Do not let kindness and truth leave you
Proverbs 3:3-4 Two attributes that can find you the favor of God and man
“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man.”
Proverbs 3:3-4 NASB1995
Good morning! We’re back to the wisdom of Proverbs, with a very upbeat message. Solomon is writing this proverb to his son in an attempt to impart some of his God-given wisdom to the next generation.
He begins by telling his son to keep God’s kindness (Hebrew חֶסֶד or ḥeseḏ, meaning goodness, loving kindness, faithfulness) and truth (Hebrew וֶאֱמֶת or ĕmeṯ, meaning the truth as spoken, of testimony and judgement, of divine instruction, as a body of ethical or religious knowledge, or true doctrine) close at all times.
How close? As if those attributes of God were a necklace that was worn constantly, and as if they were written on his heart. In other words, keep God’s kindness and truth both visibly (on the outside) and in one’s heart and soul. By binding and writing these principles both within and outside, Solomon was impressing upon his son that they needed to become part of his nature.
17th-Century English theologian Matthew Poole saw the connection of God’s mercy (kindness) and truth in two ways — His kindness and truth to us, and as the kindness and mercy we are to exhibit to others:
“Mercy and truth are frequently joined together, as they are in God, as Psalms 25:10; 57:3, etc., or in men, as Proverbs 16:6; 20:28; Hosea 4:1, and here.”1
What is the end result of living a kind and truthful life? God favors those who live with love and mercy, and other men and women recognize the wisdom of that person. The Hebrew word for favor is חֵן (ḥēn) is translated also as grace, elegance, or acceptance. God extends His grace to those who are kind and true, and fellow humans are attracted to those attributes.
Living the favored life means impressing upon yourself the need to shut out all selfishness, hate, falsehood, and hypocrisy… always.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You for teaching me what kindness and truth are all about as I study Your Word. Help me each day to choose to be kind to others, especially when they are unkind to me. Put the words of Your truth on my lips at all times, and give others the understanding that I speak those words in love. Continue Your work on refining me into the person You created me to be. I ask this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Poole, Matthew "A Commentary on the Holy Bible" Volume 2 (Psalms-Malachi) (London: Banner of Truth Trust, 1968)