12 in 30 for 30

Words are hard.

I have to admit. Doing this 30 for 30 series is difficult. I'm sure some of you have noticed the quality go up and down and twist around like no one's business. This idea just popped into my mind at the end of September.

"Hey, Win's subconscious, let's do something fun! Why don't we blog for 30 straight days because you're turning 30 on the 30th of October! Get it? Huh? Do ya?"

I feel like Bart as Nelson Muntz mocks my words.

Proverbs 12 has a verse I'm very familiar with, but not necessarily for the greatest reasons:

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." v. 1

My best friends and I found this verse while at church during our high school days. Basically, we were chuckling because we found the word "stupid" in the Biblical text. Oh yeah, we were mature.

This is also among the same group of boys using the phrase, appropriately for Christian circles, "Edify, stupid!"

See? Words are hard, but they can be funny!

Anyway, because I now know a little bit of Hebrew, the word "Stupid" is actually in the text. It's "rAo`D;b" (read from right to left), pronounced "Bah-Are." The translation is basically saying you're stupid like cattle.

How edifying, right?!

This chapter is mainly about our use of words. More specifically, the contrast between the use of words by Righteous or Wicked people. It doesn't take long while reading it to get the gist:
- Wise, prudent, joyful, kind words are delightful to God
- Wicked, foolish, lying, thoughtless words are abhorred by God

Listen, no one in their right mind is claiming that their speech is either perfectly righteous or painfully evil. We all have a mixture of both, whether we like it or not. Nevertheless, if we're discerning enough, we can pick out people who lean more towards righteous or wicked words.

With that in mind, this verse pops out:

"One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray." v. 26

Again, convicting. Am I being a good guide to my neighbor? Or am I treating people like cattle? Are my words "stupid?"