Lemuel's Wisdom

About Lemuel we know next to nothing. However, we do know two things about him. First, Lemuel was a king. Second, Lemuel had a wise mother.

Proverbs 31:1 (NIV)
The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

The "Wife of Noble Character" section of the latter part of Proverbs 31 is more well-known than the first nine verses. One can easily summarize the advice Lemuel received from his mother in verses two through seven with two statements:

1. Don't chase after women.
   
2. Don't cloud your mind with alcohol.
   

While none of us are kings, we can learn from Lemuel's mom. I particularly would like to focus on her further advice as found in the next two verses.

Those verses are more easily summarized than the previous seven even though we did so in a mere two sentences. We'll summarize these two verses in just one sentence: Speak up for others.

As believers in Jesus, we are called by God to love our neighbors. Part of loving is speaking. In what ways could we speak up for others? Here are some ideas:

1. Vote.
2. Defend others from bullying.
3. Confront injustice.
4. Speak against gossip rather than spreading it.
5. Use your realms of authority appropriately to help others.
6. Report abuse.

While we don't know Lemuel's mother's name, we have access to her wisdom. I'm thankful for it.

#ordinarylives