Proverbs 30:32, 33 reads...

We end another chapter of Proverbs today with Proverbs 30:32 and 33, which read,

If you have been foolish in exalting yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand in your mouth.  For the churning of milk produces butter, and pressing the nose brings forth blood; so the churning of anger produces strife.

What a way to end the chapter for Agur with some more word pictures to work through.  He first gives us two unacceptable actions.  The first is exalting yourself.  This is another way to say the sin of pride.  It is again stated as a foolish action.  Another foolish action is to plot evil against another.  You are in the act of scheming to bring about division and downfall.  Agur's advice is to put your hand in your mouth.  "Put a sock in it" might be the modern translation of this.  Stop talking and force yourself to stop communicating this way.  A cross reference is Job 21:5 which says,

"Look at me and shudder; put your hand over your mouth."

This instruction is given to Job quite a few times to stop talking and start listening.  The more we talk of self, the more we get ourselves into the areas of foolishness.  We fall to the sin of pride and we will say things to puff ourselves up at the expense of others.  The answer to these problems is to put your hand in or over your mouth and take time to reconsider what you were going to say and why you were going to say it that way.  The tongue sure has been a common theme through the book of Proverbs.

Agur gives us two actions that we have seen and can identify with.  On the farm you had a butter churn and it was worked to produce butter.  If you did everything right, it produced something after the working of the churn.  Also, if you were in a scuffle and got beaned in the nose, the possibility was the drawing of blood.  This action upon that tender part of your body was a ready opening from which blood could flow.  This action produces another action.  The action of churning brings about butter and the action of hitting or twisting your nose brings forth blood.

What does the action of anger bring?  The answer is strife.  This is a classic cause and effect statement.  If you do this then this will happen.  If you churn milk you will get butter.  If you hit someone's nose you will get blood.  If you stir up anger you will get strife.  A couple cross references in Proverbs is chapter 10 verse 12 and chapter 29 verse 22 which read,

"Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses."

"An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered one increases rebellion."

Some type of pressure is being applied in all three situations.  The pressure of anger needs another force to push against it or an action to stop it and that is many times our hand over your mouth so that your next statement can be of love rather than something to stir up the pot even more.  Instead of trying to show your position or regaining your place as "king of the hill" you need to stop churning or twisting the wrong and seek to produce some right.  

Do you need to "put a sock in it" today?  Do you need to listen more than you speak?  Do you need to confess to God again that you and your actions are not following His wisdom?  You have become number 1 again and you have been doing whatever it takes to keep yourself "king of the hill"?

We end this chapter of Proverbs written by the Holy Spirit's guidance of Agur with some sobering words to think about, our words and what we are churning.  Let us pray.

"Lord, so many times the Proverbs come back to the tongue and back to our pride.  We focus so much on ourselves and it makes us do things that are foolish.  May we see that the effects of these actions is not in line with Your wisdom.  We are getting what we are paying for.  We are reaping what we are sowing.  We are churning the urn of pride and we are getting the butter of strife on our lives and the lives of others.  Help us to physically stop ourselves today when we need to alter what comes from us.  Amen."

Pastor Adam