Proverbs 30:33 Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife
Perhaps you go to work tomorrow in the field, in the factory, in the office, and there is a coworker whose nose is bleeding uncontrollably. At first, you would be shocked, but what would your first question be in that situation? You would probably say, “What happened?” That is a question you might not have if you had been there ten minutes before and saw your coworker and another worker pushing each other around and having loud, harsh words. Then, you would know what happened.
One thing that is funny about babies is they really don’t know what consequences are. They do not know what is going to happen. Think about a baby tasting his first pickle or lemon. There is a comical reaction because the baby has no idea what is coming down the pike. When you get a little older, sometimes you do know the future. In the case of two fighting coworkers you can say, “I can see what is going to happen.” Whereas, when you come in and see the consequences, you might think, “How did this happen?”
A wise person asks, “What happened?” before it happens. Proverbs 30:33 says, “Surely the churching of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” These are things that have inevitable consequences. We don’t do this much in our society today, but if you put milk in a churn and agitate the milk, that is going to have an obvious effect. If you twist a guy’s nose, that is going to bring forth blood. It is inevitable. The forcing of wrath or anger will bring forth strife. That is inevitable. So, many times we do know the future, so a wise person is simply a person who asks, “What happened?” before it ever happens.
Many times, in a home, church, or work situation, we think, “What happened?” Well, if we look back, we know what happened, but the key is to see what is happening before it happens and to take action to do something about it. Notice the inevitable nature of this. The Bible says, “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” Surely means inevitably.
We have all heard someone who says something like, “It sounded good at the time.” I remember as a kid I was camping out with some friends in the East Pasture here on the Ranch. I was cooking eggs one morning over the fire and I needed to grab the griddle off the fire, but the handle was really hot. I looked around for something to protect my hand and the only thing I saw was a plastic bag. That was a mistake I only made one time. It sounded good at the time, but once the plastic melted on my hand, I realized that had not been smart.
You know the old saying that insanity is doing the same thing and hoping for different results. So, there is an inevitable nature to many of these things, a cause and effect. “Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter…so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.” There is a cause and effect.
My grandfather used to say about young people who were heading down the wrong path, “I can write his story.” Did he mean that he knew the future and was a prophet? No, not exactly, but once you have seen things unfold in life so many times, you know what the cause and effect is. Maybe you have said to one of your children, “What did you think would happen?” Well, the Lord could say that to me many a time.
There is a part you can do and the part you cannot do. The Bible tells us in Romans 12, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” That means there might be times when peace is impossible if you are waiting on someone else, but as to what you can do, your part, live peaceably with all men.
So, physically, mentally, socially, morally, spiritually, a wise person simply asks, “What happened?” before it happens. He looks at what he is doing and thinks about where it is going.