BE A GOOD STEWARD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Proverbs 27:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Something that always seems to be a point of discussion in our country is the matter of socio-economics. That’s simply a fancy word for studying differences in social status between people in regard to their money and quality of life.

It’s true, isn’t it?

Much of the political picture is driven by this subject as politicians argue over social programs. On one hand you’ll hear the argument that people who work hard should be able to enjoy the success they have earned. The other will counter that it’s wrong to have a society where there is a deep divide between those who have and those who don’t. They would propose that those who have contribute to the social welfare of those who are less fortunate and in need. And of course, this instigates a rebuttal that we shouldn’t be giving people a handout and instead should create more jobs so people can go out and earn the money they need to live.

And so the argument rages back and forth and back and forth and on and on and on.

These discussions are so prevalent that they influence the way we live and look at one another. The rich look down on those who are poor. The poor despise those who have so much when they have so little.

If only everyone in America could just take a trip to another nation and see what socio-economic suffering really looks like. I have and it’s a life changer, I can tell you that.

For even our poorest people in America are rich compared to the poverty that a large part of our world lives in. Need some statistics to bring things into focus?

- More than 80 percent of humanity lives on less than 10 dollars a day. Rural areas account for three in every four people living on less than a dollar a day and a similar share of the world population suffering from malnutrition.

- There are 2.2 billion children in the world. 1 billion live in poverty.

- 1.9 billion children live in the developing world. Of those 1.9 billion, 640 million are without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million have no access to safe water (1 in 5), and 270 million have no access to health services (1 in 7).

- Worldwide, 10.6 million children die annually before they reach the age of 5 (a number matching the child population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy). Of those 10.6 million, 2.2 million die because they are not immunized and 1.4 million die from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. A quote from UNICEF on this matter states, they (children) “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

I could go on and on but you can get the point. We live in a world that is desperate for help with many people having far less than we could ever imagine.

I saw this first hand when I spent 14 months in the African nation of Djibouti. There, I witnessed rows and rows of corrugated tin lean-tos, crudely crafted to provide shade from the 130 degree temperatures that beat down for four months of the summer. The lean-tos were open air with no electricity, no running water, and no toilets. As you would drive by them, you would see as many as five to six people huddled underneath the cover, adults and children, seeking cover from the hot sun. Water was only available from a sea inlet and I saw women going to the sea, filling up five to six large plastic containers, and then carry them back to their families. Oh, and the sea inlet they were drawing water from was the same inlet that people were bathing in every day. These were harsh conditions but I was made aware from some Africans I befriended there that their living conditions were good compared to others on the continent.

Sometimes you don’t really appreciate what you have until you see others without.

The truth of the matter is that so many people in our nation have more than they really need, so much so that they could easily downsize their lives to try and make a difference in the lives of other people in the world who are in dire need of help. This was the root principle within a great book I was fortunate to read called Radical. Written by Pastor David Platt, readers are challenged to consider how Jesus called His disciples to leave behind what they had and who they were to surrender to Him and His ways, freely giving all to others as He so freely gave His all for us. He shares how he and his family chose to make changes in their lifestyle and give more than they received and how that sacrificial, giving spirit turned into an incredible spiritual blessing for them. I would encourage any of my readers to check this book out but I do warn you for you will be challenged and convicted by the Lord as you journey through its chapters.

So what does God’s word have to say on this matter? There are many passages I could reference but because this is a study and survey of Proverbs, I will stay on topic and look at the 7th verse of Chapter 27 as we see Solomon sharing some wise words regarding stewardship. Check out this verse:

One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. Proverbs 27:7

Those who are full of all life can bring will shun items that others would see as valuable. I think the common saying is “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” In the instance of the proverb, people who were well off in biblical times would not even think about eating the honeycomb from a bee’s nest. Rather, they would trample them and crush them underfoot, seeing no value there after the sweet honey has been harvested. Conversely, the hungry person would gladly eat that same honeycomb, for when you have no food, you can’t be discriminatory about what you eat. You just need food, even if it’s something that most people would not eat.

