Desire and commandment

“[The commandment is a light] to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.”
-Proverbs 6:24

When it comes to sex, it seems that more and more people are using the DESIRE as justification for the ACT. When asked why its okay to be in a homosexual relationship, or to sleep around outside of marriage, or to have an affair, or to have multiple partners, people will use a lot of reasons, mostly based on desire – “That’s the way I am,” “You can’t choose who you will love,” “God made me like this,” “I can’t help it,” etc.

I have read on many occasions testimonies from people who grew up in conservative churches who reject the biblical teachings on sex because they like it, or their desires are pulling them in some direction. They reject all those old “rules” because their desires are telling them something else.

Of course this doesn’t work in any other area of life. Everyone agrees that there should be laws against rape and murder, no matter what the criminal’s desires are. We think there is a difference here because there doesn’t seem to be a victim.

Whether or not there is a victim, this one thing should become very clear to us – not all desires are for the good. I can’t help but to think of that truth when someone else tells me that what they are doing must be right because they “love” that other person. Surely God wouldn’t condemn love, right?

Desires are not the best judge of right and wrong. Just because my heart is telling me something doesn’t mean it’s okay. Frankly, the definition that God gives for what is right is a bit different. God tells us that we should love Him above all others. Anything less than that is sin. So we should be looking to God’s Word for guidance on our relationships before we look to our own hearts. The “God wouldn’t condemn love” line isn’t going to work with Him when your love has only been toward your own desires.

Here is the truth of it – God gives us guidance in His rules. He didn’t make them because he’s a sourpuss who needs to lighten up. He didn’t give them to a particular culture and then forget about them today. He gave them to us for our benefit for all time.

The Law is established to convict us of our sin, to drive us repentant to the Cross, where we can obtain the forgiveness of our sins by the Blood of Jesus. He uses it to point us to the greatest good in all of the universe – Himself. We take it and make excuses. “I know the Bible says that, but we live in a different culture, and that was really for a certain people at a certain time, and the Greek word means something different, and Paul wasn’t really inspired at that point anyway.”

In the end, those are excuses, and they will not get you through the Day of Judgment.

Turn away from sinful sex. Sex between a man and his wife was made by God to be enjoyed, but do not take what God has given and drag it through the mud of your own uncontrolled desires. Look to Him for your satisfaction. Look to the Cross for your salvation. In Him you will not be disappointed.

My definition of “fool”

“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,”
-Proverbs 6:23

When I was a teenager, I, like so many other teenagers, thought my parents were idiots. I pretty much decided that they hadn’t the foggiest clue as to the world. They were out of touch and oblivious.

The reason I thought this, of course, was because they didn’t want me to do the stuff I wanted to do. That’s most people’s definition of a fool, by the way – the fool is someone who disagrees with them.

There were so many rules, and I didn’t really see much sense in a lot of them. I would have so preferred to be free, frolicking around and doing whatever I pleased.

In our culture, we so often see rules as something that restricts, that is wrong and confining. The word itself – “rules” – has a negative connotation. Think about the sentence I used earlier: “There were so many rules.” Doesn’t sound good, does it?

Our culture puts freedom above all things, but perfect freedom is not necessarily good. I figured this truth out perhaps a few years too late: my parents weren’t trying to be minor dictators with me – they were trying to light my path.

We learn things along the way, and these things would be of great benefit to those generations who come after, if only they weren’t so proud that they refused to listen. But there was a reason my parents told me to be in at a certain time. There was a reason why they told me no when it came to this toy or that. There was a reason they disciplined me, and it wasn’t because they just felt like it.

My parents’ rules were not designed to ruin my fun. They were designed to guide me. Their punishments were not designed to hurt me, but to lead me to something better.

It is that way with God. God does have rules, and most people think they are too strict and puritanical. We never consider that God may know something we don’t. We never consider that the wisest being in the entire galaxy, who loves us greatly, is trying to protect us. He knows everything, and He loves us. Isn’t that a good reason to listen to Him?

We have rebelled against Him, of course. We have mocked Him publically with blasphemies. We have taken His name and used it like a cuss word. We have preferred TV and sports to worship of Him. We have offended our Heavenly Father.

And in love, He will forgive the repentant ones. He even sent His Son to die in our place so that we would not have to face the punishment for our sins. He has sent His Spirit to guide us to the light – that light we so often and scornfully abandon.

I guess I’ve lived long enough to trust the words of my parents. I didn’t think much of them then, but I think much of them now. It is the same with God, only more so. He never misleads, never missteps. His guidance is perfect in all circumstances, even when we have rebelled against Him.

The influence of a parent

“When you walk, they [your parents’ teachings] will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”
-Proverbs 6:22

There isn’t a day that goes by that my parents’ influence isn’t evident in my life. I may not even think about it, but their wisdom from the first two decades of my life has influenced everything. It’s like an instinct now, those things they have instilled in me.

And they are there at all times. It’s not as though I have to really concentrate to remember what my father taught me about honest work, or what my mother taught me about the Bible. I just know.

Ultimately, this is what frightens me about how the role of the parent is being deemphasized in our culture. America tells you to dump your kids off at daycare and then go to work where you can fulfill your potential. America tells you that you don’t need a man to help you raise your son.

Most people don’t realize that there is something important going on even in a game of catch. It is something that cannot be replaced. Ever.

The Bible teaches us that a father should be the spiritual leader of the family. I could lament how much we men have failed at that duty, but let’s be honest – far too many fathers aren’t even in the home. It would do little good for me to talk about a lack of Bible studies when the first problem is a lack of fathers.

God has chosen for Himself the title of “Father.” There is something really wonderful about that title, and it’s something that may now be lost on so many people who have had really terrible experiences with their earthly fathers, or maybe don’t even know who their fathers are.

