Dr Paul Allen

Every culture seems to have its own unique, collected wisdom, pithy insights of the wise. Oftentimes, these tidbits of wisdom are preserved in the form of the proverb. We have proverbial sayings such as “A stitch in time saves nine” or “A penny saved is a penny earned.” The Bible, of course, has an entire book of such pithy sayings—the book of Proverbs. However, this compilation of proverbial wisdom is different from all other such collections in that these sayings reflect not just human wisdom but divine wisdom, for these proverbs are inspired by God. Still, we must be very careful in how we approach and implement these wise sayings . Simply because they are inspired does not mean that the biblical proverbs are like laws, imposing a universal obligation. Yet, some people treat them as if they were divine commandments. If we regard them in that way, we run into all kinds of trouble. Even divinely inspired proverbs do not necessarily apply to all life situations. Rather, they reflect in...

“When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep.” ( Proverbs  8:27 -28 ) This chapter contains a beautiful description of some of God ’s works during the creation week when God, in Christ , was creating and making all things. Christ Himself, personified as the divine wisdom, the word of God, is speaking. Verse 27 speaks of His pre-existence before the creation of the space/time universe itself. At first the “earth” matter was “without form,” with only a great “deep” of water. Then God “set a compass” on the face of the deep, activating the gravitational forces which brought it into spherical form. The Hebrew word for “compass” means “sphere.” It is the same word used in  Isaiah 40:22 , where it is said that God “sitteth upon the circle [i.e., ‘sphere’] of the earth.” Then God “established the clouds above.” The word for “clouds” mea...

Image via Wikipedia "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise." ( Proverbs 10:19 )   The book of Proverbs has much wise counsel concerning the use of the tongue. It contains, for example, no less than 27 sober warnings against speaking lies!  There are also at least eight condemnations of gossiping. For example: "A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter" ( 11:13 ).   Then there are warnings against using the tongue to criticize, or to slander, or to hurt.  A good example is in  12:18 : "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health," and also in  18:8 : "The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly."   Too much talking is also dangerous, as our text for the day points out, for it often results in sin. In this connection, one of the most picturesque pro...

Image via Wikipedia On the nightstand of a woman in your church, there’s a Christian romance novel and a Bible . Does that matter? On the Kindle of a teenage Christian woman in your congregation’s youth group, there’s a “young adult” fiction bestseller. Should that concern you? A new book by Boston University researchers Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam,  A Billion Wicked Thoughts , offers a disturbing look at how Internet search engines reveal much about the sexual and emotional desires of men and women, and how they differ. The research confirms in some ways what almost everyone knows: men are visually engaged, attracted to youth and sexual novelty, and are thus vulnerable to visual pornography. The research explores further what the commercialized romance industry tells us about what it means to be a woman (at least in a fallen world). Women are much less likely to be drawn to visual pornography (although more do so than one might think), but are quite likely to be involved in such ...

Image via Wikipedia "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge." ( Proverbs 5:1-2 )   The entire fifth chapter of Proverbs concerns the use or misuse of the highest function of our physical bodies .  Under the sovereign control of Almighty God , a man and woman have been granted the ability, through their union, to make an eternal human being with the ability to accept or reject God, eternal life , and forgiveness. The contrast in this chapter is between the usage of this God-given function in lust or love, adultery or fidelity.   Verses 3 through 6 provide insight into the character of promiscuity, which includes deception ( v. 3 ) and sorrow ( v. 4 ). Psychologists have long recognized that many prostitutes ply their trade out of a hatred for men, purposefully and conscientiously destroying their companions ( v. 5 ).  The solution, of course, is to stay away...

Image via Wikipedia These are the key thoughts from  Dan Pink’s  session at the Leadership Summit that grabbed my attention. Dan is the author of  Drive , a book I’ve highlighted  here  and  here  in recent weeks. “If-then rewards work really well for simple tasks. However, they don’t work very well for more complicated creative tasks.” “One of the problems that we have in our organizations is that we make the wrong assumptions about people.” “One of the false assumptions is that people are machines.” Another false assumption is that “human begins are blobs.” “Our nature is to be active and engaged.” People need: autonomy, mastery and purpose “Management wasn’t delivered to us from God.” “Management is a technology designed to get compliance.” “We want engagement. Management doesn’t lead to engagement. Self-direction leads to engagement.” “Give people autonomy over their time, team, task and technique. That leads to engagement.” “Making pro...