Sower of Discord | Knowable Word

Proverbs 6, Structure, and Careful Observation All in One

June 4, 2014 By Peter Krol

You’ve gotta check out this blog post by Dan Phillips at Pyromaniacs. He walks through Proverbs 6:1-19, showing how his understanding of the text unfolded as he observed more and more carefully. He noticed the structure, and the way the passage hangs together around the three progressively bad kinds of fool.

And his careful observation leads him to many of the same conclusions I drew about this text and these three kinds of fool.

I highly recommend it, if you’re up for a fun journey. Check it out!

Connecting the 3 Fools

December 30, 2013 By Peter Krol

Simon Lutz (2013), Creative Commons

For a few weeks, I’ve been examining three kinds of fool from Prov 6:1-19: the Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord. To help you avoid them in the new year, I’d like to consider how they’re all connected.

Most foreign aid has done great harm to the Third World. Rather than helping the poor to have a better life, it has created a culture of dependence where people realize they don’t actually have to work hard to improve their communities. They just have to find a Western official who will give them a handout. So we put Band-Aids on cancerous tumors and perpetuate the injustice, instead of supporting useful organizations that educate people and train them in beneficial skills. We rescue hurting people in the name of world peace.

Coincidentally, we can do the same thing at home. How many relationships consist of the “Savior” who shields the “Sluggard” from his choices? Parents allow their perfectly healthy sons to live with them into their late 20s or early 30s. Teachers adjust the curve so no student will be left behind. Managers perpetuate the status quo rather than dealing with problem people on the team; it might be too awkward to confront them, after all. Church leaders dedicate most of their time to procedural minutiae or unteachable committee members, while turning a blind eye to the rampant gossip and slander ripping apart the community of God’s children.

And if someone has the courage to deal with such problems biblically, “Sowers of Discord” come out of the woodwork with their “concerns” at such an “unloving” approach. So godly people run in fear and perpetuate the evil.

We get into tidy patterns of behavior that reinforce our folly, and then we mistake our comfort for success in serving Christ.

Every once in a while, however, a ray of light from God’s Word pierces the cycle and exposes the issues. It feels like things get worse, because all the patterns we were used to stop working. It’s easy to see such moments as disruptive or even harmful to our lives. But I challenge you to see those moments for what they are: the opportunity for new life. Before resurrection, there must be death. Put the fool in you to death, and live anew in Christ every day.

Sometimes we think we’re on the right path as long as we avoid the big areas of folly, like easy money and easy sex. But God cares about the details, and some of those details are more destructive than we realize. Pieces of the Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord reside in every one of us. Part of wisdom is learning how to discern the folly so we can turn to Christ, set the folly aside, and avoid its consequences.

Question: How do you see the three fools in your own heart?

Don’t Mess with God’s Wife

December 23, 2013 By Peter Krol

The Sower of Discord is the third of Solomon’s three fools in Prov 6:1-19. The first poem (Prov 6:12-15) addressed this fool’s characteristics and fate. The second poem (Prov 6:16-19) focuses on God’s attitude toward this fool. This week I’ll tackle the second poem.

There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination to him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that make haste to run to evil,
A false witness who breathes out lies,
And one who sows discord among brothers (Prov 6:16-19, ESV).

In this second poem, Solomon reinforces the characteristics of the Sower of Discord (Prov 6:17-19) so we’ll learn how to recognize them. But his chief concern is to reveal God’s opinion of such fools. God hates the person who sows discord among brothers. “Abomination” is the strongest possible word for God’s loathing; there is no possibility of softening this hatred.

Also, let’s not fall into the trap of thinking God hates the sin but loves the sinner. Not in this case. “There are six things that the Lord hates…[including] one who sows discord among brothers.”

Draco (2008), Creative Commons

The church is Christ’s body (Eph 5:23), his household (Eph 2:19, 1 Tim 3:14-15). That means that both those who sow discord and those who support the sowing of discord are murderers and home wreckers. We listen to sowers of discord because it feels like indulging in our favorite desserts (Prov 18:8), but really it’s like swallowing razor blades. It’s like wearing a “suck it up” t-shirt in a maternity ward. We might as well paint targets on our chests and think happy thoughts, because the Lord is a crack shot. He is a jealous, avenging husband, who will not stand idle while fools screw with his wife.

