Good Evening to All!
There is truly no excuse for not knowing how to Live for God as long as one knows where to look for guidance. The Book of Proverbs is a wonderful instruction Book, and the Holy Ghost is a wonderful Guide to help us and hold us accountable, as He nudges us in the right direction after we read it. I guess I love Proverbs because while I love Jesus' teachings and parables, Solomon does not leave anything to chance. He spells everything out and I tend to learn and retain better with A, B, C, 1, 2, 3. There is NO room for mistaken ideas or "wrong interpretation" (although according to the Bible there is no private interpretation).
(4) An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.
(5) The thoughts of the righteous are right,
But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.
(6) The words of the wicked are, "Lie in wait for blood,"
But the mouth of the upright will deliver them.
(7) The wicked are overthrown and are no more,
But the house of the righteous will stand.
(8) A man will be commended according to his wisdom,
But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.
(9) Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant,
Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.
(10) A righteous man regards the life of his animal,
But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
(11) He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread,
But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.
(12) The wicked covet the cat of evil men,
But the root of the righteous yields fruit.
(13) The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
But the righteous will come through trouble.
(14) A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth,
And the recompense of a man's hands will be rendered to him.
(15) The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise.
(16) A fool's wrath is known at once, but a prudent man covers shame.
(17) He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.
(18) There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.
(19) The truthful lip shall be established forever, But a lying tongue is but for a moment.
(20) Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy.
(21) No grave trouble will overtake the righteous, But the wicked shall be filled with evil.
(22) Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
(23) A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims foolishness.
(24) The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor.
(25) Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.
(26) The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
(27) The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, But the diligence is man's precious possession.
(28) In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
Proverbs 12:4-28 NKJV
This chapter was written by Solomon to contrast good with evil, wisdom with foolishness, and labor with laziness. In these latter days, we need to be focusing on How God wants us to live our life because that is what is going to get us into heaven with Him. Not particularly the "works" that we do. Yes, we definitely need to show love to others by giving to the less fortunate, or helping those who cannot help themselves or any other way that we can show God's love. The key though is the motive in our heart for doing it. Are we doing it because we truly love people, or are we doing it for the purpose of "us getting into heaven"?
Of course I cannot read God's mind, but I would think given these two motives, He would take "our wanting to get into heaven as secondary. He spends too much time expressing that we need to have love for our fellow man, to place it second. For example "What ye do for the least of them ye do for me". The thing is if we do "for the least" with a selfish motive , thinking about what we need to do to get into heaven, then it seems to me they would kind of cancel each othe
r out. Our first motive should be the love for others. If we do this, then we are obeying Christ, and everything will fall into place.Whatever we do our reasons must be pure.
This passage gives us step by step instructions on what God expects from us. There is no guess work involved. All we have to do is follow the recipe.
Good Night to All and May God Bless!
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2 comments:
We are all naturally selfish. That's why it's called the natural man, and its this what the Cross slays.
The only way we can truly love others the way that honours God is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is also interesting that the Book of Proverbs has 31 chapters, one for each day of the month.
Thank you for your words PJ. I do admire you for your purpose in spreading the wonderful words of God. There are too many people today that are misguided. But what can we do? I am struggling for my faith as well... What can I do? Truly your presence in my blog reminded me to be here again one more time to be guided, to walk on the right path. Most of the times I cannot really say that my motives are pure, selfishness? I guess it's innate in us human... I am just thankful there are people like you out there who have the effort and guidance from God to write this one to remind me. Thank you PJ!
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