Maybe we should think about that the next time we go to waste food that could be used to feed someone else. Ditto for the money we spend on food we never eat. Our cupboards are typically overflowing but we can only eat so much in any one day. What would happen if we prayed over what the Lord has given us, asking Him to make us better stewards of what He has provided? What would happen if we only bought what we needed in the immediate present and took the money left over to contribute to the cause of helping provide for the world’s hungry? Don’t you think that the Lord would see that we were cared for while using what we give to ensure others are cared for too?

Friends, perhaps the word of God is speaking to us today and pointing us toward being more charitable, to truly consider doing unto the least of these as Jesus did and then exhorted us to do as well. For when we truly choose to sacrifice ourselves and what we have for the good of others, then we take steps to be good stewards of what we have been given and to be more and more like our Savior Jesus Christ, allowing others get a glimpse of His Spirit and His heart through our actions.

Isn’t that what being a Christian is supposed to be about?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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WATCH OUT FOR ENEMIES

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Proverbs 27:6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Sometimes our worst enemies can be people we thought we could trust. They fly under the radar, taking advantage of their relationship with you to plot and scheme things to your disadvantage.

At other times, we misinterpret instances where friends who say things to correct us through constructive criticism as being incidents of attack that intend to wound us from the inside out. In our prideful nature, we reject words spoken in rebuke, even though they may speak truth about a part of our lives that needs changing.

The truth of the matter is that just because someone close to you is silent doesn’t mean they wish good for you. Conversely, just because some speaks out against you doesn’t mean that they are doing it out of malice. Rather, they are often doing it out of a deep love for you, a love you are blinded from seeing.

These truths are born out of the wise words of Solomon found in the 6th verse of Proverbs, Chapter 27. Look again at his words:

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6

Want a biblical example of how this proverb applies? You can go back to the time of Solomon’s father, King David to find just that. Consider this passage from 2 Samuel:

Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted, “We have no share in David, no part in Jesse’s son! Every man to his tent, Israel!”

So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bikri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows.

Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.” But when Amasa went to summon Judah, he took longer than the time the king had set for him.

David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bikri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your master’s men and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and escape from us.” So Joab’s men and the Kerethites and Pelethites and all the mighty warriors went out under the command of Abishai. They marched out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.

While they were at the great rock in Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Joab was wearing his military tunic, and strapped over it at his waist was a belt with a dagger in its sheath. As he stepped forward, it dropped out of its sheath.

Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” Then Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. Amasa was not on his guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab plunged it into his belly, and his intestines spilled out on the ground. Without being stabbed again, Amasa died. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bikri.

One of Joab’s men stood beside Amasa and said, “Whoever favors Joab, and whoever is for David, let  him follow Joab!” Amasa lay wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road, and the man saw that all the troops came to a halt there. When he realized that everyone who came up to Amasa stopped, he dragged him from the road into a field and threw a garment over him. After Amasa had been removed from the road, everyone went on with Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bikri.  2 Samuel 20:1-13

Joab was a skilled military commander who was fiercely loyal to his uncle King David but also intensely ruthless when it came to pursuing his own self interest, specifically, to become the commander of the king’s fighting forces. This ruthlessness led to the following sinful actions:

1. Joab killed David’s son Absalom.

You’ll recall that David’s son rebelled against his father and attempted to take his throne away. David, although angered that his son would do such a thing, ordered that Absalom not be killed if captured but Joab willingly chose to disobey the order. You’ll recall that Absalom was riding a mule and as he passed under the thick branches of a large oak tree, his hair got caught in the tree, removing him from the mule and leaving him hanging from the tree. Seizing the moment, Joab took Absalom’s life by plunging three javelins into his heart (2 Samuel 18:6-15). It wouldn’t be the last time he would murder as we’ll see next.