But if fallen humans are dragging the name through the mud, let us remember that they have taken something wonderful and blessed, something modeled after God’s relationship with us, and tainted it, but that does not change the faithfulness and love of the original.

If you haven’t been the man you should be, I would ask you to look at how God has modeled that for us. Look upon His love, His sacrifice, and His unending provision. If you have a lower view of that word “father,” look not at those who have failed to live up to it, but the one who set the standard. He is filled with compassion and comfort.

This is the Father who sent His only Son to die upon the Cross for us. In our sin, we have fallen short of His glory, but in the death of Jesus, He provided a sacrifice that would satisfy justice so that we could be forgiven. Repent and have faith in Him, the only one who is worth our faith.

He has written His Word down for us in the Bible. Let this Word lead you. Read it so that it will follow you around, awake or asleep. Our human fathers, to one degree or another, will probably fail at some point, but not the original Father.

Remember this one?

“Bind them [your parents’ teachings] on your heart always; tie them around your neck.”
-Proverbs 6:21

My wife and I are meeting with some friends of ours every week right now to discuss our marriages and lives. In a lot of ways, it has been a very rewarding experience. In honesty and love we are able to really talk about our successes and failings and what God is doing in our lives. I frankly have far too few friendships like this.

One of the most rewarding aspects of these meetings is that we have been asked to memorize a passage of Scripture every week. I have, honestly, been a lazy memorizer. I will read the Bible like crazy, but I have so many projects that I don’t ever sit still long enough to memorize.

And that’s a really terrible thing to say, because it’s not that I don’t recognize the importance of this. It would be one thing if I just didn’t think it would be worthwhile, but I really do think it’s a great habit. I memorized Romans 8:28 several years ago (“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,” NASB), and I have literally used it in conversation more times than I can remember. It has been a wonderful comfort to me, and I’ve had it with me to help others.

And I just don’t continue that habit.

When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness, He didn’t lean on His own power to refute the devil, but He quoted Scripture. He quoted, in fact, from Deuteronomy. A couple of things stand out here. First of all, if Jesus felt the need to turn to the Word, how much more do I need it? Secondly (and I’m borrowing this from a sermon I heard recently), if my ability to resist temptation depends on how well I remember Deuteronomy, I’m in trouble!

It’s not just Deuteronomy. I have to repent of my laziness on this. I really don’t turn to the Word as much and as seriously as I should, and neither do you.

This is the written revelation of God, and I find myself more interested in other things most of the time. That is a convicting statement to me! It is embarrassing to admit, that I chase after entertainment so often rather than the God-breathed Scripture.

I am so thankful that Jesus did not stumble where I do. I am so glad that He took it seriously enough to remember those passages from Deuteronomy to refute the devil where I so often fail against him. I am thankful because, obviously, I have not lived a life that will earn me any sort of favor from God. People like to say that they are good people, but we are not. We chase lust, greed, ambition, selfishness, and pride above God all the time.

But Jesus did live that perfect life. He was sinless, and when He died, He took our place in death, so that we may have life. When I consider what He went through for me, I cannot help but to fall to my knees in repentance at His feet and beg for forgiveness.

And by that faith, I am forgiven.

It’s a wonderful truth, and it’s all found in our Father’s Word. It’s a story I really would like to learn better.

Wanna hear something cool?

“My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.”
-Proverbs 6:20

When Abraham came back from a particular battle, he met a man who was both priest and king. His name was Melchizedek. He appears for a few short verses in Genesis 14. It’s such a tiny part of the book that you forget it almost immediately, at least unless you know what it means.

The author of Hebrews, many centuries later, wrote extensively on how this man foreshadowed the coming of Christ. This tiny episode in the life of Abraham was put there very intentionally so that we would know something of Jesus.

I’ve been writing for almost twenty years of my life. I haven’t gotten much of it published, but I have written tens of thousands of words. And most of them were throwaway words. Most of them were only there to get me to the place I wanted to be.

The Bible isn’t like that, and the more I dig, the more I know that to be true. There was a purpose for that priest guy in Genesis – the same one that we may have thought was just a throw away character. It wasn’t just an episode to move the plot forward – it means something.

And it means something profound. The writer of Hebrews spends chapters on this guy, and theologians have spent books on what the writer of Hebrews was talking about. There is a depth here that cannot be compared. There is something, literally, divine behind its composition.

And so many people, even Christians, ignore it. Here we have the story about how God redeems His people, how He brings His purpose to fruition, and how His will is done in even the worst of times, and we think it’s boring.

Don’t ignore this. This is the teaching of your Father. Take it and learn it. Teach it to your children so they will not forsake it. It’s literally the story that brings life. There is no other book that can do that. God uses His word to bring about repentance and faith. It is by this that we are saved.

Without these words, I never would have known I had fallen short of the glory of God. I would have admitted to messing up some times, but I would not have known how offensive my mistakes were. I never would have known that I cannot earn Heaven on my own. I never would have known I needed a Savior.

This Book is His story – the story of Jesus. This is the man who left Heaven, came to earth, and died to take the punishment for our sins. This is His story. If I never heard that story, how would I have known to bow before Him?

Read it. Learn about Him. If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, start in John and Romans. Work out from there. Pray for wisdom. When the Spirit reveals the truth to you, you will be amazed at the depth in there.

Liars and mischief makers

“a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”
-Proverbs 6:19

I’ve been very interested in these last few verses. Normally, as we have gone through Proverbs, we are seeing truisms. They are statements of advice, and not necessarily promises of a return. We actually run into trouble when we try to apply them universally, because they were never meant for that.

We speak like this all the time. I can give general advice about marriage or finances that may not work in all cases. It doesn’t mean the advice was bad – it only means that there are outside forces.

