Tiny Devotional for Tuesday, 08-31-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, remember: it’s just Tuesday.

Give intoxicating drink to one who is perishing,
And wine to one whose life is bitter.
Let him drink and forget his poverty,
And remember his trouble no more.
Proverbs 31:6-7


I hope that in our fascination with the description of the righteous woman, we don’t ignore the other wisdom available in Proverbs 31.

Taken with the preceding two verses, which tell us that it’s a bad idea for kings to get drunk, we have some pretty good guidelines for the use of pain relief. I might summarize by saying that when you have a job to do, the pain is a tool to motivate you to do the hard things. However, sometimes, you just need to catch a break.

It’s VERY easy for me to apply this to people who are in an end-stage battle against disease. If there is no possible good outcome, I don’t know that there is a reason to keep hurting. I’m not applying this to any cases other than terminal disease; that’s something that needs more thought than I have given that issue.

The proverb also states it’s appropriate for someone in grinding poverty. I confess that I have no standing to offer a recommendation on this. I have an opinion, which is that I support what the Bible says, but that is NOT a recommendation.

The people who wrote the Bible didn’t see the world as a place where everything was always cute puppies and kitties. They stressed duty to a righteous God, not to prosperity and self-actualization. And, in the end, it’s okay to lay your head down, and rest.

Peace be on your household.

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