Proverbs 10:25 Personality types_

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. Proverbs‬ ‭10:25‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬

I like how the Emphasized Bible translates it: “Like the passing away of a tempest so the lawless one is not, but the righteous hath an age-abiding foundation.”

What a visual picture! The lawless are related to a storm. Something that raises the dust, wreaks havoc, is intense, but has a short duration, then passes. Compare that to the righteous – standing like a rock or tree, solid to the core, steady, the recipient of the wild weather anomaly provided by the tempest – once passed may relax and continue to be.

What gives someone a storm quality or a resilient quality? Or what makes an individual temporary or gives him an ability to endure beyond this age? On one hand, the storm is connected with the weather and stands squarely at the intersection of where hot meets cold. It is an environmental effect and relates with the shifting winds of the day. The news we hear. The politics that bear down upon us. The short-term work or pursuit that our flesh runs after. On the other hand, there are values that run much deeper – those that dig into the earth, build a foundation that is meant for enduring – intentionality, planting for the future. Relationships and a love of others have the deepest deepest values with the most enduring being our relationship with our Lord.

It’s a simple picture. Living like the lawless we kick up the dust and make life difficult for those around us. But with patience, the righteous, those with different and more eternal values, find endurance, patience, and resilience that reveals that God is our rock. At the end of the storm, we raise our head and enjoy the sunshine of the new day, the frothing storm is nowhere in sight.