So not every child who is raised on the Word will be a good person. Generally, they will, but sometimes not. Not everyone who is honest and upright will find success. Not every wicked man will find punishment in this life.

That was a tangent, but with a point. I’ve enjoyed this section very much because of how specific and universal it is. These are seven things God hates. You can be sure of them. It doesn’t matter who you are or what the situation, God hates these things. These are things that God considers to be betrayals.

The sixth in the list is lying, which I think would rule just about everyone out in the list of “good people of the earth.” We lie all the time. It’s almost a second nature.

This is actually the second time in this list he’s mentioned liars, though this time it is specifically in our testimony about others. We can lie about general things, and God hates that, but that’s not what this is about. This is when we lie about people at work. We lie about those we see on the street. We say things that aren’t true to try to make ourselves seem better or to promote our own view of the situation. We exaggerate and twist words. We slander against them.

And we keep doing it whenever we can find an advantage in it.

The final one on the list is the act of sowing discord, or making mischief. This is actually added to the list as the worst of them all, and yet this is something we see rather often. We see people spread gossip at home, church, or at work. We see people, for their own ends, try to stir up anger in others in those same places. Sometimes we seek out chaos because we are upset, or because we want something, or simply because it will help us out. We want others involved in our own pet issues, so we make trouble.

False teachers do this in the church. They come in with foreign doctrines and try to wedge them into the body of Christ. They come with their own issues, whether it be sexual issues, or that women should be pastors, or that God doesn’t want us to drink alcohol, or that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, or that the true Gospel is economic or political freedom. They are making mischief in the church, and it offends God.

The true Gospel, the Gospel that can save us from God’s wrath against these sins that we have all committed, is this – that Jesus came to earth to die in our place. His Blood satisfied the justice demanded for our sin. Because of that we can be forgiven. Because of His resurrection, we can know that we too will be resurrected, and that we can have eternal life with the Father.

We have all done things the Father hates. But because of the Son, that doesn’t have to be the end of the story.

Schemes and anxiousness to sin

“a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,”
-Proverb 6:18

Sometimes you stop before you sin. Sometimes, you stand there a moment, asking yourself if you really want to do that. You weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. Often, you decide to sin anyway.

Sometimes you just find yourself in a situation where sin is staring you in the face. There’s no pause there in those cases – you just sin or you don’t. There wasn’t a long internal debate, just, “Yep. That looks fun. Let’s do it!”

Sometimes, you can’t wait to sin. Sometimes you actually hurry toward it. There is something really scary about these times, but we do it. It’s scary because the truth of the depth of our sinfulness is revealed in those moments. We’re not just people who mess up every once in a while – we’re sinners.

It could be an anxiousness to lie about someone to get your own way. It could be to hurry home to commit fornication or look at porn. It could be wanting to get back at your spouse. It could be anything – anything your heart wants so badly that you are looking forward to it.

God hates it. It’s one of the seven things listed in this part of Proverbs that God hates. Honestly, we should hate it too. Nothing speaks so poorly of us than that hope and desire to be evil.

In a similar way, God hates it when we plot evil in our hearts. Maybe we don’t do it this time, but we are thinking it. We are coming up with ways to hurt other people. Sometimes, we come up with elaborate revenge plans.

These things should be terrible to us, but we have become so accustomed to sinning that we don’t think about it much. But God is perfect. He is holy and just, and He sees sin for what it is. It is offensive, and it is, literally, damning.

The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Death! We deserve death for when we were so anxious to sin. We deserve death for that plot we had against our neighbor. We deserve to die for it.

But even though we deserve to die, God created a way for us to live in Jesus Christ. He came to earth and lived a perfect life. He did not sin, and He did not deserve to die. Of course, He died anyway. He was murdered upon the Cross for our sins.

We need to be honest here – we are guilty of offending the very nature of God. We can’t make it on our own. We need a Savior. He’s the only one that’s earned it.

Pride, lies, and violence

“haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
-Proverbs 6:17

If God gave you a list of things He just hates, you would think you would pay attention. I mean, that’s important, don’t you think? That’s worth our attention?

Of course we would say yes right away, and yet the Bible gives us such lists, and we ignore them. One such list is the Ten Commandments. In this section of Proverbs, we are told very clearly that these are “things that the LORD hates” (verse 16).

Does that interest you? Are you at all curious? People have a problem with the doctrine of hell these days, and I know why they do – they don’t understand what God hates. They know what they themselves hate, and they just assume God is the same way. And so we can’t imagine that someone would go to hell for lying or having lustful thoughts. That is beyond our comprehension. We think we’re basically good people, because we don’t do many things that we hate, and we don’t even both to look at what God hates.

Pride is the first thing, and we’re all drowning in it. That very attitude that “I’m a good person” is a prideful one, especially when we don’t even look at what the true definition of “good” is. The Bible tells us otherwise. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none righteous. We look at our own lives with confidence and pleasure, seeing all the things we have amassed for ourselves, the family we have built, the reputation we have, the accolades and promotions. We are pleased with our own understanding and intellect. We think we’re doing just fine, and so we go about our lives thinking nothing of God or the mercy He has had with us.

It is offensive. Those actions and thoughts are offensive to God. He has created you to bring honor to Him, and you live to bring honor to yourself. He is worthy of all praise, and you try to get praise for yourself.

Liars offend God. God is always truthful, always honest. He never lies. He cannot lie. He is holy and good, and it is against His very nature to lie. But we do it all the time. We twist the truth, tell half truths, and outright lie all the time. God has given us truth as something beautiful and wonderful, and we have trampled on it. We have used it as a plaything.

God also hates those who do violence. We may not all be guilty of this one, but we’re probably only innocent because we’re afraid of going to jail. In truth, we are all tempted to hurt others. In that moment of anger, we want to hurt someone who was made in God’s image. Those thoughts are offensive to Him.

