Proverbs 18.16
“A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great.”
Elsewhere Proverbs denounces a “bribe” (sohad), but here encourages a “gift” (mattan). This assumes that the gift is given at the right time, in the right way, and for the right reasons. The word for “makes room” is a Hebrew word that means “enlarges” or “makes wide.” It conveys the idea of opening doors or creating opportunity.
A gift, then, can open doors and create opportunity. However, even a gift can be given with ulterior motives, so this verse issues both a general statement of truth as well as a warning. Give gifts when appropriate, and do so with right motives. Do not use gifts as a bribe.
The gift mentioned in this verse need not be money or a trinket or some expensive token. The most valuable gift that we can offer to people, and the gift that most effectively opens doors of opportunity, is to deliver value through a service we deliver or a resource we provide. This is the functional skill that I have referred to repeatedly in our study of Proverbs.
People who lead organizations in today’s complex, rapidly-changing world are constantly confronted with three challenges: Achieve goals, solve problems, and manage risk. If the service or resource that we offer addresses at least one of those three challenges, then it is truly a gift to people in positions of authority.
That then begs the question: Does the church have a reputation for delivering that kind of value to leaders in organizations? Do Christians have a proven track record of helping people and organizations achieve goals, solve problems, or manage risk?
If not, why not? The answer: Because we have defined our mission in the world as exclusively moral and relational, and we have no commitment to or expertise in the functional. The church’s reputation is an institution that focuses on moral, relational, and spiritual things. We have no earned reputation as wise and effective workers who bring effective resources that help other organizations and institutions achieve goals, solve problems, and manage risk in the messiness of the real world.
It is a devastating strategic blunder by the Christian community, because the institutions in society that control the functional will eventually gain influence and control over the moral and relational standards of society. This is precisely what is happening throughout American culture. The institutions in our society that teach and deploy functional knowledge and skills have largely abandoned God’s moral and relational standards.
The enemy fully understands the inter-relationship of the moral, relational, and functional dimensions of life and culture, but for some reason Christians do not. As our post-truth society grows ever more secular, the church becomes ever more disconnected from functional realities. This is profoundly unwise, and it must change.
Proverbs 18.18
“The lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders.”
Conflicts and fights create disorder and are to be avoided. In this proverb, the lot represents God’s revealed standards and is not simply the result of chance. It is particularly important to resolve conflicts between powerful people because their disagreements could lead to widespread division and damage, not only to themselves as individuals but also to society at large.
This is one of the greatest challenges facing America today: What standards are being used to adjudicate the quarrels of the people in positions of leadership in our nation? What reference points are guiding the debates in our government, the reporting of the media, and the discussions among citizens? Are leaders, commentators, and citizens looking at political and social debates through the lens of objective truth, or are people making declarations and basing their arguments on the basis of subjective feelings and political interests?
These are rhetorical questions, for the answer at the current time is manifestly evident. In the current culture, subjectivity and political expediency reigns.
