Proverbs 365 - September Review

October 2nd, 2010

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Another month has recently passed, and thus it's time for another review of my Proverbs 365 project.  As you may know, ever since the first day of 2010, I've been taking a Proverb for each day of the year and then trying to consider it and apply it for 21st Century living.  Sometimes the daily entries take the form of an essay or a more traditional devotional meditation; other times, the entries have been more in the form of short stories and allegories.  Every day it's something different!  I've learned a lot through the daily discipline -- but it's been pretty challenging, too, to keep up with such a pace of writing.  Now that I'm official three-quarters of the way through the year, though, it's really starting to look like I'll be able to complete the project (Lord willing).  I'm already starting to edit some of the stuff that I wrote earlier in the year -- since I've been emphasizing regular (daily) output over top-quality writing... and I'm starting to wonder about the various possibilities for pursuing further publication, following the completion of the year.  I still don't know what exactly will ultimately come out of the Proverbs 365 initiative, but I feel like the intense focus on this section of the Bible has benefitted me tremendously.  It's been an educational experience on par with a high-level seminary class.  There is a lot to be learned from a careful study of the Proverbs.

So anyway, as usual, I'm highlighting three of my personal favorite posts from the past month (always withthe hope that I might encourage some cross-over readership).  During this last month of reading, it really seemed like leadership lessons were popping out at me from the Proverbs.  So I'm going to hold to this theme in choosing my top three posts from September:

Through my years in leadership, I've learned that managing conflict is one of the most challenging -- and yet also one of the most strategic -- elements of leadership.  For a long time, I've been mindful of Matthew 5:23-24 (which says that you're supposed to go and talk things out if you know that someone has been hurt or offended by something you've said or done) and Matthew 18:15-17 (which says that you're supposed to go and talk things out if you feel hurt or offended by something that someone else has said or done), but in reading through Proverbs chapter 10, I was delighted to discover what might be something of summarized version of biblical conflict management.  It's in Proverbs 10:10:  "He who winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin." I wrote some of my reflections in P1010 - The 13-Word Summary of Biblical Conflict Management.  Now that I've read the post back to myself, some weeks after having originally written it, I'm not so sure if all the principles of Matthew 5 and Matthew 18 are completely represented within these 13 words -- but you can read my reflections and decide for yourself...

I found a more simple and more straightforward lesson in leadership when I read Proverbs 20:28: "Love and faithfulness keep a king safe; through love his throne is made secure ." As I thought about all the different styles of leadership -- positional leadership, charasmatic leadership, visionary leadership, and so on -- I started to think back on the leadership influences in my own life and remember how powerful a role relational leadership has played in my life.  With this in mind, I wrote P2028 - Leading by Loving.  As you think about your own opportunities for leading and influencing others, I would challenge you to take this theme of leading by loving to heart.

Finally, I've long admired Abraham Lincoln's example of leadership -- not just as a great political leader, but also as a person of deep conviction and faith.  I know from various biographies that he was well-versed in knowledge of the Bible (including the Proverbs).  But even so, it really struck me when I read Proverbs 28:2 and saw how fitting it was for the times in which Lincoln exercised his leadership.  The Proverb says, "When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order." And as I reflected on the Proverb and on the example of Abraham Lincoln, I realized that leadership depends greatly upon the leader's true knowledge and understanding of the people and the situations at play -- reacting from a deeper sense of wisdom than from a sense of what's comfortable or practical.  I wrote my reflections in a post entitled P2802 - Abe is Awesome.  Don't let the title mislead you:  neither President Lincoln nor King Solomon were perfect in their character or in their leadership.  But we have a lot to learn from these two great leaders.

Believe it or not, these three pieces are only a sampling of the leadership lessons that I learned from the Proverbs throughout the month of September.  Not coincidentally, the last month also represented a refining period in my own leadership -- sorting through some of my own motives and having to help lead others through conflict situations as well.  If the leadership themes from the Proverbs interest you, here is a listing of some of the relevant entries from this past month, with direct links to the content:

And for a complete listing of September's content, here are the titles of all 30 entries, along with direct links to the rest of the content:

October, of course, has already started -- and the Proverbs 365 project keeps moving along with it.  Please visit http://proverbs365.ericasp.com to keep up on all the latest.  Also, please feel free to spread the word, too... One of the distinct advantages of the Proverbs is that it's easy to tune into them, whenever one might so choose. It's not like if you missed the first nine months, then you're "behind" or anything like that. The Proverbs are just like these little power pellets that can be consumed and digested immediately. It's never too late to start enjoying them!

This entry is filed under The Bible, Introspection, Leadership, Proverbs 365.