Proverbs 17:5-8 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 17:5-8, which read,

v.5 - He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

If we make fun of those who have less than us and if we have joy in the seeing others suffer then we are saying to God that He isn't much to have people in that state and we will be reprimanded for that action.  To mock is to ridicule and it is very easy to do with the pointing of the finger instead of the coming alongside of.  To be in distress is to be under fire and stress and to rejoice at that can be seen as we smile and say, "well, they made their bed and now they can lie in it" and walk away snickering. The proverb is that God, our Maker, responds to these actions against those who treat the poor and those in calamity this way.  If we find ourselves doing this, we need to change for we are not bringing glory unto God.

v.6 - Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of sons is their fathers.

Grandparents, here is your verse.  Actually there are others that show the impact and influence of the grandparents to the grandchildren.  What a responsibility as parents and grandparents we have on the next generation.  I know that many have said it is such a joy as grandparents to love those grandkids but then they go home with their parents and the house is back to normal but remember that you go home with them in your influence.  Our influence because we are grandparents of 5 and soon of 6 out of the womb shows the grandchildren another picture of godly character to them.  

v.7 - Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool, much less are lying lips to a prince.

A prince is the one to have excellent speech and the fool is the one to have lying lips.  Solomon flips these over to show who we are to be as those wise following after God in the reverent fear of Him.  As a prince in the shadow of the King we are to communicate truth and use our words to reflect what is right, pure, true and upright.  The fool uses his lips to communicate what will deceive and selfishly advance himself to the glory of himself.  It is an oxymoron for a prince, one of high regard and wisdom, to have lying lips and it is also an oxymoron to have a fool have excellent speech.  

v.8 - A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner; wherever he turns, he prospers.

This is a warning.  It seems and maybe by the world's standards that the owner of the bribe, the one presenting a gift to get a certain selfish response is working.  It is a charm, a nice looking stone, that brings about what he wanted.  He prospered by bribing.  He does this over and over again and the end result is advancement.  This man or woman can do no wrong and he or she has the Midas touch.  But the focus of the proverb is on the bribe, the action that is not holy.  An unholy action is used that brings about for the time a reaction that looks to us and others as a benefit to the owner.  Something is wrong here.  What about in the sight of the Owner with a capital "O?"  

When our focus is off of God and unto ourselves we will do things that are very unholy.  Those things are not just the really bad things that we like to qualify in our world but also the little things that are tremendous in the sight of God.  It means a lot to God how we treat the poor.  It means a lot to God how we treat others in distress.  It means a lot to God how we influence our children and grandchildren to love Him.  It means a lot to God how we speak at all times.  It means a lot to God how we achieve what we do here on this earth.  What have you and what have I been doing lightly and thinking this action won't matter much that has actually been poking at or making fun of God that will have consequences?  What little action by our definition is not so little to God?  Let's repent of minimizing our actions that God says are highly important.  Let's pray.

"Lord, thank You for setting us straight on the things that we think don't matter that much.  It matters to You.  You don't want just some of our speech but all of it.  You don't want just some of our actions but all of them.  You don't want just our influence some of the time but all of the time.  You don't want our obedience just when it is easy but also when it is hard and involves sacrifice of self.  May we see that the little things matter much to You because they aren't such little things.  Amen."

Pastor Adam