Wisdom of Proverbs - Timing

Timing and action are closely related. What are only temporaries and what last? Why is haste bad and fast good? What are we to say about the future? Don't forget to quit even though we talk about starting.

In Christianity Rediscovered: A Taxonomy for Proverbs, I try to categorize the wisdom of Proverbs so that we can retrieve it quickly and to study it with greater scope and depth.

Here is the list of additional topic:

• The Righteous - Wisdom from Proverbs. 
• Wisdom of Proverbs - Cause and Effect

In this post, we shall cover "Timing".

As usual, the mind-map below gives the main points of learning:

Here is the summary in list form about Timing:

1. It is seasonal and hence watch the season and prepare for the season. There is a right time for the right thing. Study Pro 27:23-27. See also Kingdom Principles Discussion 07 Law of Seasons - Cycle & Kairos Time
2. It is about Duration.
   Lies, wealth and position are temporary. Lies will be exposed, at least eventually if not sooner. Wealth and position can be gone quickly and we must not trust it but to prepare for its loss.
   However, there are things that last. Righteousness is one. Caring for others, especially the poor, keep the King on his throne.
3. Speed is an important factor in timing.
   Haste is bad - don't be hasty in words, promises, decisions, pursue of things. Hastiness will bring disasters. Yet, we need to have responsiveness. We need to do thing fast.
   So what is the difference between haste and responsiveness? It lies in the preparation and training to be fast and right. Fighter pilots go through OODA training so that they can make the act rightly in splits of a second. OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Action. His life depends on it.
   Suddenly is used to describe unexpected event. It will happen when we think we can get away with sinning, trusting of wealth (see point 1 and 2), and evil deeds and sowing discords. Take heed and make correction now.
   Slowly also means surely when we accumulate our earnings little by little. Journey of thousand miles is the accumulation of a first step and many steps thereafter. See Seven Easy Steps to Great Success According to LaoZi.
4. Frequency is another aspect of timing. Don't over use the welcome we get from from friends.
5. Future is a key part of timing (together with past and present). Proverbs warn us that we can't really don't know. Hence, when we make prediction, do provide additional qualifiers and keep the future options opened. Need to what-if's and risk management.
6. Quit or Stop is also about timing. It is better for us to fail fast, learn fast and quit fast. Mistake detected and corrected in the earlier stage cost much less than in the later stage. Know when to quit while the going is good. Don't over stay our welcome as in point 4. It is important to bring up the next generation and hand over. Prepare for retirement is additional thought that comes from meditating from this verse even though next explicitly stated in the Proverb.
7. Sequence vs Concurrency is something about timing that I did not yet discover in proverbs. We have covered some implicit sequence - disaster follows sins or evils; small accumulation of earnings will bring great success.

Here is the big mind-map with the related verses for your ease of reading and meditation. Share with me your discovery from the Word of God as well.

 

Lim Liat (C) 21 Nov 2011