Day 220: Three good attitudes - Proverbs 12 vs 9 – 15

9 Better to be underestimated and have a servant than to pretend to be wealthy and lack bread. 10 A righteous person understands the needs of his livestock, but the compassion of the wicked is cruel. 11 A person who works his land will have enough food, but whoever pursues fantasies lacks sense.

12 A wicked man covets the fortress of evil people, but the root of the righteous bears fruit. 13 The rebellion on his lips is a trap for an evil person, but a righteous person gets out of trouble.

14 From the fruit of his lips a person is filled with good, and the labour of a person’s hands returns to him. 15 The way of a stubborn fool seems correct to him, but whoever listens to advice is wise. Proverbs 12:9-15 Evangelical Heritage Version

Motivational speakers often speak of things such as 'Three keys to success', or, 'Seven roads to happiness'. But nearly 3,000 years ago the writers of Proverbs already spoke of the sort of attitudes and actions that lead to happier results. For example, vs 12 contrasts someone whose life is fruitful to someone who is only jealous of what other devious people have succeeded in getting. And vs 13 contrasts someone whose aggressive words often land them trouble, to someone whose gentle words defuse a difficult situation. We're told later in this book that “A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing, but the mouth of a fool belches out foolishness.” (Proverbs 15:1-2)

But good actions don't flow out of nowhere. They come from hearts that are grounded in right attitudes. What three attitudes can you see in verses 9, 10 and 11 that are likely to result in the right actions we saw in vs 12 & 13?

Verse 9 suggested to me the attitude of humility. On the one hand we see a person who wasn't concerned if others thought little of them and felt no need to brag of anything they had. But there are others who feel they have to put up a show of being successful. This attitude causes many people to end up living way beyond their means and their reliance on credit cards often leads to tremendous debt. All for the sake of appearances.

Verse 10 spoke to me of compassion. If people are cruel to animals you can be sure they will be callous towards people as well. Little children who are cruel to animals may well grow into bullies and failures in marriage. God gave mankind authority over the animals, but that ought to lead to care rather than cruelty.

Verse 11 is surely the attitude of hard work. Instead of day dreaming and lottery tickets, the sensible person rolls up their sleeves and gets stuck into the job. And not just light and easy jobs - they are willing to get their hands dirty as they work the land and plant crops. The verse speaks of others who 'pursue fantasies'. People who don’t like hard work are often dreaming up get-rich-quick schemes.

So humility, compassion and hard work are three attitudes that can lead to contentment, fulfilment and even security. Verses 14-15 reflect the previous verses and add one more attitude. Perhaps this one is most important of all as it opens the door for the others. What would you say it is?

It's the attitude of being willing to learn rather than stubbornly insisting on one's own way. People who listen to good advice and learn, and then put wise things into action, will inevitably find that both their words and deeds bring good rewards. (vs 14) How true this is not just of daily living, but especially of how we respond to the words of Jesus we find in the gospels. If ever there was a man of humility, compassion and hard work, it was Jesus Christ. And he gave us a most gracious invitation when he said: “Take my yoke upon you - let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29