These are only the first three of seven that are listed here, but already we can see that we may not do so well if held against God’s standard of right and wrong and not our own. We want to believe that we’re doing fine, but we’re not.

We have all sinned, and we all deserve punishment for those sins. But in love Jesus came to earth to die on our behalf, taking those sins upon Himself. If we repent and believe in Him, He will forgive us, having already paid the price for our offenses against God. We can’t look to ourselves for salvation, but we can look to Him.

Once we are forgiven, let’s remember these things as things that God hates. Our society may not think lying is a big deal, but our God does, and His opinion is the only one that matters. We may still stumble, and we will still be forgiven. So cast your eyes upon the Cross and remember what He has done for our lies, for our anger, and for our pride.

Seven things that bug me

“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him:”
-Proverbs 6:16

List out seven things you hate. Go ahead – I’ll be here when you get back. Now, I don’t mean like spinach or reality television. I mean like evil things. Certain types of crimes.

If I were to make my list, I think that, obviously, rape and murder would be on there. Abortion would make the list easily. Also pornography, child molesters, and people who use the Bible to tell the sick and the elderly to send them money. I suppose false teachers in general really, really bother me.

Maybe those last two can go together, but that’s off the top of my head.

Solomon makes a list here of six things that the Lord hates, and a seventh that is worse than them all, and the list may surprise us. We’re going to list them today, and then, God willing, deal with them in more detail in days to come.

1) Pride
2) Lying
3) Murder
4) Scheming
5) Anxiousness to do evil
6) Slander
7) Spreading discord

Okay, so I expected “murder,” certainly. Being anxious to do evil is something that doesn’t surprise me. The rest cause me to think. Think about it for a minute – when you lie, you are doing something that makes the short list of things God hates.

I think that one of the main reasons this generation does not worry about the judgment of God is that it doesn’t understand the heart of God. We see things that OTHER people do as perhaps evil, but a lie or two doesn’t hurt anyone. Planning to get back at someone doesn’t really qualify as a huge sin. Our lists are more like the one I tried to come up with above. It is filled with the sins we see on the news, but not sins we ourselves commit.

But lying is an offense to God. Slander is horrible to Him. These are not things to just be passed over, but they are rebellious acts against a just and Holy God. We may scoff at that, but that is only to put our own concept of good and evil above His, and He has infinitely more qualifications to make that call.

If we do not share His heart in these things, then it is only a reflection of our own fallen nature. We are so tied up in ourselves that we cannot imagine that we have done serious evil that is worthy of stern punishment. We assume God is cool with us, but He is not!

This is exactly why Jesus had to come. If lying is such an offense against God, and it is, then who can call himself just? Who can claim to be righteous? Not one. We all deserve punishment. But God is loving, just as He is Holy, and He sent His only begotten Son to earth to live a perfect life and die in our place. If you believe in Him, then He paid for your sins on that Cross.

By the work of the Spirit, we are gradually conformed to be a better person. Someday, when we are glorified through Him, then we will have this same heart against evil, and we will also finally not fall on the list. Until that day, Jesus will continue to intercede for us with the Father.

Someday is sooner than you think

“therefore calamity will come upon him [the wicked man] suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.”
-Proverbs 6:15

There have been times when I thought my life was broken beyond the ability of anyone to fix. Mostly, I have these moments because I am seeing so narrowly that I can’t recognize that things can change, and probably will change within the next hour or so.

I get these moments sometimes when arguing with my wife. I’ll all at once forget how really great our marriage has been, and I just despair. It’s silly, and it’s selfish and childish.

I had some health problems (which turned out to be very minor) a couple of years back and thought the same thing – this is it! It’s over. Not even close. I had exaggerated thing in my own head so much and blown everything out of proportion.

But one day, it’s really going to end. One day, it will be over.

As much as we worry about every little thing in our lives, it is often hard to even fathom that. One day, life will be done.

In this life, we cannot count on justice. It’s not always going to be true that the bad guy is caught and locked up, and that the good guy is going to succeed. It doesn’t always happen like that. That frustrates us. It frustrates me quite a bit. And when Solomon tells us that the wicked man is going to face calamity, we want to believe that, but we don’t.

Except for that one day that we don’t really want to think about. Except for that one day when we die.

Solomon is pointing here to a greater judge than merely human courts. Solomon is pointing to a court where the decisions are final, where the rulings include no leeway. He is pointing to a time where it’s too late for healing, for repentance, and for mercy. It will be a time where you’ve run out of second chances.

And he’s talking about you. In the previous verses, he describes this wicked man as simply one who is deceptive and self-centered. He’s not talking about some murderer; he’s talking about us.

One day, we will all stand before God to answer for our thoughts, words, and deeds. We will have to answer for every lustful thought, every moment of greed, and every unkind word. We will have to answer for every lie, every blasphemy, and every time we coveted something that wasn’t ours.

But there is good news. It is true that will be a time where there will be no further healing, but that time is not here yet. On that day, there will be no further mercy, but that day is not here yet. There is still time to turn away from sin, repent to God for our wickedness, and ask His forgiveness.

Forgiveness is possible. It’s possible because of Jesus’ death on the Cross. When He died, He took the punishment we had earned for our sins. He took our place in death. If we believe in Him, we can be saved.

Don’t wait until it is too late. That day will come. Be ready for it.

Are you good?

“with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord;”
-Proverbs 6:14

I think most people I meet could make a good case that they are good people. They will talk to me about how they obey the law, give to charity, love their families, etc. By the world’s standards, they are good.

That doesn’t really understanding the real meaning of “good,” but we can go with it for a while. You pay your taxes, work hard at your job, and don’t cheat on your wife, so you’re actually doing better than a large portion of society at least!

