The Looney Bin
Proverbs is just saturated with godly wisdom but it is also dripping with great one-liners. My husband’s favorite is “Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman”. He asked me last year if I could stitch than onto a sampler. (I’m surprised that he is still alive…just chalk that one up to the grace of God in my life, and his.) And what about all the great diet advice for us women out there? Proverbs 24: 13 says “My son (or daughter), eat honey because it is good.” See there! It is a godly thing to eat sugar. Praise the Lord! If I could just find a specific scripture referring to Doritos and fudge…. (I’m not even going to mention 25:16- “Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, lest you be filled with it and vomit.” Hey, a couple of quarts of sugar is as much as I need to function!)
I love one special type of perfume; Happy by Clinique. It smells fantastic but unfortunately, puts a terrible hole in my pocketbook. My husband was fussing one day about the price of my lovely scent and I quoted Proverbs 27:9, “Ointment and perfume delight the heart.” I shared with him that my Clinique perfume was scriptural and that he would have to take it up with the Lord. He walked off shaking his head and muttering something about “I’m gonna have to start hiding the Bible from that woman…”
I think God intended us to live as a joyful people. There is nothing more unattractive to the outside world than an unhappy Christian. Ken Westby wrote “When times are tough, Paul says stand firm and "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Humor is a key component of joy. Jesus said to stop dwelling on the evils all around and borrowing potential troubles from tomorrow (the normal daily dose is quite enough, he wryly observed), rather borrow hope and joy from seeking the Kingdom of God (see Matthew 6:33-34). The Christian walk should be a joyful one.
There is plenty in life to smile and laugh about. A forgiven man walks lightly upon the earth and with childlike freshness is quick to smile, quick to see and think the best of others, and easily brought to laughter. He is hopeful of the future, confident of who he is, and able to lift up and bear the burdens of others.”