Break But Don't Bend

Have you ever come to the realization that God has been there, done that, and that nothing is new for Him? Would you believe me if I told you that God invented twitter thousands of years ago? You can read His tweets in this extraordinary book called PROVERBS. (I follow "Book of Proverbs" on twitter - you should too. Its like reading God's tweets everyday).

Recently, they posted an interesting slant on Proverbs 29:1: "A person who will not bend after many warnings will suddenly be broken beyond repair."

In our society, we have a bend but don't break attitude. We bend just enough to get under the bar set before us. We bend our attitudes just enough to keep our positions. We bend our beliefs in order to avoid rocking the boat. We bend in order to keep from breaking. 

At first glance, this appears to be the sentiment of Proverbs 29:1. However, I believe that the meaning is much deeper and more profound than taking it at face value. When reading any part of scripture, ALWAYS remember that it is subtly pointing to Jesus, and specifically His cross and resurrection. The Old Testament points ahead to Him, and the New Testament points back to Him.

So what does Proverbs 29:1 tell us in light of the cross and resurrection? That we MUST BE BROKEN. Not only that, we must desire brokenness. We must stop bending.

Let me explain.

When I first read this verse, I got a "visual" in my mind of a prideful person refusing to listen to anyone, doing everything his/her own way, without need for anyone telling them how to live their life, and because of their pride, they will meet their destruction. While this is certainly true and powerful warning for those who choose to live life that way, it takes on a very different meaning for the Christ follower. The problem for us is that we follow this guy named Jesus who was broken in every sense of the word (we actually call this guy "Lord"). And if we want to truly follow Him, we must be willing to go where He went. We must be broken in order to get the blessing. But there's a problem: our pride protects itself at all costs! What results is what I call spiritual bending. We become lukewarm Christians. We attend church, but there's really no life change. We talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. We tell everyone we are Christians, but we don't become disciples. We bend, but we don't allow God to break us.

Moses HAD to be broken so he could lead the people.

Jacob HAD to be broken so he could become Israel.

David HAD to be broken so he could become king.

Saul HAD to be broken so he could become Paul.

Jesus HAD to be broken so He could become our Savior.

And on and on in scripture. Psalm 31:12 - "I am forgotten as though I were dead. I have become broken pottery." You see, it is our brokenness that drives us to God. He is ever searching for broken pottery, broken bread, and wine that has been poured out. He had a Son that was willing to give away His food, HIS LIFE - and we are still benefitting from His brokenness 2,000 years later. And that's pretty cool.

You want God to do great things in your life? Stop bending...let God break you.

-MCL