But even under that standard, if you are honest, you will not pass this test – what is in your heart? The Bible tells us something very interesting, that morality is not confined to what you do. It’s also about what you say and what you think.

So Solomon’s description of the wicked man here points us back to the source of the problem – the man’s heart is devising evil.

We can understand that, can’t we? My actions may be okay, but that’s only because I DON’T act upon every impulse. My thoughts are always a lot worse than my actions. It’s usually self interest that keeps me from telling people off, beating people up, and generally being a raging terror over the earth. I don’t want to lose my job, or my family, or my freedom, so I keep them inside.

But they are there, and God sees your thoughts.

That is why Jesus tells us that even looking at someone in lust is like committing adultery. Even hating someone is like committing murder. These things are true because they are true in our hearts, and God sees that.

In fact, we’re not good people by action either, but that’s another topic for another time. For now, we must realize that our hearts are filled with lust, anger, pride, ambition, and greed. We’re not good people.

And that is exactly why we need a Savior. See, if God knows my thoughts, then there is no way He’s going to find me blameless on the Day of Judgment. I’m going to be found guilty and sent to Hell as my rightful punishment. God is just, and He’s not just going to let sin go unpunished.

But God is also loving, and He sent His Son to die in our place, so that justice may be satisfied. Jesus, who was without sin, died in our place. He took on the punishment that I had earned. So now, with justice satisfied, I can be accepted into eternal life, even though I had not earned it. In repentance and faith, I have been saved by His actions, not my own.

And it is not something we can earn. It is a gift, given when the Spirit convicts us of our sin and turns us, broken, to the Cross. When we look upon Jesus and believe that He can save us by His Blood, then we are saved.

This is the glorious news of the Gospel – not that we are good people, but that we are forgiven people.

The evil next door

[A wicked man] “winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger,”
-Proverbs 6:13

Our world is so filled with evil. We see it every day on television and in the newspapers. All over the world is there murder and war and horrible atrocities. And there really doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can do about it. I mean, there are tyrants ruling countries right now, and we know that they are evil, and our solution so often is “sanctions.” The U.N. gets together and declares “sanctions,” and this resolution is ignored by half the countries, because they can make money dealing with the tyrant, and the tyrant isn’t hurting them, so why not?

We sometimes forget that the world was trying to make peace with Hitler for YEARS before everyone finally decided to make war with him. England was trying to make deals with him that he could keep the land he already took by force as long as he doesn’t take more. America just washed their hands of the whole mess until Japan bombed an American target. Everyone was much more interested in starting out of the way than confronting evil.

It seems like everyone is talking about a solution of one kind or another. Conversations are popping up everyone on how to deal with evil in the world, whether it be domestic (crime) or foreign.

What I find very interesting is what the Bible says about it. In the Bible, evil is not that thing that is out there – the tyrant or the murderer, or the warmonger. Evil is always something much closer to home.

Solomon is describing this wicked man in a way that I did not expect. I expected him to be a violent man, who was filled with vile hatred for everyone. Not so. This is a man who is subtly trying to get his way.

He is keeping his actions hidden. We can see it in this passage very clearly. He’s not even speaking those things that are wrong. He’s only motioning them. A little wink, a gesture: that’s all.

This is the sort of evil that is a bit closer to home. This is the sort of evil that is in your office, at the gym, at school, and at the store. It’s the sort of plotting that puts a person’s own desires and greed above everything else.

It’s us. It’s you, and it’s me. Solomon is telling us something here that we don’t want to admit – evil is not only that thing across the ocean that’s hurting people. Evil is also you in that business deal, or cheating on our taxes, or speaking ill about others.

This is a call to be honest and upfront with our dealings, but it is also a pointer to the one man who did not fail in this area, and that is Jesus. He alone was honest at all times. He alone did not try to sneakily manipulate things to get His way. He alone did not sin.

We may have failed to live up to His standard, but there is forgiveness for those who confess their sins and trust in Him for their salvation.

Quit winking so much. Be truthful in your dealings. But don’t be confused about this part of it – it is by Him alone that we can be saved, for He alone was without sin. And it is by His strength that you will be guided in righteousness once you are forgiven.

Sons of the devil

“A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,”
-Proverbs 6:12

Who would you think of if I used the phrase, “a son of the devil?” I think we would immediately think of the worst people on earth, wouldn’t we? Maybe we wouldn’t even want to think of a person in those terms at all. Maybe we would shy away from calling even the worst human beings such a phrase.

This passage to me is so interesting because of how Solomon describes the evil men of whom he speaks. Their sins are very subtle sins. Unlike other places in Scripture where the evil are described as being murderous and laying in wait to rob people, this “worthless person” sins with mere lies and false dealings. We’re not talking about a tyrant here; we’re talking about a deceptive salesman!

More than that, we’re talking about us. We so often use words to our advantage. Sometimes, we will just flat out lie. Sometimes, we will just withhold truth. Sometimes, we will just tilt what we’re saying by the words we use. Telling your boss “I suggested that our customer may be able to find such products at another location” has a different ring to it than, “I yelled at the customer to get out and never come back!” I’ll admit it – I’ve done that. (Not those exact words, but I’ve manipulated the language to look better than I am.) I’ve been questioned one a decision I’ve made, and I’ll try to word it in the best way possible.

We use our tongues for gossip and slander, and usually we don’t even think about it.

You may be wondering how this makes us children of the devil. While this translation is very accurate, it loses something in the translation. “Worthless” here uses the Hebrew word “beleyah’al.” We may better recognize it as Belial. The word literally means worthless, but it also, over time, became another name we use for Satan. We can see this use in 2 Corinthians 6:15.

