His grace and Spirit.

Proverbs gives us a healthy reminder that our thoughts and actions matter greatly to God; He despises hypocrisy, and He calls for us to live in purity as He is pure. Reading through the book, I've felt challenged to care a lot more about my thought patterns and see that as who I really am, rather than the pretty good Christian I project to the world through being a very 'respectable' person. If I look purely at the person I am around other people, and my actions, then I can kid myself that I'm doing pretty well at living the Christian life. It's when I dig deeper and look at my heart, that I am forced to confront the ugliness of my motives, my pride and my envy of others, that all too often I skilfully mask. Proverbs urges me to get to the root of sin and cut out these evil thoughts and eradicate them from my mind, and only then can I really be the person God wants me to be.

Journey to Justice Part 4: The fabric of exploitation

The more I've read about issues of exploitation such as human trafficking and forced labour, the more I've realised that these issues can't be examined in isolation. The factors which make up the circumstances which drive people into slavery all contribute to the fabric of exploitation which is all around us, every day. The problem of poverty and desperation is not going away. Wars and conflicts create refugees and internally displaced peoples, who become desperate for means of survival, and outside the protection of laws for civilians. The rate of child labour has apparently doubled in Lebanon since the conflict in Syria has created an influx of refugees. The International Labour Organization (ILO) study 'Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour', found that forced labour reaps at least $150 billion in annual profits for businesses around the world. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why 'despite decades of increasing global awareness of child labour, and the forced labour of children and adults alike, the world is still so far from stamping it out.' (Kielburger) Kielburger argues that western consumers just don't ask enough questions about where products come from. He argues that the more pressure companies feel from customers, the more attention they will pay to ethical sourcing.

Just a quick search on Google brings up some fairtrade clothing sites and they don't seem overpriced:
http://www.fabandfair.co.uk/
http://www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/c-232-fair-trade-and-organic-clothing.aspx
http://www.peopletree.co.uk/

This site provides links to fairtrade products available at major high street retailers and supermarkets:
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products/cotton/stockists.aspx

It's no longer a niche product that's hard to find, but buying fairtrade clothing will probably result in a change of habits - not just popping into town and picking the first thing off the rail. I'm challenged to change!

Journey to Justice Part 3: a voice for the voiceless

'Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.
Speak out in order to judge with righteousness
and to defend the needy and the poor.' (Proverbs 31:8-10)

I would love to think that our society is progressive, that our history may be full of primitive blood lust and violence, but that we've become more civilised and just over time.

I don't want to undermine where progress has been made, such as various reform acts passed to protect children in the Victorian era, or Wilberforce's abolition campaign in the C18th.

But the fact is, we create laws to justify the unjustifiable. The Abortion Act made abortion legal if two doctors agree that an abortion would cause less damage to a woman's physical or mental health than continuing with the pregnancy. The majority of abortions carried out are done on the basis of mental health. However, there is no real recognition that abortion actually creates mental health problems, as this truth is rather inconvenient for 'women's rights' and all the other 'pro-choice' arguments (though I would say that many women who have an abortion don't really feel they are making a 'choice' at all, but acting in desperation in difficult circumstances). The increasing number of post-abortion counselling services testifies to two generations of women who have used their 'right' to abort and lived with terrible feelings of loneliness, depression, guilt and shame afterwards. Medical terminology may dismiss an early-stage pregnancy as nothing more than 'tissue', but at 8 weeks' pregnant, your baby is 2cm long, complete with fingers and toes and a heart beating at around 160 beats per minute. I went through a miscarriage where the baby stopped developing at 8 weeks. The loss of this 'tissue' was utterly devastating and I know I am not alone in experiencing that pain. Obviously I didn't choose to miscarry, but does a woman with a crisis pregnancy who makes that decision to abort at 8 weeks really understand how she will feel afterwards?

The unborn child is totally dependent on its mother to protect it, and abortion violates that natural principle, that instinct, of motherly protection.

I know this is a sensitive issue, but I can't stay silent on it.

The sad fact is, that we use laws to supposedly protect and prevent (eg. people arguing that back-street abortions result in much more harm than if abortions can be made legally available) when they are just to make things more convenient. Around 40 women died per year through illegal abortions before the 1967 Act. Since the Act was passed, the number of abortions per year has risen to over 200,000 in the UK. Yes, we've saved those 40 women per year... At the cost of how many unborn lives?

I would apply the same principle to the sex industry. We want to protect prostitutes, and in the UK prostitution is legal, but soliciting and running or owning a brothel are crimes. Many brothels operate through legitimate businesses, licensed as saunas or massage parlours. A recent study found that 40% of prostitutes in the UK are foreigners from Eastern Europe or South East Asia- prime locations for young girls to be trafficked and exploited due to their poverty and corrupt policing. What fuels our appetite for the sex trade? Pornography. And this 'legal' so-called art form or means of sexual expression has so spiralled out of control that suddenly politicians are starting to panic and try to ban certain forms of it. This quote sums it up well for me:

'Pornography... (serves to) normalize and sexualize violence and dominance and portray women as constantly sexually available. It conditions consumers to separate sex from relationships, human connection, intimacy, and proximity (as in, sex isn’t about being near someone, it’s about being isolated and alone.) In essence, it feeds the flesh and starves the soul, bringing about no real fulfilment, only hunger pangs you no longer know how to satisfy.' (Hope for the Voiceless)

We've got to stop tolerating the fabric of exploitation that is woven throughout every area of our society, and it starts with our own personal choices. What kind of consumers are we? And what kind of society have we created through our own desire for increased convenience and less accountability; our passion for our rights, at the expense of the rights of others? I don't find these questions easy, I find them deeply unsettling. There are no simple answers.