A scandal monger

A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter. – Proverbs 11v13

We have a word for a talebearer today – a gossip. It is such an ugly word. One of the reasons that we hate to think about it is that is almost universal. What is it about gossip that makes it so – well - juicy?

Gossip feeds the ego. It makes us feel like we are special because we know something that someone else doesn’t know. Even worse, we know something that we shouldn’t know and feel privileged because we do.

One of the greatest problems with gossip is that we can betray friends and other people we care about with our gossip. That careless word escapes and it can never be brought back. There is no ‘delete’ button for the gossiping words we speak.

Strong’s Concordance uses ‘scandal monger’ for a literal translation of this Hebrew word. If that is accurate it pictures one who goes about marketing secrets for a profit. I think that is a good description of a gossip. It is a person who says something to make themselves look knowledgeable.

On the other hand we have a faithful spirit who knows how to keep their mouth shut. I wonder how many personal problems could be solved by the one simple matter of ‘concealing a matter’ instead of being a scandal monger?

I guess the test will be what we will do the next time we come across that juicy little bit of gossip. Are we going to be a scandal monger, or will we show a faithful spirit and keep our mouth shut? 

Right dealings

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight. – Proverbs 11v1

Many years ago we had a missions intern, or a guy on a mission trip, or something like that. He seemed to enjoy the work, was blessed by being here, and was an asset to the work while he was here. It would have seemed that this was a real, dedicated man of godly character.

One day he received a phone call. A hurricane or tropical storm had hit his part of the US. He was in the roofing business and his partner called to tell him that people were paying 3-4 times the normal amount to have roofs done and he needed to get back to take advantage of this great opportunity. It wasn’t the fact that there were people who needed new roofs, but that they could charge a fortune. He immediately had his ticket changed and flew out that day! He wasn’t even bashful about his motivation – here was a chance to make a quick buck.

Another time there was a group of American pastors and missionaries visiting on a mission trip for a prospective missionary. As we sat over a cup of tea they had their PDAs our talking about how they had found a way to steal and share software for their devices. They were almost giddy with excitement.

This is not uncommon. In fact, I think business dishonesty is rampant among God’s people. If we can get something free, and have no chance of getting caught, it must be okay. Many churches, Christian schools, pastors, and missionaries have no problem stealing software or music as long as it is for ‘God’s work.’

How does God feel about such dishonest dealings? Dishonest scales are an abomination, but God delight in just weights. We have no problem preaching against other things that are called abomination, but this one seems to escape our scrutiny.

Yes, I feel strongly about this. God’s people should be the most honest of all. No one should doubt our integrity. I know people who will not deal with Christian run businesses because of rotten business practices. What does this do to the cause of Christ? People don’t want to get saved if all they are doing is joining a den of thieves.

Our business dealing and practices are at least as important as the rest of our faith walk. Do we treat them as such? Far too many are more concerned about how Christians dress they how honest they are in their business practices.

How can we justify that? 

Overwhelming love

Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins. – Proverbs 10v12

Some proverbs are a bit subtle. Some of them are a bit confusing. Sometimes proverbs can even be hard to understand. I think that there are some we won't understand until we get to heaven.

Sometimes, like here, they seem very simple at first appearance. Hatred stirs up trouble, but love covers all sins. That seems pretty clear, doesn't it? We all know that hatred causes trouble. That just makes sense. Nothing was ever better because of hatred.

But how do we understand 'love covers all sins.'

Does that mean that love lets everything go? Does that mean that love never says anything. Does that mean that love lets sin go unchecked?

Obviously not. True love thinks about the long term consequences of sin and intervenes to put an end to it. Love covering sin does not mean that love condones sin.

What does it mean then?

Actually I think it may be as simple as it looks. It means that love doesn't bear a grudge. Love doesn't keep bringing things up. Love lets it go once the sin is dealt with.

Love also keeps private things quiet. Love doesn't tell the whole world when private sins are being dealt with. Love doesn't Facebook or Twitter offences. Love doesn't gossip. Love deals with sin properly and sorts things out.

There are of course times when sin must be dealt with. Love doesn't allow others to suffer or be in danger. Sometimes sin has consequences that are going to be played out.

Even then though, love just keeps loving. Love stays there during the consequences. Love confronts sin, deals with it, and then moves on. Love overwhelms sin. 

Rats and evil

The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate. – Proverbs 8v13

We read a lot about the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is when we reverence Him and His holiness. Fearing the Lord is to be in awe of Him and who He is.