I don’t think that Solomon was intending that primarily, and yet it is a phrase that Jesus Himself threw against a group of Jews when they were trying to kill Him. The reasoning He gives for using such a phrase is interesting:

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
-John 8:43-47

When we lie, gossip, slander, and generally use “crooked speech,” do we reflect Christ, or Belial?

We can see how truly serious even the common sins are when viewed in those terms. In truth, every lie is a rebellion against God. We are following the ways of Satan rather than of Christ. These things are so common that we tend to blow them off. Don’t do that. Don’t blow it off, because God doesn’t.

If we are to walk in truth and light, then we will walk with an honest tongue. That’s harder than it sounds, and yet by the Blood of Christ we will be forgiven when we stumble, and by the power of the Spirit we will be better conformed to the image of Jesus. So watch your tongue, knowing that it is God working within you.

If you have not been saved, perhaps this better understanding of the sin of lying will show you how critical it is that we have a Savior. You cannot earn God’s favor, but He loves us to much that He sent His Son to die for the sins of those He saves. Repent of your sins and believe in He who died for you, and you too can be saved.

The fierce dogs of debt

“and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
-Proverbs 6:11

Solomon has been talking in these last verses about the slothful, or lazy. Here he has a very practical warning, but it is a warning that we too little heed.

Americans are loaded down with debt, and it’s usually over the silliest of things. I hear people complaining about how much they owe all the time, but they have really nice televisions and cars and go out to eat three times a week.

And it is really those little things that get you. You know, eating out a meal doesn’t hurt too much, but continuing to do it really bites into the budget (pun intended). For me, it was books and movies. One book doesn’t cost that much, but ten do, and I was having such difficulty with my budget because I kept buying books.

A small thing, but it can hurt.

A lot of that can be solved by eating at home more and going to the library rather than the bookstore. A lot of it is solved by settling for an ugly used car rather than the brand new one you don’t need. But a lot of it is your work ethic.

There are people who are deep in debt who just need to get a second job. And they don’t want to, because they don’t want to work that hard. Some people just need to get a FIRST job! Some people need to start working hard at work so they will get a good raise.

I’ll tell you the truth – if you get a steady job and watch what you’re spending, you’re probably going to do fine financially. If you work hard and get a raise or get promoted, you’ll do better.

If you spend all of your money on foolish things, then poverty is going to creep up on you fast.

God has given us time and money to steward, not to waste on whatever we want. It’s not our time. It’s not our money. It’s His, and He has given it to us to use properly. When we waste them, we are saying that our own desires for things, comfort, and pleasure are worth more to us than He is worth.

As Paul tells us, if we are saved, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The context here is in sexual sin, but the meaning goes into all areas. How do we conduct ourselves with our time? Are you lazy? If you are not, are you trying to glorify Him with your time, or are you glorifying yourself?

If you are not glorifying Him, repent of this sin and have faith in Him. Jesus paid the price for your sins when He died upon the Cross. Confess your sin to Him. The Spirit will work in you for a change, but your hope lies in Him alone.

We will continue to sin in this way or another (or likely both), but Jesus continues to intercede for us with the Father. Trust in Him for your sanctification.

So many reruns, so little time!

“A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,”
-Proverbs 6:10

We could almost rewrite this warning against laziness to add a few modern conveniences. A little Facebook, a little television, a little movie-going, a little Wii, etc. Our time rests better than any other times. In the great scheme of history, our 40-hour work week isn’t terribly much. There usually isn’t too much to do around the house either. Modern conveniences have made cooking and cleaning much easier than in past generations. We don’t have many intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Our evenings are typically filled up with entertainment.

It is easy to see how too much of that corrupts us. Just look around. We have overweight children all over the place. I mean, I’m overweight now, but I couldn’t have been back then. Everything I wanted to do involved running! As many medical advancements as we have made in the last decades, heart disease still ranks as the number one killer in America.

We are drowning in debt, partially because we charge all of our entertainment, and partially because we’re not working hard enough to pay it off.

In the Church, we have malnourished congregations. So few (and even few preachers) take the time to try to understand our faith or our God. We go to listen to the music and get a pep talk, or to have the preacher tell us we’re awesome and we’re going to be rich.

Instead, the television becomes our little false gods. We turn every chair in the living toward it as though it were an altar, and we set our lives according to what it is going to show.

Slothfulness is a sin, and it’s a sin for exactly that reason. It causes you to focus inwardly only, to seek after your own pleasures and comfort, rather than outward toward God and toward others.

The effects of this sin can be seen on every street, in every company, and in every church. We have lost the will to make an effort.

These things may seem minor, but they are not. Laziness has an effect on your life, and it has an effect on your relationship with God. Worst of all, when we are lazy, we are rejecting God in favor of ourselves. We are rebelling against Him and His Law so that we can watch some mindless show on television. I mean, if my wife did that to me, I would be offended! If I had asked for an evening together, and she declined so that she could watch a rerun of Seinfeld, I’d be pretty hacked off.

But God is more deserving still, and we were created for His glory.

I am far too often in error over this one. I am far too often putting in a DVD when I should be reading the Word. It’s not that we should not rest. Obviously, we must sleep. God has set aside a day every week for rest as well. But we take that rest and spread it around to every evening and every day. We live for it!

Because of Jesus’ death upon the Cross, we can be forgiven even of this sin. Even though we turn away from Him in favor of playing on Facebook all day, yet still He would forgive us if we would turn from that in repentance and faith. He paid the price we owe when He was upon that Roman Cross. He paid the price even for the sin of ignoring Him.

We all, at times, are a little more interested in rest than we should be. But God has offered His life in our place so that we can be forgiven.

Crazy early in the morning

“How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?”
-Proverbs 6:9

My friends think I’m a little strange. More times than not, I’m up by about 6:30 on weekends. Work days, I’m up earlier, but even if I don’t have to be anywhere, I get up rather early.

