Tag: reverence

Reverence, Humility, and Contentment (Ecclesiastes 5:1-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than the sacrifice offered by fools, for they do not know how to keep from doing evil. Never be rash with your mouth nor let your heart be quick to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few.

For dreams come with many cares, and a fool’s voice with many words.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay fulfilling it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill what you vow.It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your words and destroy the work of your hands?

With many dreams come vanities and a multitude of words, but fear God.

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But all things considered, this is an advantage for a land: a king for a plowed field.

The lover of money will not be satisfied with money, nor the lover of wealth with gain. This also is vanity.

When goods increase, those who eat them increase, and what gain has their owner but to see them with his eyes?

Sweet is the sleep of laborers, whether they eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not let them sleep.

There is a grievous ill that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owners to their hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture; though they are parents of children, they have nothing in their hands. As they came from their mother’s womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil that they may carry away with their hands. This also is a grievous ill: just as they came, so shall they go, and what gain do they have from toiling for the wind? Besides, all their days they eat in darkness, in much anger and sickness and resentment.

This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us, for this is our lot. Likewise, all to whom God gives wealth and possessions and whom he enables to enjoy them and to accept their lot and find enjoyment in their toil—this is the gift of God. For they will scarcely brood over the days of their lives because God keeps them occupied with the joy of their hearts. (New Revised Standard Version)

Life can be paradoxically both meaningful and meaningless. Yet, if we can live consistent with who we are and how we were created to be, then it is likely we shall find a semblance of meaning, purpose, and even joy in this present life.

Reverence

Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. (Proverbs 10:19, NLT)

We are to be cautious in our speech, especially in addressing God. We must choose our words carefully and deliberately, in prayer, as well as with others.

God is God, and we are not. Therefore, since God is far above us, the high and holy One, it is wise to minimize our talking. There’s no need for lengthy and showy prayers. It is the mark of a fool that talks too much, just as much as it is the mark of a fool to let daydreams occupy too much of their thoughts.

Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent. (Proverbs 17:28, NRSV)

To be reverent and respectful before God involves not only the volume of words, but also the sanctity of words.

Whenever a person makes a vow or a promise to God, they need to be diligent about fulfilling that vow. The Lord takes our words seriously, and is not pleased with flippant promises that we have little intention of keeping.

On the flipside, good intentions are just that – they do not constitute a promise to do anything. We make vows so that we will be accountable to ourselves and others, and then follow through with the promise, no matter what.

Reneging on any promise, whether the vow is to another or God, is a foolish act with real consequences. Therefore, we should consider our promises well before making them, and avoid being rash.

Humility

All of us have both observed and experienced oppression and injustice of another or a group of people. In our anger, we may want to play both judge and jury. Humility teaches us that this is not our role, and to accept that a right and just God will deal with injustice.

The Lord sneers at those
    who sneer at him,
but he is kind to everyone
    who is humble. (Proverbs 3:34, CEV)

The injustice of this world does not necessarily need to create a deep theological conflict within us. We rarely, if ever, have the big picture on the circumstances and complexities of what is going on. But God does.

The Lord is watching. God neither slumbers nor sleeps. There is never a Divine nap time. So, God knows all, and will handle arrogant people according to their deeds and motives.

People who are proud will soon be disgraced. It is wiser to be modest. (Proverbs 11:2, GNT)

Contentment

It is the proud and arrogant person who never seems content. They continually want more – likely because they have the wrongheaded notion that they deserve more, even if it comes by taking resources from others.

Yet, the reality is that both kings and commoners rely upon the produce which comes from the soil. And regardless of whether a person has lots of money, or not, wealth isn’t the thing which makes for a truly happy life.

So, it is pointless and foolish to hoard food, money, stuff, resources, and even intangible things such as love and encouragement. Having a liberal outlook of sharing and giving creates joy. Misers, however, are typically curmudgeons who rarely smile and enjoy what they have.

The more stuff and wealth a person has, the less it is of benefit to humanity, whenever it is stockpiled and/or selfishly used and spent. Besides, when somebody has a lot, they have a lot to worry about. But workers living a simple life sleep just fine.

It is foolish to work so hard for something, only to end up with nothing you can take with you into eternity; or to have it taken by someone with an evil scheme to get it. On top of it, leaving this life with no humility and charity means that such a person really does leave with absolutely nothing to show for their life.