Proverbs tells us that when we fear the Lord there are certain things that we are going to do. Here we read that the fear of the Lord is manifested in hating evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil way.

We could summarise it this way – those who fear the Lord are going to hate evil. If that is the case why do we so often cozy up to evil like it is something that we want to be close to, but not a part of?

I hate rats. I mean I really, really hate rats. I want nothing to do with them. I stay as far away from them as I can. I even hate dead rats. Many years ago I was working on a job site and was supposed to do some work in an area where there was a dead rat. I wouldn’t do it. I risked getting fired just because I would not go by the dead rat. I remember even further back when we had rats. I was literally terrified as I had to deal with it. I had no choice. I had a wife and two boys to protect – I had to do it. But, about 30 years later my heart still beats fast thinking about that fear.

I hate rats.

I say I fear the Lord. That means that I should hate sin.

I hate rats.

Do I hate sin the same way as I hate rats?

That’s quite a challenge isn’t it? If I really fear the Lord I should hate evil like I hate rats. I should have nothing to do with it. Instead of using my liberty to get as close to evil as I can, I should use my liberty to stay as far away from it as possible. Like that dead rat above, my hatred should drive me away.

That’s a tough question for me. Do I hate evil like I hate rats? 

A young man...

For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house – Proverbs 7v6-8

Oh the joys of youth! I am not talking about those teenage years, but those years of young adulthood, basically the early twenties, when most young people need to find their ways. It is a marvellous time. The world is before you. You no longer are under your parents’ thumbs and you are free to explore the world for yourself.

Solomon knew these when he wrote in Ecclesiastes – ‘rejoice in the days of your youth.’ But he followed that up with – ‘but remember the Lord.’

That can be tough. Many physicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists tell us that there is a period of time in the early twenties when young adults, especially men, are incapable of reasoning the long term consequences of their actions. You see it all the time. And, to be honest, we can think back to those days in our lives and wonder – ‘what was I thinking?’

It is this situation that we see described here. Looking out the window the writer of Proverbs see a young man ‘lacking sense (or, as the KJV has it, ‘void of understanding.’)

This guy is seeking out his own way. Almost immediately he is drawn by the temptations of the world. In his case his temptation is the one that, I am almost certain, virtually every young man has to deal with. ‘And there he met a woman, dressed like a harlot, with a crafty heart.’ This woman draws this clueless fella in with her words. All he knows and all he really is concerned with is what he wants at that moment. The long term consequences never cross his mind.

What are those long term consequences? ‘Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.’

There is a draw to self-destructive behaviour in those marvellous years of discovery. May those of us who have been there offer our help, advise when we can, and pray when we can’t.  

Apple of the eye - part 2

My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.  – Proverbs 17v1-3

Back in February I researched the meaning of the phrase ‘apple of the eye used here.’ In Psalm 17 it was used to describe how God sees us. Here in Proverbs it describes how we are to see the word of God. I am just going to copy and paste what I had there and then apply it.

Though we all understand what the ‘apple of the eye’ means and it is a beautiful phrase, the origin of this old English word misses the point of what the psalmist was saying. The phrase seems to have come from the shape of what we now call the pupil of our eye and it was used by King Alfred in its modern figurative sense as far back as the 10th century. Apparently the Anglo-Saxons coined the word because the literal pupil of the eye was spherical, like an apple. Since the eye is so well protected in the head and so carefully guarded the phrase developed to mean anything that was precious and protected, something that was very dear.

A little look at the phrase will help us understand more of why it means what it does to us. It pictured someone who is precious and dear. Hebrew literature used ‘daughter of the eye’ and Arabic used the phrase ‘the little man of the eye.’ This is the literal sense of the Hebrew used here. The use of the word comes from the fact that the image of one being looked at supposedly can be seen is a mirror image on the eye of the beholder.

Believe or not the modern word ‘pupil’ actually captures the idea better even though we don’t normally connect it. It comes from a Latin word which means the ‘little boy’ or ‘little girl’ of the eye. We can now see the connection when we think of pupils in a classroom.  

I think it is interesting that in one case the term refers to how God sees us, and in this case it refers how we are to see His word. God’s word should be the one thing that we hold as dear and precious. It needs to be the one thing that holds our attention to the point that it is the reflection in our eye.

