Horse Sense Without the Horse
Proverbs 20:15-18
1. I like horses okay, but they I am not a horse-person.
2. But for much of history, horses were crucial. As a result, we have developed a lot of idioms involving horses.
3. “Many terms and phrases in the English language harken back to a time not so long ago when horses were of extreme importance. Phrases like stubborn as a mule, beating a dead horse, horseplay, horsing around and horse laugh are self- evident and require no explanation. Other phrases have origins obscured in the past. Some, like the humorous reference to an automobile as a horseless carriage, have survived longer than many would have anticipated. Although we rarely stop to look at their literal meanings, many of these linguistic phrases embody useful information about equine behavior or the care and treatment of horses. Everyone is acquainted with the sayings You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, which was cited as a proverb as early as 1546, and That’s a horse of a different color, which probably originated in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in 1601…
“Good old horse sense most likely refers to the accumulation of knowledge about horses acquired by humans, not to the intelligence of horses. In order to buy, care for, train, handle, breed and work with horses, one must know a great deal about them.” [www.carnegiemuseums.com]
3. Horse sense means sense about practical and everyday things. The Book of Proverbs can help us develop that sense, although without the horse!
Main Idea: We should never assume that common sense is common. We all have gaps in our wisdom spectrum, and we all need to review to stay sharp. Today we will look at four obvious bits of divine advice.
I. HUMAN Capital is Better than Glitzy Jewelry (15)
Human capital refers to a person’s combined ability, knowledge base, education, training, experience, expertise, talents, motivation, interests, moral values, social skills, personal presence, relationships, personality, communication skills, disposition, intuition, & creativity. The knowledge of God and obedience to him is a central “human capital” issue for the believer.
A. Who do you ADMIRE? (prestigious person or godly wise person)
B. Knowledge of God and godly sense is more PRECIOUS
C. Our REDEMPTION postures us for this wisdom
I Peter 1:18-19 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
II. Do Not Be GULLIBLE When It Comes to Lending Money (16)
This is more about business and money management than charity
A. Do not secure a loan unless you are willing to risk losing it ALL
• In modern times, this would include cosigning
• If things default, what will happen?
B. Beware of PARTNERSHIPS
• I have known a number of people who lost everything via partnerships
C. Do not place yourself in a situation where you might HOLD THE BAG
The picture: helping a man who is in great debt, essentially sending good money after bad…a difference between helping someone out in a pinch because of unusual circumstances or people trying to maintain an unmaintainable lifestyle…
D. Collateral is a GOOD idea
This man has guaranteed payment to those he has cosigned with, so he probably has lots of clothing & goods; this is not the same as taking a man’s only coat (Ex. 22:26)
III. Remember: Your Schemes Will Come Back to HAUNT You (17)
A. Plenty of EXAMPLES in Scripture
1. Achan (Joshua 7)
2. Gehazi (2 Kings 5)
B. People love to think they have BESTED one they despise
1. Sin, in general, is enjoyable, which is why we are tempted
2. This sin makes us feel superior to and perhaps avenged toward another
3. They may despise an individual, society, or simply morality; “we bad”
C. Short term JUBILIATION turns to long term regret!
Ecclesiastes 10:8, “He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.”
1. Sin is ultimately destructive
2. We want the pleasures of sin without the consequences, but it doesn’t work; the sweet bread turns to gravel.
Application: We do ourselves a favor when we avoid sin. When we scheme to take advantage of others, darkness sets in immediately.
IV. CONSULT With the Wise Before Making Major Decisions (18)
A. Complicated decisions need to be THOUGHT THROUGH
Jesus called this “counting the cost.”
B. We should ask the RIGHT people
• Some people have strong opinions about things they know little about
• Why should your opinion count? Why should theirs be weighed?
• Rehoboam did both – but he chose the wrong people to listen to…
C. Wise people INQUIRE first
Jesus’ Midrash on Discipleship from this passage perhaps?
Luke 14:27-33, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
When you choose to follow Christ, you are going to war! Must be taken seriously.
Ultimate wisdom means aligning yourself completely with God’s will.
