Friday, September 19, 2008

Proverbs 23

Lord, I praise you and thank you for the many blessings you have given me. I pray that you will guide me through your word. Help me to understand what you would have me to learn. Open my heart and pour you wisdom over me. In Jesus name Amen.

Proverbs 23:12 Apply your heart to instruction, And you ears to words of knowledge.
Once again I am reminded to keep my eyes on God's word and His instruction. To look and listen to wisdom and apply it to my life.

Proverbs 23:13 Do not withhold correction from a child, If you beat him with a rod he will not die
No I don't think that God wants us to beat our children. However I do think that we should discipline them. I think that is what this verse is talking about. We must discipline our children for their own good. They are not going to die if they have to clean their rooms or take out the trash.

Proverbs 23: 17,21,22
We should not envy those who have material possessions and do not have the Lord in their heart. Actually we shouldn't envy anyone. We need to look to the Lord for our needs and our wants( yes, it's okay to ask God for stuff that we want. God wants us to be happy and prosperous. It is not a sin to want to succeed. I promise it's not.)

Remember, though, that gluttony is gluttony. Whether by drink or by food. So those who sin by drinking too much are the same as those who sin by eating too much. Verse 21 says that those who are gluttonous will come to poverty. Hmmmm. Let's see, I stay drunk and I lose my job. Or perhaps you keep your job but you spend half your check on booze or perhaps you just never get a raise or a better job. Same thing for eating (of which I am very guilty). It is Very easy to spend way too much money on food. Especially if you buy a lot of fast food and such. (again guilty). When you sit down and determine how much it would cost if you ate only the food needed to survive and be healthy versus what you eat now, what is the price difference? Mine is something to be ashamed of. Also, how hard or easy is it for an obese/overweight person to get a job, keep a job, move up in a job? I am pointing this out because I think a lot of people don't consider this as gluttony. I have been a thin, healthy person and I am currently an overweight out of shape person. I know the difference. I know the difference in how I look, how I feel about myself, how I am treated, and about the amount of money I spend. So God isn't talking strictly about poverty in money terms but in your personal life, professional life, relationships, and in your very soul.

Most of us, no matter how much we like the taste of food (that's my problem, I love food) we don't like what our bodies look like or how we feel. So poverty can come in many forms.

1 comment:

Evelyn Mayfield said...

Your words are so wise, my friend, especially about food, poverty of sorts because of the wrong food, and that whole line of thinking. You really have this out of shape person thinking... Thank you.
Hugs and prayers
Evie