Proverbs 13:18 The richness of listening
Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. Proverbs13:18NIV
Not having or having. The attitude of poverty or honor (our substance) begins in my heart and lodges there.
One of the foundational messages in Proverbs is encouraging the reader to have a heart that listens. Being teachable. When am I old enough to move beyond it? Never. No matter how long I live, being teachable, open to correction, and humble in heart are traits that suit my journey on earth.
Wisdom comes with a great expense of personal resources (time, attention, humility, questions, application, failing and trying again). Poverty and shame come with no effort at all — the love of leisure accelerates it. Later in Proverbs:
I went past the field of a sluggard, past the vineyard of someone who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs24:30-34NIV
Poverty. Scarcity. Lack. Need. Insufficiency. Being in need without an answer within my grasp is dreadful. It feels hopeless. Living life on the earth demands labor. By itself, work is not a bad thing. Unfortunately, it is man’s requirement to live. The original plan was that work was an add-on, something I did in joy and delight on my journey of discovery in this gigantic creation playground, while the fulfillment of my needs was guaranteed. Since the fateful fall in Genesis 3, it is not a given. It’s in my effort and application that poverty is sidestepped.
Solomon aligns poverty with shame and contempt. Shame (from Dictionary.com) means: the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of something dishonorable, improper, ridiculous, etc., done by oneself or another: She was overcome with shame. Shame is something I feel, yet Rotherham translates it “Contempt” which carries a different shade of meaning with it. It’s an attitude others carry toward another: when another considers something vile, mean, worthless, disdain or scorn. Poverty by itself is tough, but it brings with it his friends. And those friends make judgments about my condition.
There was a time when I felt a contempt toward my dad because of poverty. He had cheated on something at work, was caught and fired. Being unemployed after a 30-year career is something from which it is tough to recover. Poverty set in like a bandit. This was during a time family relationships were also in turmoil and dad was not living at home. His life came crashing down and I stood observing as his son — in contempt. Today, I look back without bitter judgement and see that the harsh lessons of Proverbs seem appropriate. Circumstances can be a teacher. Poverty is no fun. But hearing it’s message and responding, especially after experiencing shame and contempt, is a lesson I may learn. That said, it is better to honor and love than judge. Shame carries with it his own penalty.
The other option is honor—from listening. The word can mean, to be heavy in both a good and bad sense. Weighty. Substance. Value. As opposed to the opposite (lack, emptiness). Honor is like Jupiter’s gravity (my 165 earth lbs. would be only 11 lbs. on Pluto, but a whopping 417 lbs. on Jupiter.) Or like me writing about Proverbs — Solomon can say it in one sentence, whereas I need nine paragraphs! Listening, no matter how much I know and have learned, is a sacred duty since there doesn’t appear to be an end to knowing my Father and understanding his motivation. And as I learn, he increases my capacity to know and receive. It’s as though I go to the orchard with a basket and return with a tractor-trailer full of His produce.
Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
Matthew 13:12 NIV