Getting the Blues

(Proverbs 20:30 KJV)  The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

There are some lessons that we don’t want to hear or learn.  This verse is one of them.  It stands alone here at the end of the chapter.  It is like Solomon had to sneak it in when we were not expecting it or we would refuse to read it.

We don’t like “blueness” (stripes NASB) (2250).  This is talking about the way a bruise turns our skin blue.  It is the kind of injury that causes damage but does not break the skin.  It is painful when inflicted but usually is just an unsightly reminder after that. 

We don’t like the hard parts of life but it is clear that we learn better in adversity than we do in the good times.  Obviously there are exceptions but a general fact of life is that hard times make us grow and the good times make us lazy and fat.

So?  Rejoice if you are having a bad day.  Take your bruises.  Benefit from the experience.  A bad day with a lesson learned my keep you from a rotten future when it is too late to change.