2. Joab killed Abner

Abner was a chief army officer under King Saul. After Saul was killed in battle, he became loyal to Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, who had become the next king of Israel. A battle ensued between Ishbosheth and David and when Joab’s brother Asahel tried to go after Abner, Abner struck Asahel down and killed him in self defense. Later, Abner would switch his loyalty to David and met with him to express his commitment to Israel’s king. After the meeting, Joab went after Abner and killed him for two reasons, first to avenge his brother’s death and, second, to eliminate a potential competitor for the position of David’s top military leader. The events led King David to lament in the following words:

“I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner. May his blood fall on the head of Joab and on his whole family!” 2 Samuel 3:28-29

3. Joab killed Amasa.

Joab’s cousin Amasa also had strong military talents. Militarily, he had led the rebellion of Absalom against David but after Absalom fell, David recruited Amasa to be his chief officer. Of course, you can guess that Joab coveted the job Amasa was given and secretly looked for the opportunity to kill him. That came after Amasa had been sent to rally the men of Judah in three days to fight against a new threat as a man named Sheba fled Jerusalem followed by the men of Israel who pledged allegiance to Sheba.

When Amasa failed to return in time, David became impatient and ordered Joab’s older brother, Abishai, to lead some men in pursuit of Sheba, a group that included Joab. David’s fear was that the rebellion of Sheba would be worse than the rebellion started by his own son.

As we read in the passage from 2 Samuel 20, while on the way to find Sheba, the group ran into Amasa who was on his way back to the king. In no way did Amasa feel anything strange or unusual when Joab approached him, greeted him by saying, “How are you my brother?”, and grabbed his beard as if to kiss him. It was a friendly greeting at that moment, or so it seemed, but the kiss was only a ruse for what Joab really had in mind. For the scriptures tell us that Joab took his dagger and plunged it into Amasa’s belly so forcefully that Amasa’s intestines poured out. There would be no need for a second stab. Amasa died and Joab had removed yet another military leader in his way to seizing the top commander position in David’s military. And he did it behind the guise of a loving kiss.

Friends, there are many Joabs out there unfortunately, people who seem like they are our allies when they are really our foes. A kiss might not be sincere and we may not find out until the schemer’s plot has been hatched and we’re negatively impacted by its outcome.

The message is clear. Look out for your enemies and never forget they may be closer than you think, close enough to kiss you before they betray you.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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TOUGH LOVE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Proverbs 27:5   

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I had to do something terribly difficult recently. Someone I care about deeply was struggling with an issue that needed intervention. The matter was such that the person I cared about was in complete denial and as anyone who has dealt with addictive behaviors will attest, the first step to a person beginning recovery begins when they admit that they have a problem and need help. This wasn’t happening and the issue at hand was worsening.

I prayed and prayed over the matter but things didn’t change. Finally, it got to the point where I was convicted to take action and bring the matter to light in the eyes of people who could intercede and stop the downward spiral this person was in. I could no longer in good conscience stand by and allow the person I cared for to destroy their life and the lives of others around them.

And so I reported the matter, fully aware of the repercussions this would bring. For I knew that as soon as the matter was brought into the light, I would face the consternation of the one I cared about, their anger blinding them to the love I felt, the love that led me to do something instead of standing by.

I was reminded about this as I read today’s proverb as we continue to study from the Book of Proverbs, Chapter 27. There, Solomon shares the following simple words of wisdom that helped me validate what I did. Look at the verse again:

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Proverbs 27:5

When I was raising my two girls, there were more than a few times when my wife and I had to initiate disciplinary actions when they violated the rules we set for them, rules that we could always justify through the scriptures. That was one of our precepts of parenting.

I know my girls didn’t understand what we were doing at the time. Hiding our love by remaining silent would have done them a disservice and an injustice and so we took initiative and discipline for we loved them both too much to act like unrighteous behavior was permissible. We didn’t hide our love but rather expressed it through needed rebuke.

Now, no one likes open rebuke and correction at the time. But I hope today that my girls can look back and see that we disciplined not because we loved them less but rather because we loved them more. My added hope is that the person I love dearly will one day understand why I chose to intervene in his situation and realize that I did it because I cared and was unwilling to hide my love for him rather than choose open rebuke.

Friends, this is the nature of tough love. It’s a love that says I am willing to do whatever it takes to help you, even if it means reprimand and censure. Sometimes, the Lord will use us as His instruments of discipline and we need to be ready to respond in obedience when He gives us the task, even if we know it will bring the displeasure of the person we’re trying to aid. We have to trust the word of God from 1 Corinthians 13, verse 8, that simply reminds us that “love never fails” and will lead to victorious outcomes when we apply it in accordance with the will of the Lord, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE GRAVITY OF JEALOUSY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Proverbs 27:4   

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever fell prey to the sin of jealousy?

