Righteous Fruit

I hope you are reading along in the Proverbs, and I am sure, if you are, that there are many, many verses that give you pause, maybe you wonder what some of them mean, maybe some just seem geared toward a specific issue or topic you struggle with, or have been affected by, or maybe the positive sides of these Proverbs are a great source of encouragement. My point is, if I highlight a verse here and there, it may be a different one than you would; there are just so many one-liners, I find it hard to read the Proverbs very fast.

One today that I stopped a while and read, and then re-read is Prov. 11:30.

“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life...” Dealing with the fruit first, it depicts what the righteous (the God-fearer) produce as a result of their being righteous, or properly related to the Lord. The tree of life implies a healthy, long life. Thus, righteousness brings life, and though we are not promised a certain number of years here, being righteous positionally with God will result in an endless life with Him. I’d say that qualifies as “long” and “healthy”!

The second half of this verse is not exactly what it seems like at first read. “…and he who is wise wins souls.” Instead of thinking specifically of soul-winning, that is, evangelism, this word “wins” is more like “takes” or “captures”. And what is implied in the text is “influencing people based on ideas”. The assumption is that the ideas are Godly and wise.

Is it wise to share Christ with people? Well, yes, of course, so warning people of their eternal predicament is definitely a wise practice, and a proper application of the Proverb. Just as making wise decisions, which is at the root of this book, is an equally valid application. Those decisions show up in our verbal and physical testimonies, and represent the very foundation upon which we live, and thus serve as ideas by which others will be influenced.

So, putting it all together, being properly related to the Creator (being righteous) will result in positive demonstrations of that relationship. Those, in turn, will allow us to influence those around us, prayerfully convincing others to seek the same relationship and results.

So I have to be an example to others. So do you. Let’s make that a matter of prayer today.