Proverbs Project: My thoughts on The Proverbs and Proverbs 1

Disclaimer: I'm typing almost exactly what i thought about this morning so i can better remember it, so i'm not going into so much detail cause i think you guys don't know it, i just really wanna remember how i felt this morning! haha

So, whenever i read the Proverbs, i think it's important to remember a couple different contextual things about them to get the life application out of them. Like, they're all written from a Jewish perspective, so i feel like a lot of our important Christian principles of course get left out of the writings (like evangelism, see verses 1:8-19). Also, the words of the Proverbs are conventional wisdom, idealistic wisdom, "wisdom of the perfect world" as i often think of them. And since we don't live in a perfect world, a lot of the time i personally feel a tension when reading the Proverbs. Like "i'm sorry Solomon, i'm not sure what it was like when you were alive, but that's not how things work out for me!", as if i'm really worthy of questioning anything Solomon says, haha. The main mistake i've made in reading the Proverbs is at times i treat them like a formula, that if i do exactly what they say that will automatically lead me straight to a deeper relationship with God, which isn't true. Relationship with God is multi-faceted, similar to relationship with the important people in our lives. But what the Proverbs are is a insight into the life changing wisdom of our God, which if we take seriously in studying and acquiring it amongst other things in our spiritual lives will draw closer to our Creator.

Now, onto what i thought about Proverbs 1. The most striking thing i read in the chapter was right at the beginning where Solomon says that the purpose of these writing is for people to live "disciplined and successful lives" (1:3 NLT). Discipline, it's something that so many of us (including myself) are lacking. Most people get angry about discipline with God, they say things like "you can't make my relationship with God about "obligation". Let it flow!". Now, take that sentiment and apply it to your girlfriend or boyfriend or spouse. "Honey, what's wrong? You mean, I HAVE to call you everyday? I'm obligated to be with and talk with you on a somewhat regular basis? I'm supposed to defend you in a fight? Whoooooaaaaaa, just let it flowwwwwww" Doesn't sound like such a good plan, does it? Whether you are aware of it or not, you have discipline in your close relationships. Don't you have a sort of schedule of meet ups and hang outs with your friends? Do you have a friend who lives in a different city, and you try to talk at least once a week or see each other every other weekend? If we think about it, most of us do. It's not a negative sense, it's just a natural way of keeping close to our loved friends in our crazy hectic lives. So doing the same with God is important, because a lot of the time if we don't then he'll fall to the wayside. There are several different list of spiritual disciplines: the obvious like prayer, solitude, Bible reading. and the more obscure like celebration, strength through suffering, and sexuality. Stephen Poore is doing a really good series on the Spiritual Disciplines, and that's what i've been concentrating on for the past month. Again, it's not to figure out a formula, but just to get familiar enough with my God to where his Spirit can properly and easily move in my life and i'll be aware of it. And it gets me hype that Solomon tells us that discipline is part of the path to wisdom, cause I definitely need some wisdom in my life to help me through life's obstacles.