Integrity & Love in the Intro to the 2nd Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 10.1-5 form an introduction to the second book in Proverbs, which begins with the inscription “the Proverbs of Solomon. Those verses lay out foolishness and wisdom as basic choices related to whether one will plunder or produce. The next seven verses are a second stage introduction which adds to the choice between plunder and productivity the issue of speech:

6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- 8 The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
  - 9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
- 10 Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Blast From the Past: Four reasons to memorize Proverbs

I wrote this post on my personal blog back in the summer of 2012:

Credentials to speak on the subject:

Until recently, I worked as a truck driver. Not really. I was a sanitation engineer. Not really. I was a portapottie guy.

But it involved driving a truck at about forty minutes at a time. And it had a CD player.

Using CD burning tech on my computer, I went into the truck with Proverbs 10, then 11, and 12. I memorized all three chapters so I could say it all in order from start to finish.

#ICYMI New Year’s resolutions that don’t plan for failure will fail

I originally wrote this piece on January 8, 2019 about forgetting to make New Year’s resolutions. Here it is with minor changes and updates for before the commencement of 2020!

Here’s the key point: if your resolution doesn’t have failure built into the plan then you will probably fail to keep the resolution.

Some people make New Year’s resolutions and others don’t. Some forget their New Year’s resolutions before February comes. Some realize two weeks into January that they forgot to make any resolutions and feel they missed an opportunity.

The Anti-Dominion Mandate

[This was originally posted at Townhall Finance.]

Star Parker recently wrote that “Marriage and Family Reduce Crime.” According to Parker,

There’s a general assumption in public policy discourse that economic policy and social policy are separate universes.
When economic policy is the topic, we think about taxes, government spending, business, jobs, etc. When social policy is the topic, we think about marriage, family, children, abortion, etc.
But, in reality, the line between economic policy and social policy is ambiguous, if it exists at all.

She cites a study that suggests that pregnancy is an amazingly effective intervention reducing the parents’ propensity for criminal behavior.

Other studies have shown similar correlations. And some have pushed back against such studies. A couple of years ago, The Federalist published an essay, “Why It’s Cruel and Stupid to Politicize Marriage and Hard Work as ‘Racism.’”

“Overture” to The 12 Rules for Life”

I’ve taken more time to do this series than I intended. One reason has been the chaos of life (one small consolation: that has included getting my manuscript closer to publication).

Another reason is that I didn’t realize how much I hate reading and note-taking at the same time. It seems similar to a parent who misses “being there” with his children because he is too busy taking pictures. Alternatively, reading the book is more pleasant than figuring out how to best write about it. So I haven’t, up to now, gotten past the introduction and one chapter, even though I’ve read into Rule 6.

Homestead Yourself

[Originally posted at TownHall Finance.]

Some Libertarians like to talk about how each person is a “self-owner” and then derive political (or anti-political) conclusions.

I don’t agree with that method of deriving political ethics, but the model of self-ownership can be useful. Consider another piece of Libertarian theory: homesteading. The idea is that a territory becomes your personal property once you “mix your labor” with it. When you have transformed a field by working it, then anyone who tries to take over that field is a robber violating your rights.

New Podcast: Who Is Proverbs Written For?

Spoiler: Everyone, but especially to young men.

Uri Brito recently interviewed me for the Kuyperian Commentary podcast.

Here it is:

12 Rules for Life: Buy the book to read chapter 3!

When I promised to “blog through” Jordan Peterson’s bestselling book, I intended to post about the chapters in order (as well as do it faster than I have been).

For reasons I may explain later, I am not following my plan. I’ve read through chapter 3 and this post is about that chapter. I’ll write about chapters 1 and 2 later.

Chapter 3, “Make friends with people who want the best for you,” is pure gold. If it was the only chapter in the book it would still be worth the price.

Foreword to 12 Rules for Life

I almost skipped this because of some Exodus chronology mistakes on the first page (for one: the writer says that Sinai occurred after the forty years in the wilderness). But I am glad I didn’t.

Be a Wise and Unified Ruler of Your Self, Your Life

When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,
but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
its stability will long continue.

via Passage: Proverbs 28:2 (ESV Bible Online).

As I’ve mentioned before (most recently, I think, here), Proverbs is written to a prince–a young man who is going to inherit a kingdom. But Proverbs obviously is written to everyone. It seems that, in an important sense, we are all kings called to rule over responsibilities, most basically over our selves.

With that in mind, Proverbs 28:2 applies not only to a land but to a person.