Web Theologian

23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,
but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him,
but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
but the righteous is established forever.

The joke is on you, fool.  Reminds me of Bottle Rocket, a film by Wes Anderson, described to me as Dumb and Dumber but without stupid humor.  And by the way that was not meant as a slight toward Dumb and Dumber.  The fool thinks he has it dialed in, like everything is coming up Milhouse but the joke is God doesn’t let it continue.  This is both for the good of the world and for the fool as well.  God does not leave us where we are at, we either sink deeper into our mess as he binds us to it or he rescues us from the muck and mire.

For the man of understanding, it feels good to act wise.  One small example of this happened a few months ago.  I had a meeting at work that suddenly changed everything for me, I was completely disoriented.  At the same time I had just purchased a house, and was going through a major remodel of it before we moved in.  Fear and confusion entered my heart especially when it came down to how I would provide for my family.  The evening that it hit the fan, I sat down with a spreadsheet and laid out our budget.  It was at that point I realized I had not over extended our family financially, that the decisions we had made were wise.  I was ecstatic and able to face the fearful task of what was ahead of me at work.

24 What the wicked dreads will come upon him,
but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

We get that which controls us.  The wicked are controlled by their fear, they know things are not as they are supposed to be because they are directly at the center of causing it.  The know karma is real, so they are controlled by what is going on in their own head which is fear.  But the righteous, those desiring godliness, goodness, self control, peace, and above all LOVE.  This doesn’t imply that you have it nailed down and act as godly as a Buddha, but rather the desire of your heart is for righteousness.  King David said that he delights in the law of God, because it is the world we are made for where love rules.

25 When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
but the righteous is established forever.

The past two weeks on This American Life there have been stories around the tornado’s, one regarding prom the other about rumors that were plaguing a town after one of the storms.  In both stories there were statements about how the tornado’s appeared to act in deeply personal ways.  The Proverb is saying a similar thing.  Whether it is actual storms or the metaphorical storms we walk through in life, God establishes the righteous forever.  That is not to say our houses don’t get knocked down or that we don’t get killed.  One friend says, “God gives cancer to a believer every time he does to an unbeliever to show that there is a difference.” I get his point.  Being “established forever” may mean you are a storm survivor having to lead rebuilding efforts.  Yes, this can be victorious but it also can be sobering.  The promise of it all is He’s not letting us go.