Proverbs 29:18-23 – Social cohesion

In the song, “I am a rock” by Simon and Garfunkel, the second stanza reads:

I've built walls
A fortress deep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship,

friendship causes pain
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain
I am a rock
I am an island.

God never intends for us to live that way. We are social creatures and not created to live in isolation. God made us for fellowship, not only with Him but also with each other in a community. And to have a harmonious community, we need to live in cohesion. Proverbs 29:18-23 show us ways to live to ensure unity and social cohesion, and what can disrupt that.

Verses 18 says, without a vision the people are unrestrained. There can be no unified direction where we do not have a common goal and objective to achieve. Visionary leaders lead us to an expected end. Without one, we will be drifting listlessly, confused and prone to excesses. But with a vision, a direction is given, and we can move in a similar direction to accomplish God’s desire for our life. The Bible, the written revelation of God, also called the Law, is the unifying force where God reveals His vision for us. We need to come to it often. When we discover and obey its instructions, we’ll find joy and happiness.  

Don’t depend on instruction alone, we need to demonstrate how to do a job. That is in essence what verse 19 is saying. This is especially true for a reluctant learner. They may understand but yet would be too nonchalant to explore ways to do as instructed. To avoid needless distress, when getting people to collaborate with us, we must not only give instructions, we need also to demonstrate how to go about the task.

Verse 20 tells us that harmonious relationship can be disrupted by hasty words. This verse is urging us to be restraint and think before we speak. An unfitting spoken word can create disquiet in a community. Unfitting words can also become rumours and lead a community into disrepute. To speak rashly without consideration is detrimental. To prove a point, part two of this verse uses a hyperbole. It says, “There is no more hope for a fool than one who speaks rashly.” It is not suggesting that a fool has more hope but that we should not speak mindlessly and rashly. In the New Testament, James 1:19 urged us to be “slow to speak.”  

Verse 21 warns us against pampering our workers. If we fail to correct them, and instead become overly indulgent, we spoil them. Overly nice treatment is misplaced in training a worker. We may mislead them and they will forget their position and role.  If persisted, they will end up with the wrong idea about proper relationship and behave as if they have the same rights as legitimate sons of the family.   

   

Verse 22 cautions about what anger can do to a community. A man of anger, given vent to his inordinate tirade and violent outburst, becomes an offensive man and stirs up strife. Why? Because he is not able to contain his angry words, he will say things that are calculated to hurt. In anger, a person’s moral compass often gets clouded and he or she becomes prone to say things that are cutting and not nice. In the end that person will have transgressed and made more enemies.

Verse 23 encourages humility and not pride. Pride will bring a person into destruction whereas an attitude of humility encourages honour. Though a humble person may not be looking for honour, but because he lives in humility, honour will be accorded him.   So, in six verses we are given tips to build a social cohesion. Let us go for it.