Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Deal or Destruction? | The Writings | Proverbs 13

Episode Date: October 4, 2024

Is sin tricking you into seeing losses as wins? Have you measured out the true cost of your sin? Are there people holding you accountable? In today's episode, Jeff shares how Proverbs 13 reveals the false promises of sin that lead us to destruction. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Proverbs 13

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jeff Parrott. Losing is never fun, but sometimes the most maddening loss is the one that's disguised as a win. There's a phenomenon in economics that reminds me of what it's like to lose like that. It's called the loss leader strategy. And here's how it works. It shows up in the way that companies price certain products.

a company will sell a product at a price lower than the cost of making it in the first place, and they do that in order to hook a new customer and sell more expensive products down the line. It presents itself as a deal that you can't refuse, only to trap you with future costs that you can't see in the moment. Examples of this are Legion, yet one easy-to-spot example of this in the modern day, is the prevalence of cheap, refillable vaping pins or e-cigarettes. So many companies will sell these to consumers at what seems like a deal you can't possibly pass up, drawing in new and especially young business.

In this version of the lost leader strategy, some companies are willing to sell their vaping pens at a loss in order to get the future business of refillable cartridges. The cost seems so small up front until you realize that the company's profit is really collected on the back end, making a lasting impact not only on your pocketbook, but on your health as well. Some forms of the loss leader strategy are legitimate business tactics, but others are considered predatory in nature because of the way that they take advantage of the consumer.

What appears to be a win for the average person is really just a loss in disguise. It's a deal that leads to destruction. The loss leader strategy isn't so different from the way that sin can operate in our lives. While the power of sin is sometimes obvious and in your face, it's oftentimes far more subtle, like a loss disguised as a win. That's how the 13th chapter of Proverbs presents the offer and effects of sin. it pitches itself as a deal, yet it progressively leads to destruction. As we prepare to approach God's word, let's pause and ask for His grace to move through our time.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the mere, marvelous fact that we are drawing breath and living into a new day. This is a gift from you. We also thank you for the life-giving power of your word. Jesus, help us abide in you as we engage with and grapple with. with your truth. Holy Spirit, we ask you to move in and through this time in Proverbs 13. As we read these words, let these words read us and restore us. In Jesus' name, amen. Proverbs is chockful of clarifying wise statements that reveal the true cost of sin, but also the true benefits of God's wisdom. Let's look at two big categories of the human experience where this plays out in the

13th chapter of Proverbs. One area of life where Proverbs wants to clarify the cost of sin and folly is that of work. Notice what Proverbs says in verse 4. The slacker craves, yet has nothing, but the diligent is fully satisfied. Notice the way that Proverbs is trying to clarify the cost of folly here. The slacker or the sluggard is tricked into thinking that short-term pleasure is an ultimate win, that neglecting God's design for us to do good, meaningful work is somehow a deal that we can get away with. But Proverbs is saying, be careful, your slacking is actually a loss, disguised as a win. For us today, this kind of slacking can play out in our nine to five jobs. You may be familiar with the popular phrase, quiet quitting, where employees slowly and quietly

do less work and less quality work over time, sliding by with the bare minimum. Of course, they still have their jobs in their offices, their titles, but in their hearts and their minds, it's as if they've quit. It seems like a pretty good deal, but there's a loss that the quiet quitter doesn't see. And here's the thing about the slacker or the sluggard in the Bible. It's not just about a nine to five job. It's about whatever vocation God has called you to in life right now. So if your vocation is to be at home with your kids, that's a legitimate calling from God and Proverbs says, don't be a quiet quitter at home. God has called you to do meaningful work there. If you're navigating the terrain of retirement, Proverbs

is saying, don't be a quiet quitter in your retirement. God has still called you to do meaningful work as he makes all things new in Jesus. Or if you're a student, God's wisdom is calling you to study with all of your might for his glory and for the good of those around you. As a quick aside here, it's worth noting how this theme also appears in verse 11. Says this, wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it. So Proverbs is trying to unveil the cost of lazy work, but also the cost of unjust work that uses shortcuts for self-benefit.

Verse 11 deserves an entire episode of a time. own. But the truth here coheres with verse four in a really significant way. Proverbs 13 is saying something countercultural in our era of quiet quitting and shortcuts at work, at home, and at school. The loss of not taking our vocations is very real. True satisfaction doesn't come from the absence of a vocation, but from diligently living into whatever calling God has for you in this chapter of life, in this day of your life. Among the other themes brought up in Proverbs 13, another area where we see the hidden costs of sin and folly is in the realm of humility and learning from others. Let's look more closely at verses 10 and 13 to see how the wisdom of Proverbs is trying to remove the disguise of sin.

Verse 10 says this. Arrogance leads to nothing but strife, but wisdom is gained by those who take advice. verse 13 says this, the one who has contempt for instruction will pay the penalty, but the one who respects a command will be rewarded. At first glance, these verses might seem relatively disconnected from what we read earlier about lazy and unjust work. But upon further investigation, we notice how Proverbs is continuing to dig into our human tendency to fall for the quote unquote deal of sin and folly.

And this category is especially penetrating into our very sense of self. It poses a question that excavates who we think we are. This category of wisdom forces me to ask, do I have the humility to see myself as someone who needs wisdom from others? Or do I think I know it all? Do I look outside of myself to God and to others in order to gain wisdom? Or do I only look within? It's convenient, far more convenient, to only look within for wisdom.

It might even seem like the best bargain in terms of how to live the good life. Yet there's a hidden cost to living a life that's only driven by the machine of myself. It's interesting that verse 13 here uses the metaphorical language of economics to illustrate the true cost of arrogance and pride. The one who has contempt for instruction will pay the purpose. penalty. The one who respects a command will be rewarded. Living by your own sense of right and wrong can seem like an offer you can't refuse, but it'll trap you with future costs you can't see in the moment. It's a deal that leads to destruction. Earlier, we reflected on the ways that Proverbs 13

amplifies the goodness of our vocations. Here, let's consider how it might clarify the importance of our relationships and receiving wisdom from others. Let's start by thinking. thinking about people in light of verse 10. Are there people whose wise advice you need to take so that you can gain wisdom yourself? Is there truth that you're refusing to hear and respond to, but you need to open yourself up to it? Do you have people in your life who can be that voice of wisdom to you? If not, who can you call or text or email today to start a conversation that takes you in that direction? Now let's think about God. in relation to verse 13.

Are there instructions in the Bible that you currently have contempt for, but need to treasure as gifts from God? Are there commands that you need to respect so that you can be rewarded with the abundant life found in Jesus alone? What area of life do you need to surrender to God and His wisdom today? Proverbs 13 is giving us this wake-up call to the ways that sin and folly disguise themselves, as deals to capitalize on. But in opening our eyes to the true cost of laziness and injustice and arrogance,

Proverbs 13 also refreshes our sense of God's grace to us. God created us to do good work at the office, in our homes, in our schools, to be a blessing with our vocations. God created us to lean on each other and learn from one another, to be humble before him and before those who, point us to him. When we live into the wisdom of Proverbs 13, we live as a blessing together. We give the life and love that we've received from our Creator. God, would you create in us a desire to see our vocations and relationships in light of Proverbs 13? Help us work hard and work justly

because you are working through our effort. Help us live humbly before you and before others, so that we can grow in a wisdom that brings you glory and brings life to others. In Jesus' name, Amen.