There’s no need to waste your life by filling it with nothing but aggravation and worry. Life has purpose and joy when there are liberal amounts of gratitude, encouragement, and friendship.

Let’s live today according to what is most important in life. Instead of chasing wealth, power, and control, we have the opportunity – no matter who we or our station in life – to live honestly and reverently, humbly and gently, with satisfaction and contentment.

What will you choose this day?

Almighty God of mercy, thank You for extending grace to me as I humble myself before You. Help me to be careful with my words, and to approach You with reverence and respect. Enable me to listen more and speak less, and to fulfill my vows to You. Guide me in being content with what You have given me and not to be consumed by the pursuit of wealth. I pray for wisdom and discernment in all my dealings and decision-making. Amen.

Consider Wisdom (Proverbs 1:1-19)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
By Peter Max, 2008

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David and king of Israel.

Here are proverbs that will help you recognize wisdom and good advice, and understand sayings with deep meaning. They can teach you how to live intelligently and how to be honest, just, and fair. They can make an inexperienced person clever and teach young people how to be resourceful. These proverbs can even add to the knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated, so that they can understand the hidden meanings of proverbs and the problems that the wise raise.

To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the Lord. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

My child, pay attention to what your father and mother tell you. Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

My child, when sinners tempt you, don’t give in. Suppose they say, “Come on; let’s find someone to kill! Let’s attack some innocent people for the fun of it! They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! We’ll find all kinds of riches and fill our houses with loot! Come and join us, and we’ll all share what we steal.”

My child, don’t go with people like that. Stay away from them. They can’t wait to do something bad. They’re always ready to kill. It does no good to spread a net when the bird you want to catch is watching, but people like that are setting a trap for themselves, a trap in which they will die. Robbery always claims the life of the robber—this is what happens to anyone who lives by violence. (Good News Translation)

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”

Theodore Roosevelt

A proverb is a short pithy statement of experiential truth. Proverbs are meant to teach one how to live a good life. This sort of education requires a lifetime of learning. There is always wisdom to be gained.

In order to have true understanding and wisdom, there needs to be a balance of intellectual knowledge, affective feeling, and intuitive knowledge. Only possessing some of these elements makes one nothing more than a half-wit.

A commitment to virtue, morality, and ethics is a must in the acquisition of wisdom, and thus, a good life. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity all take time. Marinading over a long period of time in the wisdom of biblical proverbs will prove to be a life saver. At the end of one’s life, they can look back with gratefulness and satisfaction, instead of sorrow and regret.

So, from the very outset of approaching the Book of Proverbs, the mindset and heart stance must not be one of popping a few proverbial pills in order to achieve a self-centered goal or gain an immediate solution.

Rather, proverbial wisdom demands daily immersion in its wise sayings. It requires implementation and experimentation every single day. There needs to be decisive action, coupled with contemplative reflection. Anything short of this truncates and stunts one’s growth.

There is yet one more necessary prerequisite toward the sagacious and good life. Without this, nothing is possible. But with this, all things are possible: Acknowledgment, awareness, and adoration of the Lord.

A fool is one who stubbornly refuses to take in the full range of epistemic knowledge. Being only book smart is to actually be stupid. To be only a walking heart of emotional intelligence is foolish. And to live only by gut instinct alone is to cut off yourself from wisdom’s teaching.

A wise life includes the head, the heart, and the gut – and to have them all aligned together as an integral whole. To live other than this is to live as a fool who believes they already have the answers and the key to knowledge and understanding.

Furthermore, this means that to take God and transcendent things off of the table, to begin with, is the most foolish decision a person can make. Conversely, to forsake the intellectual life and believe that all one needs is the spiritual, is to betray a woefully foolish approach to the good life.

There are also those who distance themselves from family, especially parents. On some level, this makes sense, if one had a childhood full of traumatic memories and difficult relationships.

However, learning to honor even these parents is to place oneself on the path of wisdom, and to learn what the good life truly entails. And this approach allows the person to see the good, and strain out the bad.

In other words, we discover that good and bad, wise and foolish, smart and stupid, exists within everyone and in every place. Wholesale jettisoning of persons and/or institutions gains us little to nothing.

