Jump Start # 3875
Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”
My Dodgers have been in a slump. The richest team in baseball has many players injured. The pitching isn’t going well and the batters can’t seem to get hits. They are still in first place, but they aren’t playing like a first place team. Glad it’s still July and not October. They have time to turn things around and still make the World Series.
All of that made me think of our verse today. Two people fell. One was righteous and the other was wicked. Now, we might be disappointed and even shocked that a righteous man falls. Romans reminds us that all have sinned. Even after salvation, a righteous man sins. He doesn’t sin as often and his continual walk with the Lord brings forgiveness through the blood of Jesus.
The passage is not about how to keep from falling. Both men fell. The passage is about the aftermath. What happens when they fall. Here is the difference. The righteous man rises again. He falls and he gets back up. The wicked man stumbles and apparently doesn’t get back up. And, that difference makes all the difference. There is a difference between failing and being a failure. Many a person has failed a test or even a class but have gone on to graduate. Failure is to quit. It’s giving up. It’s walking away from the challenge. Failing a test and flunking out of school are not the same. Failing the bar exam or the medical boards is not the same as giving up and doing something else.
Here are some things to notice:
First, the righteous man understands what he needs to do. He falls, but he doesn’t stay down. He doesn’t cry, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” He rises. He knows the road back to standing involves confession, repentance and clinging to the Lord. The righteous man was righteous before he fell. The wicked man was wicked before he stumbled. The character of these two did not change. The fall didn’t make them different people.
Second, the righteous person did not give up on himself. He falls seven times. He rises seven times. He doesn’t get so discouraged that he no longer believes that he cannot get up. Now, if these two men were together, the wicked man would encourage the righteous man to stay down. He’d rewrite the story so that the falling looks good. He’d tell the righteous man that he deserves to take care of himself once in a while. He’d tell him that everyone messes up once in a while and it’s really no big dea. Keeping the righteous man down may bring comfort to the wicked man. It won’t bring him any salvation.
Third, it may be that both men had people around them to help them. The righteous man would have other righteous people with him. And, when he fell, it would be the extended arm of the righteous that helps pull him up. For the wicked man, he would have surrounded himself with other wicked people. They are self seeking and only interested in self. The fallen wicked man would not have anyone around him to help him. No one to pray for him. No one to remind him to avoid the wicked ways. Surrounded by wicked people, the wicked man would remain on the ground.
Rather than judging the righteous man for falling, be thankful and be encourage that he rises up. Let him be an example to you. His faith, determination and persistence has kept him going. He keeps rising up. What an example. Some will only see his falling. God sees his rising up.
Roger