Morning Devotion - Prov. 27

Read Proverbs 27

If we consider what these proverbs have to say about human relationships, we can organize them into wisdom for family relationships, wisdom in friendships, wisdom and strangers.

Wisdom for family relationships:
A strong family life is of great benefit to a man. The man who strays from his home is like a bird that strays from his nest (8). We do not entirely choose the members of our household, and yet so much of our well-being is tied up in the health and stability of our family relationships. Troubles with children (11) and strife in marriage (15) can have a devastating impact on a man's life. For this and many other reasons a man is a fool if he does not attend to the duties of his family position (18) or pay close enough attention to the condition of his household (23-27).

Wisdom in friendships:
As important as family life is, there is a broader group of neighbors and friends that God gives to a man, and these relationships also require wisdom. A faithful friend's rebuke and his earnest counsel should not be dismissed without careful consideration (6, 9, 17). Personal and familial friends and neighbors are part of the fabric of social support that God has ordained. We need to care for them in their moments of need (10). They form something of an extended family for us.

Wisdom and strangers:
Strangers and acquaintances that are not in the closer circle of neighbors and friends can still be important in our lives. They may have the detachment necessary that makes their praise of a man more credible (2). But we should not look to strangers to provide those blessings that come from closer relationships that need our attention and repair. Beware of kisses that may come from a stranger's lips (6), and beware of pledging your goods and your life for those who are strangers to you (13).

Christ has given his life for his friends, while we were yet sinners. Though we were strangers to the covenant of grace from our vantage point, yet we were known and loved by him from before the foundation of the world. In God's own family relationship with His Son, we are now claimed as members of the household of God, and brothers and sisters together in Jesus Christ with people of faith throughout the world. Appreciating the importance of these relationships is an important matter for wisdom.