Theological Commentary: Click Here
There are
three proverbs that leapt out today as I read through this chapter. Two of them are consecutive and deal with the
same topic. The third is near the end
with a profound amount of applicable wisdom.
In verses 8
and 9 we hear about what the Lord detests and what He loves. It is always prudent to think about what the
Lord despises and what the Lord loves.
When I study scripture, I find that I am usually surprised at what I
find when I follow these verses as deeply as possible.
For example,
the Lord detests the way of the wicked.
That’s no surprise. Then we hear
that the Lord despises the sacrifice of the wicked. This is a bit of a surprise. After all, how many times do we think about
God and we think about obedience. How
many times do we think, “I went to church on Sunday and fulfilled my weekly
obligation, so I can check that off the list.”
Or, how many times do we say, “I prayed before I ate my meal, so I’ve
done my duty.” Does the Lord love such
actions if our heart is not in them or even if our heart is not right before Him? Does the Lord love our actions – regardless of
what they are – when our heart is wicked?
On the other
hand, look at what the Lord loves. The
Lord loves those who pursue righteousness.
He loves the prayer of the upright.
In other words, the Lord loves the actions of those whose heart is right. When our heart is right, we do the things
that are pleasing to Him. The status of
our heart is not made by what we do, what we do is a reflection of the status of
our heart. The Lord loves our heart and what comes out of a heart that is pursuing
Him.
The third
proverb that leapt off the page today is that humility comes before honor. Humility comes before honor! So often the world overlooks the humble. The world seems to adore the proud and at
times it seems the prouder the more the world adores them! However, this is not the case with true
honor. Humility comes before true
honor. Respect is given by others, not
taken by the proud. True honor is bestowed,
not demanded.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment