Proverbs 24:10-12, 28:1-18; 30:11-14, 20
October 6, 2024
preached by Pastor Ryan Bouton
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“In this world, therefore, the dominion of good men is profitable, not so much for themselves as for human affairs. But the dominion of bad men is hurtful chiefly to themselves who rule, for they destroy their own souls by greater license in wickedness; while those who are put under them in service are not hurt except by their own iniquity. For to the just all the evils imposed on them by unjust rulers are not the punishment of crime, but the test of virtue. Therefore the good man, although he is a slave, is free; but the bad man, even if he reigns, is a slave, and that not of one man, but, what is far more grievous, of as many masters as he has vices; of which vices when the divine Scripture treats, it says, ‘For of whom any man is overcome, to the same he is also the bond-slave’ [2 Peter 2:19].

Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies? For what are robberies themselves, but little kingdoms? The band itself is made up of men; it is ruled by the authority of a prince, it is knit together by the pact of the confederacy; the booty is divided by the law agreed on.”

~ Book IV of The City of God by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430), a theologian, philosopher in Roman North Africa

“Bureaucracies are designed to perform public business. But as soon as a bureaucracy is established, it develops an autonomous spiritual life and comes to regard the public as its enemy.”

~ Once Around the Sun by Brooks Atkinson (1894-1984), American theater, writer for The New York Times

“The public agency’s budget must be exhausted by approved expenditures. If there is a surplus, it is remanded to the general fund and will usually result in a reduction of the agency’s subsequent budgets. Since a surplus cannot benefit the agency, there can be no direct benefit to the agency of increasing a benefit-cost difference or of reducing the cost of achieving a given benefit level. Thus, broadly speaking, bureaucrats have strong incentives to increase costs, as these will, up to a point, increase the size of the bureau’s budget.”

~ Mack Ott, American Economist, in “Bureaucratic Incentives, Social Efficiency, and the Conflict in Federal Land Policy” in Cato Journal, Cato Institute, vol. 1(2)

The Schofield Kid: [after killing a man for the first time] It don’t seem real… how he ain’t gonna never breathe again, ever… how he’s dead. And the other one too. All on account of pulling a trigger.
Will Munny: It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming.
Will Munny: We all got it coming, kid.

~ Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood

Sermon Passage

Proverbs 24:10-12, 28:1-18; 30:11-14, 20 (ESV)

Proverbs 24

¹⁰ If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
¹¹ Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
¹² If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,”
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it,
and will he not repay man
according to his work?

Proverbs 28

¹ The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.
² When a land transgresses, it has many rulers,
but with a man of understanding and knowledge,
its stability will long continue.
³ A poor man who oppresses the poor
is a beating rain that leaves no food.
⁴ Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,
but those who keep the law strive against them.
⁵ Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek the LORD
understand it completely.
⁶ Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
⁷ The one who keeps the law
is a son with understanding,
but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
⁸ Whoever multiplies his wealth by interest and profit
gathers it for him who is generous to the poor.
⁹ If one turns away his ear from hearing the law,
even his prayer is an abomination.
¹⁰ Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way
will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
¹¹ A rich man is wise in his own eyes,
but a poor man who has understanding will find him out.
¹² When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,
but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.
¹³ Whoever conceals his transgressions
will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them
will obtain mercy.
¹⁴ Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always,
but whoever hardens his heart
will fall into calamity.
¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a charging bear
is a wicked ruler over a poor people.
¹⁶ A ruler who lacks understanding
is a cruel oppressor,
but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.
¹⁷ If one is burdened with the blood of another,
he will be a fugitive until death;
let no one help him.
¹⁸ Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered,
but he who is crooked in his ways
will suddenly fall.

Proverbs 30

¹¹ There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers.
¹² There are those who are clean in their own eyes
but are not washed of their filth.
¹³ There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
how high their eyelids lift!
¹⁴ There are those whose teeth are swords,
whose fangs are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
the needy from among mankind.

²⁰ This is the way of an adulteress:
she eats and wipes her mouth
and says, “I have done no wrong.”