A lot of it is from habit, but most of the reason I get up early is because I was saved out of what this verse is talking about.

When I first started college, I would sleep late in the day, didn’t really clean up much, and basically lived a very lazy life. I played a lot of video games, watched a lot of television, etc. To an extent, it got better when I got a job in the evenings, but I would end up sleeping later in the day to make up for the time I spent at work late at night.

I was a complete night-owl, and I tried to schedule absolutely nothing, even classes, in the mornings so I could sleep in. On weekends, unless I was working, I would barely leave the apartment. More honestly, I would barely leave the couch.

Over the years, God has used a lot of different events and situations to convict me of my laziness. By His grace, I’ve gotten a lot better. I don’t like wasting time now. I really want to get up and get working on whatever it is that needs done now.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not perfect in this area yet. I’ve wasted time this very day, and probably will tomorrow too. I’m still not taking exercise as seriously as I should (which is evident by the shape I’m still in). But the Spirit is working on me.

Laziness is a sin. We don’t really want to admit that staying in bed is sinful, but often it is. Not all the time – we do need to rest, but to overdo it is sinful. We were made to bring honor to God, and we use the time He gave us for entertainment or just slothfully laying around.

I’m not telling you this to guilt you into jumping up right now and taking a jog. That’s not what I want from this. What I want is for you to do the only worthwhile thing we can do with any sin – to confess it to God and to look to the Cross for forgiveness.

It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that changes us, not some pep talk. It is the work of that Spirit that forms us into something better, not self-help. Let’s face it, if we could really save ourselves, our lives wouldn’t look like they do. But in Christ, we can be reconciled with God.

I’m not talking about a prayer that will instantly make you thin. I wish! I’m talking about the conviction of sin that will bring about works in keeping with repentance. For me, being convicted over my laziness has resulted in me being a bit more careful with my time. It’s not something I have forced out of myself. Instead, it is the only thing I COULD do after being convicted by my sin.

It is the Cross that heals us. How long are you going to lay there? Repent and be forgiven!

Working by faith

“she [the ant] prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”
-Proverbs 6:8

All ages have had lazy people, but I think our age makes the problems so much worse. In older times, you could sleep late if you wished, but that would make it hard later to eat. When you had to grow your own food, the amount of work you put in had a direct result on the amount of food you got out of it.

But what if I slept late and didn’t work very hard today? It could be that my boss would fire me, depending on how late I was coming in and how bad of a job I was doing. More likely, I just wouldn’t get a very good raise at the end of the year. That might not be so bad. At my last job, in fact, everyone in the organization got the exact same percentage raise every year. It was a government job, and they cut out merit raises before I got there. So a little laziness there, as long as it didn’t get me fired, would probably have no effect at all!

So we’ve lost something in our understanding of laziness. We’ve lost that understanding that being lazy would have immediately and severe consequences. We could actually say that about a lot of the sins now. In a society that blames no one, we’ve done our best to get rid of any consequences at all for anyone’s actions.

Laziness is, however, a sin. And no matter what this society does to remove the consequences of sin, the heart of those consequences remain. That gradual numbing that sin brings remains, the numbing that continues unto death.

It is a deserved death too. We have lost the understanding of the value of things. We have lost the understanding of the value of time and resources. They are God’s! They are God’s, and He has loaned to us time, breath, resources, and even our bodies. They are not ours to do with as we wish. They are His, and we treat them so casually.

The wages of sin is death. We have offended God in all of our sins, including lust, pride, arrogance, hatred, greed, and even laziness. We have taken what we His and treated it with rebellion and distain.

The answer to this problem is not to try harder and see if you can earn your way into good favor. It’s faith. See, without faith we cannot please God. So the work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent. In repentance and faith we will be forgiven.

When we are forgiven, we are given His Spirit to guide us. The Spirit makes it so we can walk in accordance to His desires – no longer by sheer force of will, but by faith.

I don’t have to harvest my own food. But when I go to work, I can bring honor to God by working in faith. Even that, by grace, we can do in faith. It’s hard to be lazy when the Spirit has moved you so much.

If this is a problem, your first step is to repent and look to the Cross for forgiveness. If you fail tomorrow, then repent again. Over time, the Spirit will work in you. He will change you to look a little more like Him.

Hey! Get off the couch and get a job!

“Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,”
-Proverbs 6:7

Have you ever just sat and watched an ant? I suppose everyone has in childhood. They are fascinating. You’ll see one ant scouting about. Talk about self-motivation! He doesn’t seem to ever rest. He finds some source of food, and before long, he’s told several hundred of his friends. Now they are lined up, back and forth, carrying food back to the anthill then going to get more. They are so efficient and quick about their work.

I would be able to get so much done if I have such focus and drive. I would be writing scores of pages every day. I would get more done at work. I would spend more time with my wife, and she would be thrilled at the attention. I’d have the Bible memorized, in Greek and Hebrew, in a couple of years. I’d also invent a transporter like in Star Trek. That’s right. And a phaser too. I would be awesome.

But I don’t. Solomon is pointing to the ant here to inspire us to action, but isn’t expecting us to literally act like ants. But in pointing to these, one of the least of God’s creation, he is pointing out something in us. The ant runs and works and does not stop, even if there is no supervisor around to force him to work. We, on the other hand, are prone to laziness.

And that’s a terrible thing to say in the grand scheme of things. We’re the ones made in the image of God, after all. We’re the ones who have dominion over the whole earth. And a bunch of ants show us up. Terrible!

In examining these ants, our own slothfulness reveals itself, doesn’t it? I mean, I will compare myself with coworkers and think, “Well, I’m working pretty hard.” I compare myself with the ant, and I realize how easy I have it, and how much rest I really take.

