Rash Vows

For Friday, February 23, 2007

It is a snare to say rashly, "it is holy,"
and to reflect only after making vows.

Be cautious in making vows. Be cautious saying that you will set something apart for God. Be cautious because God takes seriously your word. He will hold you accountable for what you say.

Because we are only as good as our word, our words should be carefully chosen and few in number. Making a vow requires the following:

It requires humility. We too often make vows out of pride. We oeverestimate our ability and determination. Like Peter, we are quick to vow allegiance where we really need to be pleading for mercy.

It requires discernment. We should be able to count to cost accurately and our assets accurately before committing.

It requires a calm spirit. Again, vows are often made in the heat of the moment, in being caught up in emotion. We are more likely to carry through what we decide to do while calm.

It requires leaning upon God's Spirit. We can only fulfill what the Spirit gives us the wisdom and strength to do. We should only carry out what we know the Spirit is leading us to do. We can do nothing of ourselves; we can do all things through the Spirit of Christ.

Finally, we are to rest and find our hope in the vow our Lord made for us - to be our sacrifice, to assure for us the salvation to which we were elected. Our hope rests not in the seriousness by which we have made our vow to God to surrender everything to him, but in Christ's vow to surrender everything. He carried out his vow and will continue to carry out his promise to safeguard us until the day of his coming.

How Can Man Understand?

For Thursday, February 22, 2007
Proverbs 20:24

A man's steps are from the Lord;
how then can man understand his way?

How can a man understand his way apart from the Lord who works all things for his glory and purposes? The secular philosopher, despite his intellectual prowess, takes the wrong first "step" in his contemplation as he tries to understand his way. One may build insight upon insight, but if the foundation is not the Word of God, it is but a make-believe building.

Our own lesson as Christians is to accept that the mystery of God's secret counsels and his way of ordering man's steps is beyond our ability to understand. How is it that we will make our decisions today about the steps we take and every step will serve God's purpose? How is it that today we will ponder how to answer someone, what weighty decision to make and then later look back and acknowledge God's purpose in what took place?

Even then we will not have full insight. It is good to explore the ways of God and of man. But it is critical to do so in humility; even more so to do it in trust - trust that God is good and in control. If you are tempted to doubt, then look to the Cross; for there is the mystery of election and freedom, of wrath and mercy, of violence and justice, of sin and love; there is the mystery of God's way that is higher than ours as the heavens are higher than the earth.

An Abomination

For Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Proverbs 20:23

Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.

Just thirteen verses before there is an almost identical proverb: "Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the Lord." Perhaps the repetition is to reinforce the seriousness which God attaches to cheating.

Consider this proverb with the one preceding it: "Do not say, "I will repay evil'" wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you." Have you been cheated by unequal weights and false scales? Wait on the Lord. You see how he regards such offenses. He will deliver you. Justice will be carried out in exact measure to the offense of the crime.

Do not take matters into your own hands by trying to "out-cheat" the one who has done you wrong. Do not try to even the playing field. The cheater will eventually be exposed. Even if he is not exposed as timely as you desire, know that God sees all and works all for your good. The cheater will receive his due reward.

Your focus needs only to be on doing what is right and honest. Do not act in reaction to evil doers; act in response to your righteous Judge and Lord who desires to see righteousness displayed in your life.

Wait for the Lord

For Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Proverbs 20:22

Do not say, "I will repay evil";
wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

The sense here is not about bringing the wicked to justice which we are to promote. It is about exacting our personal revenge. This is a proverb for the worker outmaneuvered unjustly for a job promotion. It is for the student who is beat out for an award because of another student cheating. It is for all of us in our daily experiences of being slighted and taken advantage of.

Wait for the Lord. Wait for the Lord because vengeance belongs to him. And it belongs to him because any offense is an offense against him. He alone is the judge, and offense against him is infinitely more serious than offense against us.

Wait for the Lord because he will exact the proper measure at the proper time. We will not. We inevitably sin in our attempt at retribution, and thus end up in the same position as our offenders.

Wait for the Lord for your own peace of mind. Your offender gains even more advantage by your fretting and scheming. You've lost not only the goal the offender won, but your contentment as well. Waiting for the Lord means putting the matter, including the results, in his hands and not worrying about the outcome. That is not only victory but the best kind of payback - not letting your offender take away your peace and joy.

Wait for the Lord for the sake of your relationship with the Lord. How can you learn to trust him if you will not wait on him? How can you learn contentment without waiting on him in all circumstances? How can you experience his working in you and around you if you do not wait for him? Wait for the Lord.

An Inheritance

For Monday, February 19, 2007
Proverbs 20:21

An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.

Sudden wealth, whether it be through inheritance or willing the lottery or some scheme, as often as not creates trouble. Wealth, as with power and fame, carries it own dangers of corrupting the owner and creating anxiety over its protection. Jesus noted how difficult it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sudden wealth brings with it further troubles. Because it does not come from the fruit of his labor, the recipient does not measure its true cost. Not knowing what it takes to earn the wealth, he also does not know how to maintain it. He either becomes overly protective of it or too loose with it. It is difficult to be wise with something gained without wisdom.

But wisdom is needed for the affect one's wealth has on others. The suddenly wealthy person discovers friends and relatives he did not know he had; he also finds that the ones he has known change in they way they treat him. He is regarded more highly. He is praised and befriended by many. Pride rushes into his head which inevitably leads to his downfall. But these friends and relatives are not merely infatuated with him; they want a share in his wealth and do their own scheming to get it. There are others who now resent him for his luck. Why should he get the inheritance? What did he do to earn it? And so troubles come from them.

We all dream of what it would be like to come into sudden wealth, to be surprised by the uncle we did not know existed but who left his money to us. Let us dream, rather, of what it would be like to see the fruit of our labors. Let us be stirred on not by winning the lottery, but by the steady progress and fruit that comes from wise planning and diligent labor.

But then do dream and do give thanks for the one inheritance that has come without labor and quite surprisingly. Dream of that inheritance that awaits us in heaven, given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, protected by God the Father, and for which even we are protected by the Holy Spirit. Is it not wondrous that the greatest inheritance is the one most secure and the only one in which the more we dream of it and value it, the more blessed and productive we become. Read about it 1 Peter 1:3-9.