I like particularly this part of the definition – ‘This use of the word comes from the fact that the image of one being looked at supposedly can be seen is a mirror image on the eye of the beholder.’

When people look into our eyes what do they see reflected there? Do they see the word of God reflected in our eyes? Is God’s word so precious that people see it in us?

Is God’s word as precious to us as we are to Him? 

Things God hates

Things God hates

These six things the LORD hates, yea, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren. – Proverbs 6v16-19

It is rare to read about things that God hates. I also don’t think this is an exhaustive list. But it is interesting to read a list of seven specific things that God says He hates.

The book of Proverbs is full of principles, and I think that is what we have here. The wonderful thing about Proverbs is that it gives us so many little thoughts and principles to consider, mull over, and contemplate. No one could claim that this is all of the sins that God hates, but it gives us some things that He does hate and a chance to think about the kind of things that are odious to Him. These things are good because they give us a chance to examine our lives in the light of some of God’s standards.

So what are these things that God hates? Two of them deal with lying. One is basic pride. Three of them deal with evil and violence. The last one deals with sowing discord. They run the gamut of our being, our hearts, our attitude, and our hands and feet. It is not enough just to avoid evil, God hates when we mull these things over and scheme to do them in our hearts.

There is too much to deal with in just one entry, so I want to pause on just one, the last one. God hates those who sow discord among the brethren. Sowing of discord is put in the same category as shedding innocent blood, running to do evil, and devising wickedness.

One theme that runs throughout the word of God is unity. The Old Testament speaks of our good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Whole books of the New Testament deal with unity. One of the purposes of the Lord’s Table is for us to dwell on unity.

And yet it seems like every time we turn around God’s people are finding something else to divide over. Sure, there is a need to maintain purity in the church. But let’s be careful that we are Biblical in our approach. Let’s be sure that in our strive for purity, we don’t do something that God hates. 

Lessons from the ant

Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. – Proverbs 6v6-8

I would not consider myself a lazy person generally. However, I have to admit that I struggle with, shall we say, motivation, during the month of August. Ministries are cut back, church activities are barebones, and there just is not a whole lot going on.

I find that I get very little done when I am not busy. This can be especially difficult when there is no clock to punch and I have no ‘captain, overseer, or ruler’ to check up on me. I can get done with a day as wonder ‘Wow, what did I do today?’

There is nothing wrong with periods of rest and relaxation. In fact, I think a Biblical argument can be made for the importance of it. But when that pattern becomes our practice we are in trouble.

God knows that this can be a human trait so he uses an illustration that we are all aware of to teach us an important object lesson.

‘Look at the ant, you lazy lout. Think about her and learn a lesson. She has no one to supervise her, but she prepares for the future by working all summer and gathering food for the winter.’

When I think about that I am challenged. That little ant knows enough by instinct to get the job done, yet will all of my knowledge I often cannot get motivated to the do the same. If the ants did not prepare for winter they would starve. When we don’t do the work we need to do we find out ‘A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.’

I need that reminder. The summer break is over. Ministries are starting back up. It is time to get up off my backside and get back to work.

Thanks for the reminder Mr (or is it Miss?) Ant.  

Rejoice with the wife of your youth

Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? – Psalm 5v18-20

Coming up in January Mary and I will have been married 34 years. When we tell people that they often a look at us in astonishment. People are surprised that a marriage can last that long. Of course we all know of marriages that last much longer than that as well. The sad thing is that couples in their 50s and 60s and 70s and older who are still married to their original spouses would cause surprise.

It seems in many of our societies that traditional marriage is breaking down. I don’t have the statistics in front of me at the moment, but I read in a reliable source recently that less than have of Irish homes consisting of cohabitating are married. If this trend continues the concept of one man and one woman spending their lives together will become even rarer as the years go by.

But God’s standards don’t change. And, in reality, He does know best. There is nothing more precious than a partner with whom we choose to spend the rest of our lives.  You get to a certain point where you start becoming more and more glad that you have someone to grow old with.

I think that’s one of the reasons, apart from the decency and morality and rightness of it, that God tells us to ‘rejoice with the wife of your youth.’ God tells us to be consistently enraptured by her love and embrace.

That’s pretty good advice for keeping a marriage alive isn’t it? Don’t be distracted by all the obvious 

distractions that come along. Rejoice with the wife God gave us when we were young. Keep the enrapture alive as the years go by.

Rejoice that you have someone willing to grow old with you. 

