# 433 The Proverbs – ‘A manual for living’ (MSG). Proverbs 12:1-28. “Out in the open seas of Proverbs.” (# 55)

Maybe 10 times in my life I have been in the “open seas”, when, wherever you look around you, all that can be seen is ocean and sky. On all those occasions it was aboard the large ferry called the “Spirit of Tasmania” sailing through the Bass Straight which divides the Tasman Sea (E) and Indian Ocean and is the 240 Km wide channel between Victoria (N) and Tasmania (S) in Australia.

Nielson suggests that, at this stage in our study of Proverbs, from chapter 10 on, “we’re out in the open seas of Proverbs, surrounded by the ‘proverbs of Solomon’… [where we have] a clear God-centred perspective and continued contrasts between the righteous and the wicked.” (# 55)

So, as we enter a new year (2025), what can we learn from chapter 12 where there are many different themes coming through? For a change, let’s just look at some of the positive and practical character traits of the person Proverbs calls the wise person, and consider which of these traits we might need to work on, with God’s help, in 2025. To do this we will temporarily ignore the contrasting foolish lifestyle for the moment.

As we consider the following, maybe ask yourself, ‘How am I doing as regards these areas of my life?” and then mark yourself 1-10 (1 meaning doing poorly, and 10 meaning doing well). Then pray about the things you scored low on and seek God’s help to do better in 2025.

1. Living a disciplined and good life that pleases God.                                                                                 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge… Good people obtain favor from the Lord… the wise listen to advice… (vv. 1-2, 15)
2. Being a faithful spouse (or parent/child/friend)
    A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown…The Lord… delights in people who are trustworthy… The righteous choose their friends carefully…  (vv. 4, 22, 26)
3. Being honest and just in all our planning and actions.
    The plans of the righteous are just… (v. 5)  [ see also 16:3 – Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.]
4. Speaking words that blesses and encourages others.                                                                                  the words of the godly save lives… Wise words bring many benefits… An honest witness tells the truth… the words of the wise bring healing… Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. (vv. 6, 14, 17, 18, 25 NLT)
5. Living prudently (thoughtfully) and humbly without pretence.                                                                        A person is praised according to their prudence… Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody… the prudent overlook an insult… The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves…  [or, don’t make a show of their knowledge. NLT]  (vv. 8-9, 16, 23)
6. Being thoughtful of all God’s creatures.

The righteous care for the needs of their animals… (v. 10) [see also Genesis 1:28 – NIV comments: “As God’s representative in the creaturely realm, [mankind] is steward of God’s creatures. He is not to exploit, waste or despoil them, but to care for them and use them in the service of God and man.”]

• Being peacemakers in a world at war.                                                 those who promote peace have joy. (v. 20) [see also Romans 14:19 – Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.]

And as if to summarize the whole thing, Proverbs 12 finishes with:

²⁸ In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.

What a difference it would make in this sad and violent and unstable world if more followers of Jesus, with God’s help, lived lives according to God’s plan for us as revealed in the Bible.

Now in conclusion, the Bass Straight is considered “notoriously rough water” at times and so sailing between Victoria and Tasmania can be hazardous and uncomfortable. Being a passenger on the “Spirit of Tasmania” requires that you have faith in the ability of the ship’s captain to get you through the open water and safely to port.

In the same way, as we navigate our way through some “rough waters” in our lives, and seek to live lives pleasing to Him, it requires faith in Jesus, the One that Dorothy Day in the early 1900s wrote about in her poem, “Conquered”:

“Out of the light that dazzles me,
Bright as the sun from pole to pole,
I thank the God I know to be,
For Christ – the Conqueror of my soul…

Christ is the Master of my fate!
Christ is the Captain of my soul!”

May 2025 be a year when we all seek, with God’s help, to be good people [who] obtain favor from the Lord, and to grow deeper in our faith in Him who is the Captain of our souls. Because, this is true wisdom in action!