As you celebrate Jesus’ birth this week, remember that his body was broken once before to pay for the sin of the world (Luke 22:19). He won’t suffer it to be broken again. “Do you not know that you [plural in the Greek; referring to a community, not an individual] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17).

But for those who set aside the sowing of discord, hope flows from the body once broken.

Jesus died for sowers of discord so he could reunite them with his father. His disciples had their fair share of disputing and jockeying for position. But Jesus paid their debts, gripped their hearts, and gave them a vision for community based not on position or prestige but on mutual service. He gave them an effective method for resolving conflict and offense (Matt 18:15-20), but their motivation to follow through on it wouldn’t come from inside themselves. They had to remember how Jesus loved them and died for them so he could forgive them and heal them.

This is how we do it as well. We remember Jesus’ sacrificial love for us, and we can’t help but to forgive others and speak well of them:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph 4:29-32).

Question: How have you seen Jesus heal his body from discord?

How to Recognize Sowers of Discord

December 16, 2013 By Peter Krol

There is no foolproof formula for recognizing sowers of discord, but Solomon wants to train us to be discerning.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Goes about with crooked speech,
Winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
Points with his finger,
With perverted heart devises evil,
Continually sowing discord;
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
In a moment he will be broken beyond healing (Prov 6:12-15, ESV).

1. Take note of crooked speech (Prov 6:12b)

Do they twist words to win sympathy? Do they label their complaints as “concerns,” their anger as “frustration,” or their bitterness as “misunderstanding”? Have they failed to forgive? Do they always have questions but never any answers?

2. Consider body language (Prov 6:13a)

When around people who offend them, do they roll their eyes, grimace, or shake their heads? Do they make eye contact with you when the other person turns away? Does their posture communicate disrespect or defensiveness?

3. Refuse to join the gang (Prov 6:13b).

a2gemma (2007), Creative Commons

The Sower of Discord “points with his finger” in an effort to persuade others to join his team. He’s a sneaky communicator, and his destructive power lies in his ability to recruit. Whenever someone has a complaint against another person, your best response is, “did you talk to that person about it?”

Sowing discord is one of the most prevalent and most disregarded sins in the church today. We think of gossip as something that happens on daytime talk shows, and we ignore it in the fellowship hall. We think slander deserves discipline only if it’s intentionally and overtly deceitful. Perhaps we’ll confront those who purposefully spread bad reports about others, but Proverbs is just as concerned to confront those who endorse those reports by giving them a hearing (Prov 26:20-28).

This passage convicts me thoroughly. I am as guilty as anyone of speaking ill, sowing discord, and fighting unity. I have shared details I didn’t need to share. I have discussed the failings of my supervisors with my subordinates. I have asked for the low down on specific people, and I have entertained conversations that went in the wrong direction. I have asked Jesus to change me, and I wrestle my self-importance daily.

If you are broken by this text, there is much hope for your repentance and healing. You can act as glue to reunite the shards of your once-vibrant community. You can unleash Christ’s redemptive glory in your church, and he can restore his body to full and proper functioning. Learn to recognize the characteristics of the Sower of Discord, and exterminate them from your heart and your church.

But if you find yourself still making excuses for sowing discord (or for aiding and abetting others to sow discord), you’ll be ruined before you know what hits you (Prov 6:15). God doesn’t like it when people mess with his wife.

Question: What else helps you to recognize sowers of discord?

Fool #3: The Sower of Discord

December 9, 2013 By Peter Krol

Richie Diesterheft (2007), Creative Commons

The Sower of Discord is the third of Solomon’s three fools in Prov 6:1-19. This person knows what’s good for God’s people better than God himself does. This person is a fighter, a crusader. This person suffers tremendous persecution at the hands of those who don’t understand (or won’t receive) the mission. This person believes every point of theology is worth dying for. This person is always right.

I am this fool. If you’re honest, you probably are, too.