This distancing from family and/or God is an attempt to assert some control, to effect one’s willpower upon life. But this will lead us away from the true path of wisdom.

That’s because wisdom is not something to be mastered. Wise sayings don’t exist to be collected, and their sagacity harnessed for one’s personal goals.

Yes, we are to avail ourselves of wisdom, yet perhaps not as we may believe or think. We do not capture wisdom, but are captured by it.

The importance of this mental, emotional, and spiritual stance must not be undervalued. We only learn wisdom by means of humility and reverence before powers greater than ourselves. Any vestige of pride in us shall cause wisdom to disappear and slip from our grasp.

Only until we both intellectually and experientially recognize that the essential operations of the universe are beyond us, shall anyone begin to trust and risk in a wisdom greater than our own.

“Without humility, all shall be lost.”

St. Teresa of Avila

Put another way, if we refuse to learn from God and from our parents, then we won’t.

Only by accepting this can anyone discern what to do and don’t do, say and don’t say, when faced with competing voices.

For there is continually a voice of foolishness, of wickedness, enticing us to get what we want quickly, selfishly, without any thought to the consequences or the effect upon others. A group of such voices becomes a gang who tries outdoing each other in competitive evil.

There is also a voice of wisdom, which admonishes us to avoid the fast, fun, and friendly gang of evil speech and behavior. The wise person discerns that what the wicked person does to another, comes back upon them.

The patient and powerful voice of wisdom communicates prudence in all things, that is, to do today what will lead to a better tomorrow.

So then, my friend, what is the thing – the decision, the action, the words – that you can and will do today which will help you accomplish a good, right, and just life for yourself (and others) for tomorrow?

Great God of all wisdom, help me to trust You and follow Your precepts in every twist and turn of my life. Grant me good understanding and guide my steps, so that Your will is done on earth, as it is always done in Your heaven. Amen.

Proverbs 9:1-6 – Lady Wisdom’s Invitation

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
Divine Wisdom by Shiloh Sophia McCloud

Wisdom has built her house
    with its seven columns.
She has prepared the meat
and set out the wine.
    Her feast is ready.

She has sent her servant women
    to announce her invitation
    from the highest hills:
“Everyone who is ignorant
    or foolish is invited!
    All of you are welcome
    to my meat and wine.
If you want to live,
    give up your foolishness
    and let understanding
    guide your steps.” (CEV)

Wisdom is personified as a wise woman calling out to us. Her message is a passionate appeal to take the path of insight through God’s revealed will. She encourages us to leave our simple ways and walk in the way of insight. 

The word “wisdom” in Scripture is the careful application of God’s Word to concrete situations in our lives. During our daily life, paying attention to wisdom and following her instructions is vital to experiencing success in the Christian walk, and in all of life.

Obstructing the ability to listen for wisdom’s call is the fact that too many people are downright impatient. The deliberate ways of wisdom take far too much time for them. They want the bottom-line, the skinny on wisdom. However, to let wisdom teach us her ways, we need to slow down enough to hear, accept, and engraft wise practices of living. Working and living harder and faster when we encounter difficulties only betrays our great need for Lady Wisdom’s instruction.

It is the immature simpleton who refuses to wait on the lessons that wisdom wants to impart. Wisdom cannot be gained quickly. Her teachings are learned slowly with careful application over time. Wisdom is something of a marinade, and if we don’t allow the proper time, we are unable to live well. We will then, at best, be bland and dull, and at worst, be an unsavory presence in the world.

Another foolish obstacle to receiving wisdom is the search for simple solutions to complex problems. Wisdom calls us to leave such ineffective and short-sighted ways and take the high road of consultation, collaboration, and humble learning.

Rather than always rush to Google for answers to our questions; instead of allowing another person to make decisions for us; in place of implementing sheer pragmatic plans, please allow wisdom to penetrate the mind and heart so that what comes out is thoroughly godly and biblical. 

Where is the place to start? Reverence of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight. There is no substitute to committing oneself to the regular and daily regimen of reading God’s Holy Word and seeking to put it into practice.

All-Wise God, the One who is never in a hurry, create in me a wise mind and heart.  Help me to sit still long enough for wisdom to bring biblical and spiritual maturity to my life, through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.