Guard your eyes

Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. – Proverbs 4v25

Castles always have more than one gate. While we are keeping our hearts with all keeping and guarding what comes out of our mouth, there is another gate we must keep. At this gate we must protect ourselves from what is coming in. It is a gate that we all battle. We must guard what comes in through our eyes.

We are constantly assailed with bits and baubles that can draw our eyes away from our focus. I really think most of us want to do right. I think we want to dedicate ourselves to living for the Lord. I think we want to focus on our service for Him and living in such a way that our lives glorify Him.

But something always gets in the way. Some news story or bit of entertainment or sporting event grabs our interest and, though there is nothing wrong with any of those, they can become our new focus. What were meant to be a few minutes of diversion become a new focus and the things that we should be focusing on become our new purpose.

We cannot afford to get our eyes off the task before us. We need to be careful that our little diversions and distractions do not become new directions. Let’s make sure that even in our live and leisure we keep our focus on our Lord and His purpose for our lives. 

Guard your mouth

Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.  – Proverbs 4v24

‘Me and my big mouth!’ How often have I thought or said those words? How many times have I said something and immediately wished I could take it back?

There is no wonder that the Bible addresses our speech so often. Job talks about setting a guard on his lips. James extensively addresses the danger and uncontrollable nature of the tongue. When describing how believers should live in Ephesians Paul reminds us that filthiness and foolish taking and course jesting are not suitable for the believer. We are told that our speech must always be graciousness and seasoned with salt.

If our heart is the keep of the castle, the mouth is one of the gates. As the residents of the keep control the forces at the gate, our heart is going to control what comes out of our mouths.

When there is deceit and perversion in our hearts it will come out of our mouths. As we guard our hearts we also need to guard our lips. We must put away the kind of speech that is going to damage us and hurt the name of our Saviour. The ESV translates this ‘Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.’

Our speech must be pure, open, and honest. There is no room for tricky words. Our words are never to be twisted or contrived in such a way that we are not open and forthright.

If we don’t learn to guard the words coming out of our mouths we are destined for trouble. There is a bit of good old-fashioned advice that fits here – ‘If you can’t say something good, don’t say nothing at all.’ 

Keep the keep

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. – Proverbs 4v23

Castles are great. I love visiting them whether fancy and complete and kept up, or in ruins.

Castles had a purpose. They developed around the ‘keep’ which was basically a fortified home. As time went on the keep became the command centre of the rest of the castle. That is where the nobility lived and where the treasures were stored. It was truly the heart of the castle.

The keep was the heart of the castle complex. As the years went by it also became the heart of the town or city. Everyone knew that it was vital to keep the keep so the defences were built up and added to. No matter what happened in the battle, the enemy could not be allowed to breach the keep. The people had to keep the enemy out of the keep.

You get the picture. The keep had to be protected. The heart of the town had to be guarded.

So it goes with our lives. We too have a keep to keep. Everything in our livers originates in our hearts. All of the issues of our life come out of our heart.

We can spend a lot of time making sure the various walls are right. That is a good idea. We need to defend those walls. That is of course, unless those walls are nothing more than a façade, but that is a topic for another day.

But at the core we must guard our hearts. Eventually what is in our hearts will manifest itself. It will come out. If our heart is not right, we have no strength.

If the enemy was allowed into the castle keep the defences were ruined. Defeat was imminent. It was only a matter of time.

If we allow the enemy into our hearts we too are inviting defeat. 

Don’t go there!

Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.  – Proverbs 4v14-15

We all face those times when we are tempted to head down the wrong road. There are plenty of opportunities. As we walk through today there are going to be plenty of chances to choose the right path or the wrong path.

If we had any sense we would avoid the wrong paths like the plague. We wouldn’t go anywhere near that part of town. Back during the last days of The Troubles in Northern Ireland going to Belfast was okay, as long as you didn’t go down the wrong road. There were places where people who lived up there simply said ‘Don’t go there!’ You were pretty much okay, for example, if you drove straight down the Shankill even in a car from the Republic. You did not, however, want to get off the road if you did not know right where you were going. So, for the most part, people driving cars from down here just avoided the Shankill completely.

Most of us know where the danger areas of our spiritual lives are. The smart thing to do is to not even go near those places. If we are smart we will not go that way, we will avoid it, we won’t go down that road, we won’t travel on it, we just pass on by. Later in the same chapter we have a few more words – ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.’

The words are pretty clear. It doesn’t take a lot of sense to figure out what God is saying here. When it deals with evil God simply says – ‘Don’t go there.’ 