But watch out. Solomon addressed the Savior as “my son” (Prov 6:1). He also addressed the Sluggard personally, although not as a “son” (Prov 6:6). The Sower of Discord, however, is almost beneath his dignity. He does not address this person directly; instead, he warns his readers against this person. He does not hold out much hope for this person. The Sower of Discord is an “abomination” (Prov 6:16), one hated by God with utmost hatred. We must not allow this fool to multiply in our churches. We must not allow this folly to multiply in our hearts.

Solomon divides this section into two poems. The first poem (Prov 6:12-15) addresses this fool’s characteristics and fate. The second poem (Prov 6:16-19) focuses on God’s attitude toward this fool. This week I’ll tackle the first one.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Goes about with crooked speech,
Winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
Points with his finger,
With perverted heart devises evil,
Continually sowing discord;
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
In a moment he will be broken beyond healing (Prov 6:12-15, ESV).

Let’s be honest. This person is a great friend to have because he always has inside information about people. He’s good at making you feel like you’re on the inside and others are on the outside. He’ll welcome you in and give you a prominent seat in the clubhouse. He’s not a gossip; he just really cares about what’s best. He wants truth, and not injustice, to reign.

But he is worthless. He is wicked (Prov 6:12a). Nothing good will come of your friendship with him. Perhaps that sounds harsh, but it’s what Proverbs teaches.

This person continually sows discord while devising evil with his perverted heart (Prov 6:14). Of course, he doesn’t think of what he does as “evil.” He just has “concerns.” He has a few questions about the leadership. He wants to understand the church’s direction, and he wants to know if you understand it any better than he does. By discussing his concerns with you, he can gain some valuable advice on how to address his concerns and offer help. He offers you “the real story” behind a certain event in the church’s history. He’s full of insight and compassion, and he’s like a magnet for those who really care about people.

Watch out.

Question: Why do you think Solomon is so hard on the Sower of Discord?

The Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord

October 28, 2013 By Peter Krol

In recent years, I’ve learned that much of parenting involves helping the children learn not to do dumb stuff that hurts themselves and others. One child destroys every tower and confiscates every treasure, then wonders why no other children want to play together. Another child leaps from couch to coffee table and back again, wondering how far the gap can widen before something bad happens. Yet another finds a bag of sweets, devours the entirety in secret, and moans over the ensuing tummy ache.

One glorious incident involved our basement’s air hockey table. One child, who was typically more curious than a PhD candidate, wraps the table’s electrical cord around the rear axle of a big wheel. This child then mounts the vehicle, hits the gas, and begins taking measurements. I’m not sure which hypothesis was being tested, but the experiment resulted in our household inventory becoming minus one air hockey table. And that child went on basement probation for a few weeks.

I scratch my head at these kids until I realize I’m no different. I do dumb things and act surprised when they don’t turn out well. I’ve already written of the time I photocopied my hindquarters at summer camp. With a broken machine, a gash on my thigh, and a humiliating confession behind me, a camp legend was born. Even today, I stay up too late at night and wonder why I’m too tired to carry out important tasks the next day. I belittle my wife in public and get upset when she’s not affectionate with me in private.

Solomon wrote Proverbs 6 to help fools like us: those in danger of harming themselves and ruining the people they love.

Jon Gales (2007), Creative Commons

Now most people read Proverbs for its practical advice. They crave cuts of beefy counsel to sink their teeth into. They want help with their finances or career path or relationships, but by the end of Proverbs 5, these spiritual carnivores feel like the steakhouse is always under construction and never open for business. So in Proverbs 6, Solomon finally serves up dense shanks for thoughtful chewing.

Proverbs 6:1-19 digresses from the big-picture framework of wisdom to portray three specific kinds of fool. The “Savior” tries to rescue needy people himself rather than pointing them to Jesus (Prov 6:1-5). The “Sluggard” makes a series of lazy choices that take him farther and farther from the Lord (Prov 6:6-11). The “Sower of Discord” breaks up the body of Christ, risking God’s condemnation, which could be atoned for by the broken body of Christ (Prov 6:12-19).

This section is unique in Prov 1-9 in that it doesn’t contain a command to listen. Did Solomon omit the command because his audience should have internalized it by now? He’s given enough theory; now he gets painfully specific. And the assumed question hangs in the background: Will you listen to instruction, even if it hurts to do so?

Question: Which of the three fools can you relate with?