• October 9, 2007
Proverbs 31- Lessons from King Lemuel

      ¹ The sayings of King Lemuel—an oracle his mother taught him:

    ² "O my son, O son of my womb,
       O son of my vows,

    ³ do not spend your strength on women,
       your vigor on those who ruin kings.

    ⁴ "It is not for kings, O Lemuel—
       not for kings to drink wine,
       not for rulers to crave beer,

    ⁵ lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
       and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.

    ⁶ Give beer to those who are perishing,
       wine to those who are in anguish;

    ⁷ let them drink and forget their poverty
       and remember their misery no more.

    ⁸ "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
       for the rights of all who are destitute.

    ⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;
       defend the rights of the poor and needy."

 King Lemuel was wise to remember what his mother told him. Proverbs 6:20 NIV says, “My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” His mother cared enough about him to make sure he grew up in a way that would honor his family and his God. Apparently, it made such an impact on him that he wanted to share it. To clarify, verses 2-9 are the words of King Lemuel, the rest of the chapter appears to be the wisdom of Solomon.

Verse 3 warns men against giving their strength to women. Since I’m speaking to mostly a female audience, I’m going to paraphrase this, and apply it in a different way. Girls, don’t lead guys astray. This includes leading guys on in an inappropriate way, dressing in a way that draws negative attention, etc. Even though the warning is directed to guys, we have a responsibility to protect them when we can. We can’t wear suggestive clothes then decide that we have no fault in the matter. 1 Corinthians 8:9 NIV says, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” Girls, I don’t want to start sounding like a feminazi, but we really need to take a stand for our Christian brothers. Note: I am NOT saying that guys are weak. I do know several weak guys, but the guys I actually spend time talking with are strong Christian guys. I think they would agree with me when I say that is so much easier for them to guard their minds when we act in a God-glorifying manner.

Verses 4-7: Alcohol is NOT where your happiness should be found. Leaders should realize that their actions affect others, and that their example should be an honorable one.

Verses 8-9: We should be passionate about helping those in need, and those that are afflicted. There is hurt everywhere you look. The news is full of stories of those in need, even Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt and Britney Spears are in need. They are afflicted, satisfied with all the material things, but lacking in spiritual fulfillment. At my worldview camp this summer, one of the speakers told us that we need to be praying for celebrities. I’ll admit, that I’d forgotten about that until now, but I’m going to be working on that now. They need salvation as much as the tribes of Africa and the natives of Chile. We should be Champion Ambassadors!! But, I’m getting farther away from the topic. Those in need are the people around you. The homeless, the fatherless, the poor. Also, your brothers and sisters in Christ need help sometimes. The façade of “I’m fine” or “good” should be easy to see through by now. No one is "just fine" all the time. Warning: opening your heart to people WILL open you to the possiblity of heartbreak. If you are an overly compassionate person, it is going to be easy for you to want to fix all the problems your friends come across. You can't do this all the time, I'll tell you right now. Ok, so I think I have completely exhausted that topic. Moving on...

OK, so there you have it. The first 9 verses of Proverbs 31. On a creepy note, my last entry (the first Prov. 31 one) was my 31st entry. Creepy. My 31st was on Prov. 31. I may just be wierd, but that is kind of interesting to me. Anyways, I want to again thank my SSA for her wonderful words of wisdom. Keep it coming, sister! haha! :) Alright, it's 7:30, and I should have already gotten up to do my morning chores. I must leave you now. Don't cry.

your Princess in Disguise

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Comments

• October 12, 2007
Untitled Comment

Posted by sweetpotato

All-around good post, but I especially liked your point on the influence we wield towards guys. We have a lot of power, not only in helping them not to stumble, but also in saying, "Hey, girls still like godly guys". (Of course, guys have a lot of influence on girls too. I'd love for more guys to say, "Guys appreciate modest girls." That would encourage me a lot.)

On a side note, interesting point about celebrities.

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• October 13, 2007
Untitled Comment

Posted by Free2bme

Hey! I just wanted to let you know that it has been so much fun being your SSA. I wish it could go on! I really have enjoyed getting to know you. You are such a sweet girl and you seem so mature and hungry for God.
Always hold on to Him, for everything,sister!
Maybe we can be unanonymous friends now?lol
I read in this post you went to a worldview camp? Me too! In fact I just got back from the T-Bar M camp a week ago. Wasn't it awesome?
Love you!
Debs

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• October 13, 2007
Untitled Comment

Posted by pianolove

This is a good post.

These beginning verses of Proverbs 31 are very important but they often just get skipped over.

Heather

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• October 18, 2007
Untitled Comment

Posted by Leslie2

That is a wonderful post! Would you like to be friends?

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