Proverbs 20:5 (scripture study)
To explain the title, I'm starting a new type of blog post, hence the parentheses. I like using them so people can immediately tell what some posts are going to be like. Such as (movie review), (1-page), (poem or song), and now (scripture study). Specifically taking one or a few verses and talking about what I've found interesting in them. That aside....
Proverbs 20:5 says, "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out."
Now I shall explain why I love this verse. The main reason is because from what I see, there are at least two different views to look at it from. That of looking inward at our own hearts, or outward towards others'.
First, it would be easy enough to say that the heart is like deep waters, but instead the verse says purposes. Specifically moving from generic, to personal. Then water, which could mean a variety of things. Off the top of my head I'd say plentiful, thick, or most likely, buried beneath the mass of unimportant stuff.
And secondly, again, instead of leaving the verse generic, the second line is added, "but a man of understanding draws them out". Only a man of understanding would know how to get at these purposes, either in his own heart or otherwise.
Think of it this way, a person's life is like an ocean in layers, and complexity, and depth. The way to engage people is not to grab a bucket and start with the water that's in front of us. People have too much life for us to take and understand their ocean, our bucket is going to rust out before we even get a foot down, and we'll drown ourselves in the process. Rather, a man of understanding draws out the purposes of the heart. We do this by strategically fishing in choice locations, hoping to catch something solid that lies way down there in the depths. And it's not easy to draw it our either, it takes patience, prudence, and careful skill to be successful.
And it applies both ways. If it's one thing we humans are naturally good at, it's reasoning and deceiving ourselves into doing something easier or less meaningful than we might like. A man of understanding takes the time to search his heart and draw out whatever purposes dwell there, for whatever reason. Only then can he confront and change them, as is usually needed.
Perhaps some examples would prove useful. I'm terrible at examples, but here we go anyway.
Take something simple, like showering and dressing up for work. The first reason that pops into mind is because it's expected, probably required, and that's what we do for work. (excluding construction type work here) Those are reasons just off the top of my head, but other reasons might include impressing that co-worker, (possibly of the opposite sex) or because we know the boss will be in today. These sneaky ulterior purposes are not inherently wrong, but they do stray into dangerous lands. Even though we may notice our subconsciousness, our main overarching purposes reason and cloud over us. I myself know how good I am at believing the good reasons for doing something, while doing it for the wrong reasons.
A man of understanding draws out the purposes of a the heart, though they be sunk beneath deep waters. I think there is one more way to look at this. As vastly more effective fishing is than bailing with a bucket, so is God parting the Red Sea than fishing. A man of understanding knows that his chances of catching what's important in a heaving ocean, by himself with line and hook, are slim indeed. As a Christian, we need to rely on God's strength, and that goes for drawing out the purposes of our hearts too. What better way to explore the heart than with God? We cannot hope to change it ourselves even if we found bad purposes in the first place.
Proverbs 20:5 is a wise and encouraging verse, I hope that you find it so, too.
Proverbs 20:5 says, "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out."
Now I shall explain why I love this verse. The main reason is because from what I see, there are at least two different views to look at it from. That of looking inward at our own hearts, or outward towards others'.
First, it would be easy enough to say that the heart is like deep waters, but instead the verse says purposes. Specifically moving from generic, to personal. Then water, which could mean a variety of things. Off the top of my head I'd say plentiful, thick, or most likely, buried beneath the mass of unimportant stuff.
And secondly, again, instead of leaving the verse generic, the second line is added, "but a man of understanding draws them out". Only a man of understanding would know how to get at these purposes, either in his own heart or otherwise.
Think of it this way, a person's life is like an ocean in layers, and complexity, and depth. The way to engage people is not to grab a bucket and start with the water that's in front of us. People have too much life for us to take and understand their ocean, our bucket is going to rust out before we even get a foot down, and we'll drown ourselves in the process. Rather, a man of understanding draws out the purposes of the heart. We do this by strategically fishing in choice locations, hoping to catch something solid that lies way down there in the depths. And it's not easy to draw it our either, it takes patience, prudence, and careful skill to be successful.
And it applies both ways. If it's one thing we humans are naturally good at, it's reasoning and deceiving ourselves into doing something easier or less meaningful than we might like. A man of understanding takes the time to search his heart and draw out whatever purposes dwell there, for whatever reason. Only then can he confront and change them, as is usually needed.
Perhaps some examples would prove useful. I'm terrible at examples, but here we go anyway.
Take something simple, like showering and dressing up for work. The first reason that pops into mind is because it's expected, probably required, and that's what we do for work. (excluding construction type work here) Those are reasons just off the top of my head, but other reasons might include impressing that co-worker, (possibly of the opposite sex) or because we know the boss will be in today. These sneaky ulterior purposes are not inherently wrong, but they do stray into dangerous lands. Even though we may notice our subconsciousness, our main overarching purposes reason and cloud over us. I myself know how good I am at believing the good reasons for doing something, while doing it for the wrong reasons.
A man of understanding draws out the purposes of a the heart, though they be sunk beneath deep waters. I think there is one more way to look at this. As vastly more effective fishing is than bailing with a bucket, so is God parting the Red Sea than fishing. A man of understanding knows that his chances of catching what's important in a heaving ocean, by himself with line and hook, are slim indeed. As a Christian, we need to rely on God's strength, and that goes for drawing out the purposes of our hearts too. What better way to explore the heart than with God? We cannot hope to change it ourselves even if we found bad purposes in the first place.
Proverbs 20:5 is a wise and encouraging verse, I hope that you find it so, too.
Comments
Post a Comment