Proverbs 6

Lord, Give me a heart to receive your instruction and to understand your wisdom. In Your Name I Pray, Amen

Proverbs 6:16-19
"These six things the Lord hates,Yes, 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."

How many of us are guilty of any of these things? Raise your hands. Come on, you in the back too. We've all done one of these at one time or another. You've lied about how late you stayed out the night before or how much money you spent at the store the other day. How about being a Sunday Christian? Does your life show what you believe or do you just talk a good talk? I can talk about spirituality all day, but putting it into practice is a constant struggle. I must ask for help not only daily but sometimes hourly.

What I took away from Proverbs 6 as a whole was this: Your word is your bond, do not make a statement that you cannot follow through with. Laziness and idleness and failure to work show that you do not have God's wisdom and such lack of action will lead to poverty. In order to tell the character of a person, watch how they hold themselves, watch their body language. In the same respect, we must watch our own body language because it speaks volumes as to what type of person we are.

God hates anything that will hurt others, so before you speak or act think about how the other person will feel or react to your actions/words. Think of where they are coming from, why they might have said or did what they did, then react.

We cannot always control our environment, but we can control how we react to things. So the next time your three year old is spilling milk in the floor or raiding the refrigerator, don't yell, ask yourself why. Were you 'too busy' to get the little one something to drink? Are you 'busy' and it's lunch time? Was he/she just trying to help?

I think the best advice I have gotten about getting angry or frustrated came from the kids show "Blues Clues". They tell you to "Stop. Breath(take a deep breath). and Think." Now I don't always follow this thinking. Some days I don't follow it at all. But I believe it's something we should all strive for. Sometimes when I take my deep breath I say a little prayer "Lord help me through this". It's not muttered like a curse word, it's a heartfelt prayer. Amazingly I feel much more peaceful when I do say it.