Day 122 – February 7, 2024: Titus 1-3, Psalm 16 and Proverbs 12

Proverbs can pretty much be summed up with this one verse that we find in 12:1b – “those who hate to be rebuked are stupid.” I have never thought that calling something stupid was either a good argument or a way in which God would want us to talk. But here we have a real dichotomy of good vs. evil and the author has no hesitation in calling that which is evil stupid. There is also a strong sense that those who work for their living are really doing that which the Lord would consider righteous. There is so much back and forth between good and evil, the wise and the foolish, that which is blessed by God and that which is cursed. The path, if you were only to read Proverbs, seems pretty clear and pretty straightforward. But I think we know better. The good aren’t always blessed, actually they seem to be, at times, less blessed than the bad.

Titus has a few jewels tucked away in its three chapters as well. He makes a distinction between those who profess the faith and those who actually live the faith. That is a truth which is very applicable to today. There is an encouragement that our lives would reflect the piety that is required by God for anyone who calls himself or herself a disciple of Jesus.