Don't let Your Heart Envy

Don’t let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of Yahweh always
Surely there is a future, & your hope won’t be cut off.  

Listen ... and be wise, & direct your heart in the way.  

Don’t be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, & drowsiness will clothe one with rags  (Proverbs 23:17-21)

Lesson from this section

We’re surrounded by it in OC: happy people, rich people, nice cars, people with great relationships, perfect marriages, happy kids, and admirable jobs.  But this “success” is actually little more than a flood of temptation thrown in our faces by evil. 

We may console ourselves in the knowledge that money doesn’t buy happiness, or we may see the happy couple and suspect that in private they’re not so happy … but it can be hard to shake the idea that everyone seems to have it better than we do!  “Everyone else gets what they want,” a foolish woman said.

Rather than envying others (or trying to mentally cut them down) … just do what the Father advises: rather than envy, replace it with fear of Yahweh.  Instead of trying to resist temptation … focus on fearing God, worshipping God, and loving God.  If all your focus is on being pleasing to God and hearing the six words … envy will melt in the fire of your zeal as if by magic. 

Don’t believe God about this?  Why? 

When has He ever given you reason not to trust Him?

Go ahead … focus on God, starting with fear.  See what happens to your envy issues. 

I dare you. 

Here We Go Again

You’ve probably heard this quote:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. George Santayana

It seems to be a favorite among history teachers, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately as I’ve studied the prophets.  When Jesus came to earth, he made it clear that the abuse he endured was exactly the same as that of the prophets, and he also said that if we were like him, we’d also be persecuted just like the prophets (Luke 6.22-23). 

But what about personal history?  Are you learning lessons from your own history?  Have you ever seen a guy who keeps getting into bad relationships, and it seems like he never learns?  What about people who keep repeating other mistakes over and over and over again?  The alcoholic keeps on drinking.  The drug addict continues to make excuses that sound very much like those of the glutton who eats way more than her body needs.  We keep friendships and relationships that we know are bad for us.  We procrastinate, make excuses and have all sorts of reasons why we just keep doing the same stupid things. 

Is this you?

 Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
Proverbs 26:11

When God got tired of Israel’s misbehavior, He sent pain.  They were slaughtered and plundered by their enemies, and taken away as captives.  God had His house among them in Israel, and even allowed that to be destroyed.  There were plagues and pestilence, locusts and drought. 

What does it take to get your attention? 

Will you force God to love you enough to bring the pain, or will you never change, or will you be wise and make up your mind to repent (change) now – and go “all-in” for God? 

I know the answer for most of you, because I know history.  Most of you will be like the dog who returns to eat his own puke.  Most will never learn from their own history.  And the result is lots and lots of struggle and hardship for the rest of your life.  It’s your choice, of course, but I know what most of you will choose.  Most people choose to sing the foolish song, “Oops, I did it again.” 

Ask God & your true friends (fellow disciples) to help you.  Make up your mind to change.  And do it now, because it'll never get easier than it is today - change only gets harder. 

Share Your Thoughts?

You know those "bible studies" and discussion groups where everyone tells what they think?  Solomon has something to teach us about that.  When we meet as a Godwor group, you should know that we will try to follow the wisdom of the bible ... and moderate our meetings and comments accordingly.

I've uploaded the article as a PDF so you can download it and read at your convenience - which you should do soon!  You may be surprised - but it'll be better to learn now rather than be embarrassed later.
http://www.godwor.com/articles/Share%20Your%20Thoughts.pdf 

Temptation & Discipline

Many of the proverbs mention something specific, but really they’re about a broader principle...  


This one is a great example.  
It seems to be about having sex with an adulteress (a wife who has sex with others).

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight…

… [so] that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she’s bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.  Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not. 

Now then, my sons, listen to me; don’t turn aside from what I say:

Keep to a path far from her, don’t go near the door of her house, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel, lest strangers feast on your wealth and your toil enrich another man’s house. At the end of your life you’ll groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You’ll say,

“How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!

I wouldn’t obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.

I’ve come to the brink of utter ruin in the midst of the whole assembly.” 

Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well.  Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?  Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.

Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? 

For a man’s ways are in full view of Yahweh, and he examines all his paths.

The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast.

He’ll die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great foolishness. 

Proverbs ^5.1-22

The woman “Wisdom” is offering us some perfect advice, which (to the discerning) is about more than sexual misconduct with another man’s wife. Notice near the end that she says the wicked man is “led astray by his own great foolishness.” 

Whatever entices you, that’s your “adulteress.” 

What pulls you away from wise action?  What tempts you and teases you and looks so delicious you can’t seem to stop yourself, even though you know it’s not smart? 

And then after you’ve caved-in to the sweet temptation, and you feel scrungy …now what?  Do you want someone to comment on your foolishness?  Most of us do not.  We don’t want to “be judged.”  We want people to understand … to tell us that they know how it feels to be that strongly tempted, and they can totally relate to our struggle. 

Now go back and look at this again, and see the outcome.  He also hated discipline, and look where it got him.  Now he’s the laughing stock of the community.  Everyone can see that he’s a ruined fool. 

Will you seek out those who love you enough to discipline you, and avoid those whose sweet mouths are tempting and delicious?  It’s your choice, and if the bible is true … the outcome is evident. 

It’s better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools.

Ecclesiastes ^7.5-6

Silicon Valley Wisdom

Two articles caught my attention, both from CNNMoney online.  They were titled, "The Best Advice I Ever Got" and featured two big names: Sal Khan of the Khan academy and Venture Capitalist Michael Moritz.  Here's what each had to say:

Khan:

"One of the powerful things Bill Gates told me is 'Learn to say no.' You don't have to make everyone happy." 

Moritz:

"Steve Jobs told me that you should never go to a meeting or make a telephone call without having a clear idea of what you're trying to achieve."

Fascinating to read what others consider 'wise council,' isn't it?  I suppose people who want to be prettier take beauty tips from Hollywood folks, and those who are into domestic decorations are fans of Martha Stewart.  As for me, I'm a fan of wisdom.

Nothing compares to wisdom.  We can't all be rich, or beautiful or athletic or powerful; but we can all attain wisdom.  It's amazing to me that while wisdom is the most valuable thing in our world, it's also available to everyone who pursues it!

I'm starting this blog today to occasionally post these kinds of things here, and then compare and contrast the wisdom of the world with the wisdom found in the bible.  Or at least that's what I'll try to do.  Wisdom is attainable, but it's elusive ... one must constantly remain humble and aware of one's own folly in order to continue to learn.  As soon as we think we have it figured out, that's the moment when we drop back and become fools again.

So what about the advice of the great Gates & Jobs?
Jesus confirms Gates' advice by his actions.  He was confronted by the 'good' religious folks and challenged because he hung around "sinners" instead of the religious people.  Jesus' response was simple: "it's not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick."  Jesus came to help a specific group, and he didn't care much for the other.

Jobs' advice is taught by the same principle: know your audience and your purpose.  Jesus focused on helping people, and so that's where you'd find him.  He spent much more time teaching the eager than he did bickering with the 'experts.'

For all of us who want to help people, there's great wisdom in these ideas!  We are often tempted to hang out with the rich and powerful so we can get money to support our work, and in so doing, we miss the fact that this is the opposite of what Jesus did.  It's also not what Sal Khan did ... he started by helping kids at his own expense, and trusted that angels would come along ... and they did.

Wisdom says: stay focused on your audience and work ... and let the other things go.