8 He who digs a pit may fall into it,
and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.
9 The one who quarries stones may be injured by them,
and he who splits logs endangers himself.
10 If the axe is dull and the blade unsharpened,
more strength must be exerted,
but skill produces success.
11 If the snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.

12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious,
but the lips of a fool consume him.
13 The beginning of his talk is folly,
and the end of his speech is evil madness.
14 Yet the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what is coming,
and who can tell him what will come after him?
15 The toil of a fool wearies him,
for he does not know the way to the city.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Susan Duc

In life, we expect people to get their “just desserts.” As in today’s passage, we expect (or hope) that the person who digs the pit for a passerby would fall into it themselves; or that the thief breaking through the wall of a house would be bitten by a snake (v 8-9). Another way to describe it is: justice.

And yet, there are far too many cases where an honest worker looking to make a living suffers an accident and breaks his back or loses his arm. It’s tough to swallow, but in life, bad things do happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people.

Today’s passage acknowledges that life in this world doesn’t always make sense; it isn’t always just. Life is unpredictable, messy and downright puzzling at times. We can take the greatest care and diligently apply our skills, but as with the snake charmer, the snake could bite us just the same (v 11). We can’t completely remove danger nor guarantee success in life.

So how does acknowledging these realities help us to live wisely in the world?

It’s good for us to remember our creaturely limits: while we can plan and work and organise ourselves, we don’t know where our lives will lead, or even what will happen tomorrow. We are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14).

In seeing ourselves for what we truly are – fragile and wholly dependent on our heavenly Father – we can seek to live under His hand, as we wait for Him to work out His plans for our good in Christ. When we suffer injustice or are buffeted by waves of suffering, we can endure patiently, like Job did, because we have received God’s compassion and mercy in Christ – and when Jesus returns, we will experience that compassion and mercy fully and forever (James 5:10-11).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan is one of our Assistant Ministers.