September 28, 2018: Day 48 – Proverbs 6

We cover a lot of ground in this chapter in Proverbs.  The first topic that is addressed is laziness and how it leads to poverty.  I love the analogy that is made to describe a hard worker as someone who is like a gazelle being chased by a hunter, so always alert, and always ready to do work to get from point A to point B.  

The next topic that is addressed is adultery and infidelity.  The author expresses a deep disdain for the one who would lie with the wife of another.  He makes a distinction between the prostitute and the wife of another man.  This distinction might be made as a result of one being unlawful, adultery, and the other lawful, prostitution.  This is not a delineation that I make, but it is something that the author lifts up as important.  

Tucked in the midst of these verses are the seven deadly sins that have gotten so much leverage in some Christian circles.  Here you see them in detail in Villa Cimbrone which is a villa that we visit every time that we have a mission trip in Italy.  It is owned by a Protestant family that were members of the church while we were there.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 they are mentioned as: haughty eyes, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, hear that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, lying witness, and one who sows discord in the family.  

Interestingly enough according to Christian tradition the seven deadly sins are: envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.  These are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture as the seven deadly sins but have just come on down the line through tradition.  I like biblical examples better.