It’s convicting, and it should be. God has given us the time we have on this earth, and we basically waste it. We were given this time to glorify Him, but instead we use it to entertain ourselves.

Is it really that serious? I think so. What if you went to work every day and, instead of doing work, watched television, played on Facebook, and basically wasted your time there? If you had even a halfway attentive boss, you would be called in for a talk pretty quick!

God is infinitely more worthy of your time than any boss, especially because He’s the one who gave it to you. He is the one who gives you every breath you breathe. He is so gracious with what He has given you, in fact, that He asks you to take a day off every week to rest!

How easy it is for all of us to slip into a self-centered attitude. We don’t even realize we’re doing it. We just go about our day without given a second thought to how much time we are spending on ourselves rather than God.

These ants show us just how lost we are. When we don’t have to worry about our next meal, our minds go directly to whatever will entertain us.

When Jesus came, He showed us how it was done. He spent His life in service, in teaching, and in worship. He set a standard that I could never hope to meet. Thankfully, He did not come to just show us how it is done, but to bring forgiveness because we cannot do it alone.

Though I cannot count the minutes, hours, days, months, and years that I have wasted in chasing my own desires, Jesus paid for that time upon the Cross. In His Blood He paid for the sins that I have committed. Justice has been served, and I will be welcomed into eternal life because of what He did.

The Spirit is constantly convicting me on this one. By Grace, I think I’m getting better about using the time God has given me. I am so thankful for another day to give it a whirl, but I am more thankful for the forgiveness offered to me when I fail yet again.

Lazy bones!

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
-Proverbs 6:6

I am still upset about my own laziness last weekend. Granted, it was a long week, and I am totally in favor of having a day of rest every week. Even so, I’ll still use one of the weekend days to get some writing done, record and post the podcast, and that sort of thing. Not last weekend. Last weekend, I couldn’t summon the energy to get anything done at all.

To my defense, I had worked a lot of hours last week, and I had to push myself even harder because I was behind on a couple of projects. I was just worn out. Still, come Monday morning, I was shocked at how badly I had wasted the time.

Not that I’m any stranger to wasting time. Especially in my late teens and early twenties, I spent all my time with television and video games and the like. That troubles me too. Somewhere along the road (and it was probably literally on the road – when an 18-wheeler almost killed me), I think God revealed to me that I don’t have all the time in the world, and that hours of Final Fantasy every night probably wasn’t a good use of the time.

We have been given a certain period of time in this life. It’s not long, even for those who live to be over 100. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t have much time. At the same time, these years we have are a gift from God, a little bit of grace for all of us.

Like the gift of money, resources, talents, intelligence, and the like, we are expected to steward our time well. How have you used your time? Has it been serving God or playing Final Fantasy?

I’m not saying that a little TV is bad. We need rest, and we are instructed by God to have a day of rest every week. Considering the benefits to stress level, health, family, and spiritual life this day has, it is a good way to steward your time.

The problem is this – I still waste time. I try not to, but I do. And it is a sin to serve my own self-interest with my time rather than to serve God. When we do that, we are putting our own desires about the God who created us and the world around us and gave us the time we are so casual about. If I were judged by the way I use my time, I would fall far short of the perfect standard set by God.

In Christ, though, I am forgiven. By His Blood He paid the price I owe for my own selfishness. In His death He made it so I can live.

And when He saved me, He gave to me the Holy Spirit to guide me in the ways of righteousness. The Holy Spirit points out to me when I’m wasting time, when I’m about to sin, when I am thinking of myself more than about God.

I still sin, and Jesus is still the means of my forgiveness. But by His Grace, I am studying those ants more now. I don’t want to waste my time.

Like a squirrel up a tree

“save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
-Proverbs 6:5

I very much like nature. I like watching birds and squirrels and the like. There is little much more exotic in the city where I live, but at times I can sneak up on a squirrel on a tree trunk. I never get really close, of course. Usually, if I’m close enough that I can see him well, I won’t try to get any nearer.

The squirrel doesn’t know that I don’t mean him harm. As soon as him figures I’ve gotten a little too close, he’ll scurry up the tree faster than my eye can even follow.

It’s this sort of image that Solomon is trying to convey here – that of speed. He has been talking to us about what to do if we find we’ve made some financial or social mistake. He tells us to go to the offended party and try to make it right.

Most of us know we should do that, but we try to wait. Let things settle down. Maybe the other person will forget. Solomon tells us to go immediately. Move as quickly as a squirrel up a tree to get yourself out of this trap.

The gazelle can’t always get away from the hunter. The bird can’t always get away from the fowler. I’ve never caught one, but I know that squirrels have been caught before they can get up that tree. It doesn’t mean they don’t try their best to get away.

In the same way, when we have wronged someone, we should hurry to resolution, even if we cannot achieve our goals here. If you’ve made a bad financial decision, go try to make it right. If you’ve said something that offended someone else, go try to make it right. Go this very day!

The Bible never assumes that we can actually live good and moral lives. The Word assumes that we will mess up. Other religions may tell you to work really hard to earn your way into heaven, but not Christianity. The very core of the Christian faith is the understanding that we are not perfect (far from it!), but that Jesus is.

That matters quite a bit, because Christians should never claim to be good people, just forgiven people. As Solomon here bids us do when making these errors, we confess our sins to the Father, and in Grace are forgiven. This can only happen because of the death of Jesus. God is holy and righteous, and He does not simply allow sin to go unpunished. But when Jesus died on the Cross, He took upon Himself the punishment for those sins.

When we repent and have faith, we are forgiven because of His action, not our own.

When you sin, take Solomon’s advice. Seek out Him whom you wronged and ask forgiveness. Don’t wait. Go to Him today. As quick as a squirrel up a tree.