Proverbs 31:6

This verse comes from advice given by a mother to her royal son, King Lemuel, at the opening of Proverbs 31. In the verses just before it, she warns him that kings should not drink wine or strong beer, because it clouds judgment and causes rulers to forget justice and exploit the vulnerable. Then, almost without pause, she turns it around: give strong drink to those who are dying, and wine to those in deep anguish — let them drink and forget their suffering. The contrast is intentional. The ruler needs a clear mind to serve justly. The suffering person needs relief, not a lecture. This reflects an ancient practice of using wine as pain management for those near death or in overwhelming grief. The underlying principle is plain compassion: do not make people who are already perishing justify their need for comfort.

Lord, give me eyes to see the people around me who are quietly perishing — and the courage to simply show up without needing to fix anything first. Help me not overthink compassion. Let me be someone who brings relief instead of more demands to people who are already worn through. Amen.

Nobody puts Proverbs 31:6 on a coffee mug. It won't show up in a graduation speech or a wedding sermon. But buried in the most practical passage in the Bible is something quietly radical: bring relief to people who are suffering — without making them justify their pain first. The mother writing this to her son understood something that's easy to miss: there is a time for discipline and clear-headedness, and there is a time to simply show up with what helps. The king needed sobriety to do justice. The dying person needed mercy. Knowing which moment you're standing in is its own kind of wisdom. Think about the people in your orbit right now who are perishing in the less literal sense — the friend in a grief that won't lift, the coworker in the middle of something brutal, the neighbor whose diagnosis changed everything overnight. The instinct can be to offer perspective, or a silver lining, or a carefully chosen verse. Sometimes what suffering people need is simpler than anything you'd plan: a meal at the door, a text that says you haven't forgotten them, your presence at 2 PM on a Thursday when everyone else has moved on. Don't make people who are already exhausted prove they deserve your compassion. Just bring what you have and show up. That's the whole instruction.