Get wisdom

Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. – Proverbs 4v7

Earlier in Proverbs we read about how important it is to gain knowledge. Knowledge of course is vital, we have to have it. We are fortunate to live in a time when knowledge is more available than ever before. The knowledge of every society in history and of all the schools of learning today is literally at our fingertips today. Gaining knowledge is easier than it ever has been.

But knowledge is not enough, not by a long shot. The wrong use of knowledge is extremely dangerous. Knowledge, to be truly useful and beneficial, must be controlled by wisdom. It is not enough to have knowledge, it is vital to understand what we know.

Proverbs 4 personifies wisdom as a woman. It tells us how to pursues wisdom. Get it. Do not forget it. Do not turn away. Do not forsake wisdom. Love her. Wisdom is the principle thing. Exalt her.

The result of pursuing wisdom is also clear – She will preserve you. She will keep you. She will promote you. She will bring you honour.

So pursue knowledge. Learn you can. Get every but of instruction that you can handle.

But in all your getting, get understanding.

Just like a good neighbour…

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbour, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. Do not devise evil against your neighbour, For he dwells by you for safety's sake. – Proverbs 3v27-29

I remember an ad run by an insurance company in the States. I don’t know if they still use it, but the phrase sticks out in my mind. It was inspired by the idea of good neighbours and it went like this – ‘Just like a good neighbour, State Farm is there.’ (Actually, since it is an American company. The slogan was ‘Just like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.’) The idea is pretty simple, good neighbours take care of each other and there are there when you need them. State Farm wanted you to think that they are that kind of company.

I like that and I like the concept it presents. The whole idea of being a good neighbour is a Bible concept. One of the great stories in all of historical literature deals with neighbours and it comes from God’s word. Jesus had just stated that the whole Law could be summarised by this – ‘Love God and love your neighbour.’

Of course that elicited a question – ‘Who is my neighbour?’

What follows is a great story known as the Good Samaritan.  A Jewish traveller was injured on a journey. Those who should be his neighbours walked right past him. Eventually a Samaritan passed by.  Samaritans and Jews did not get along. No one would have expected the Samaritan to stop and help – but he did. He stopped, cared for the man, and took him to an inn offering to pay whatever it cost to make sure the man was cared for.

That’s what good neighbours do. The challenge comes in the fact that all people are our neighbours. When our neighbour has a need we do what we can to meet it. That is not just a part of the Law. It is carried on in the church. Churches took care of their neighbours. The thing that finally stopped Roman persecution is that Christians just kept giving and caring and loving their neighbours.

We don’t really have an option. Just like a good neighbour, God’s people ought to be there.

Are we? 

Sudden terror

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.  – Proverbs 3v25-26

I think the thing I dread the most is the things I don’t see coming. I remember my first scary internet viral video. It was a beautiful scene with a car driving through the countryside. Lovely classical music was playing in the backgrounds. It made you want to be there. Suddenly, without warning, there was a loud screech as a demon like image came on the screen.

Everyone had a good laugh and it spread like wildfire because we all enjoy a certain kind of sudden terror.

But there is another kind of sudden terror that is no fun. Our family’s most recent ‘sudden terror’ came on the 20^th of December, 2009. That was the day that the doctor told Matt and I that Michelle had leukaemia. That news too spread quickly, but it was not the exciting kind of sudden terror. It the life sapping, sucker punch, ‘I can’t breathe’, ‘what are we going to do now’ kind of terror. It was the kind of terror that knocks you back. A sudden terror is the kind that you can’t get ready for.

There are scary times that you can prepare for to a certain extent. It was this way with Michelle’s transplant. We had a few weeks to make plans, figure out transport, pack bags, decide where the girls were going to be and when and just generally get ready. Although the situation was its own kind of terror, at least we could prepare. Those are no too bad. Most of us can handle those with even the most basic faith.

But God wants us to get through those most sudden of terrors. The only way to do that is to have a constant abiding in Him. We need to remember that in those unexpected times God will be our confidence, and if we are trusting Him He will not let us stumble.

Only that deep abiding day-to-day faith can prepare us for that sudden terror. 

Correction

My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.  – Proverbs 3v11-12

None of us like correction. I didn’t like it when I was a kid. My children didn’t like it. My grandkids don’t like it. I don’t like it when I get a traffic ticket. I don’t even like it when the stupid phone company sends me a letter telling me my phone bill is late, even when I have already paid it. A couple of years ago I received a ticket for fair jumping on the Luas. I had made an honest mistake, and they let me off, but I felt like a child when the letter said something like, ‘Now, make sure you log on properly next time you ride our tram!’

Correction always stinks, but it does so especially when we don’t deserve it. About the same time as the Luas ticket Louth County Council sent me a ticket for littering. As it turns out, we had taken a box of groceries to a family there and they had thrown the box on the street. It still had my name and address on it, so the litter warden blamed me! Eventually I worked through that as well, but I really hated being corrected for something I had not done.

Just correction is good. If I am speeding and get ticketed I deserve it. I need to slow down and maybe that ticket will make me a better driver. If we correct our children properly it moulds and shapes their character and makes them better people.

Unjust correction is bad. Too many times I have corrected my children and grandchildren unjustly. I don’t know the whole story; I don’t know why they did what they did. All I know at those times it that I am upset and want my upset fixed.

Proverbs 3v11-12 addresses correction. It reminds me of Hebrews 12. We can be assured that as God’s children we have the perfect Corrector. He is never going to correct me wrongly. His correction is always right and the result of properly applied and properly accepted correction is the ‘peaceable fruits of righteousness.’

Praise God for the perfect Corrector. May I learn to let His correction work in my life. 

Using what we have

Honour the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; - Proverbs 3v9

There is nothing wrong with having. We all have to a certain extent. Some of us have more and some of us have less, but we all have something. They question we need to examine is ‘What do we do with what we 

have?’

Proverbs 3v9 gives us the answer. Whatever we have, be it much or little, great or small, fancy or plain, extravagant or functional, has one purpose for God’s people. We are to honour the Lord with what we have. 

We are to honour him with what we gain.

Whether we have loads of stuff, a middling amount, or just enough to get by, God is honoured if we use it for Him, He is no more honoured by the rich man who uses his wealth to honour Him than He is by the poor man who uses his little. The widow who honoured God with her two mites was praised more than those who gave out of abundance.

Praise God that He doesn’t require much to honour Him. All He requires is what we have. 

Doing right

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.  – Proverbs 3v5-7

Proverbs 3v5-6 is one of those passage that is so often quoted and is the life verse of so many people that we can get to the point where we take it for granted. Everybody loves this passage, and we should, but let’s 

make sure we remind ourselves of the blessing that is here.

Each phrase probably deserves its own separate entry, but I think the whole package is vital. There is a couplet in each verse.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart – don’t lean on your own understanding.

You can’t do one without the other. We either trust God or we trust us. If I trust me not a whole lot is going to make sense. Things rarely go the way I think they should. If I had my druthers everything would go the way that I think is right.

Can you imagine the mess I would make?

In all your ways acknowledge Him – He will direct your path.

If I really do trust God and forsake my own understanding I will acknowledge Him in everything I do. When I face a fork in the road I don’t go the way that seems best to me at the moment. I compare the paths in the light of God’s word, seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and go down His path. I can be assured that if I am acknowledging Him, He will direct.

Don’t be wise in your own eyes – fear God and forsake evil.

And here we have the application. Don’t trust your own wisdom, it will always fail you.

Instead, we simply trust him. We fear God, we forsake evil, and we trust Him with the result. 

Security

But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil." – Proverbs 1v33

Security is a big issue today. You can’t go anywhere without encountering some type of security. It is, of course, a major part of air travel. Scanners and metal detectors and friskings and searching are all a part of travel in the name of security.

The problem is that I really don’t feel any more secure with all that security. We all like to feel secure, but men’s efforts at providing security only do it to a certain extent. Man is not perfect and anyone who really wants to break down security will probably find a way to do so. Flyers though we were secure until explosives were hidden in shoes and underwear and even water bottles. Chances are, sadly, that even todays security will fail again.

It is not only flying that can feel unsafe and insecure. Life is a lot like that. We don’t get up every morning and go through a full-body scanner before we go out into the world. We face all sorts of dangerous and fearful situations. Life can be fearful, and with good reason.

But ultimately God’s children can rest in security no matter what is outside that front door. Sure, we are not promised physical safety. We can’t say that nothing bad is going to happen. But we can rest in total security that our God will still be there for us no matter what we face. No matter what the ‘bad guys’ have planned, I am secure and safe in Christ. I can dwell safely in Him and do not need to be afraid of whatever evil comes my way.