Maybe you are in a relationship and have become angry if you think your mate looked at or spoke to another person of the opposite sex.

Maybe you get worked up at your place of employment as your co-worker seems to get the better assignments and preference from your boss.

Maybe you look at the things your neighbor has and wish you were as well off.

Or maybe you’re one of several siblings and it seems that a brother or sister gets more favor from your parents than you do.

I think we all have been in a situation where we have been jealous which is defined as follows:

“Feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements and advantages (he grew jealous of her success). Synonyms: envious, covetous, desirous; resentful, grudging, begrudging.

Of course, the source of this intense envy is our pride and self centeredness. We want to be the focus of attention. We think we deserve the best more than anyone else. We want to possess the best that life has to offer. We want to be first in everything and it’s all about me, me, and me.

It’s little wonder that the Bible speaks out against the matter of jealousy, envy, and covetous attitudes for they are downright dangerous. Indeed, jealousy has led people throughout the history of mankind to perform some extremely evil acts up to and including murder because of the matter of jealousy. Consider these verses from the scriptures:

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:16

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Exodus 20:17

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 19-21

And our proverb for today:

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? Proverbs 27:4

We should get the point here. Nothing good comes out of jealousy. It only leads us down the road of wickedness and further away from the people the Lord expects us to be. Look at this biblical example of how jealousy infiltrated and corrupted a family:

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes. He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”

Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.  Genesis 37

The jealousy and hatred were so deeply embedded in the hearts of Joseph’s brothers that they wanted to kill him first but after reconsidering chose to spare him but sell him as a slave off for twenty shekels. To compound their sinful action, they covered up their sin by deceiving their own father into believing Joseph had been killed by a wild animal, bringing him deep grief at the assumed loss.

Can we see just how evil jealousy can become, jealousy that became so boldly wicked that it led a group of brothers to sell one of their own into slavery? We might not be doing the same act today but there are plenty of other evil acts that have taken its place, actions brought on by the same sense of envy and jealousy.

Need another example? Consider the story of the brothers Cain and Abel.

Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  Genesis 4

Cain and Abel were the first offspring of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. You’ll remember they ushered sin into a perfect creation through their willing disobedience to God in the garden and it didn’t take long for that sin to take root in their own children. For as soon as the younger Abel had gained more favor from the Lord than the elder Cain, jealousy crept in as sin crouched at Cain’s door.

How powerful was the jealousy that afflicted Cain? Go back to Solomon’s proverb.

Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Cain could not withstand the wickedness brought on by his envy, even after being counseled by the Lord! That’s how powerful jealousy was as it took him over and the same thing can happen to any of us too. We simply do not have the strength to stand up against sin and its destructive temptations on our own. We need the strength of the Lord who can lead us to do all things (Philippians 4:13) to include converting sin to righteousness.

Had Joseph’s brothers leaned on the Lord for His guidance, they would not have sold their brother into slavery and then lie to their father to cover up their sin.

Had Cain simply called on the Lord’s strength to help him resist the envy which led to murdering his brother, Abel would have lived and Cain would have escaped God’s wrath and judgment.

Can we see the gravity of jealousy through the mistakes of those who lived before us some 2,000 years ago?

And when will we start to show the Lord that we’ve learned from the past, refusing to fall into the same sin of envy ourselves?

The answer can be now if we choose to love as the Lord loves us. For as we look at the words of Paul to the church in Corinth, we’re told what love is and isn’t when we love in the way the Lord intends:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Did you catch that? Love does not envy, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and doesn’t delight in evil. Instead, it is kind and protecting. It rejoices and trusts and perseveres. Ultimately, when we love as the Lord desires, love never fails and neither will we when we love one another as the Lord loves us.

In the end, we have a choice. Love and righteousness or jealousy and wickedness. One brings us to a place where we glorify and magnify the Lord with our behavior. The other places us in the seat of the Lord’s wrath and judgment.

May we ever keep in mind that the gravity of jealousy not only refers to the actions we can take under its influence but also to the consequences we’ll suffer from the Lord who hates sin when we choose it over His will and way for our lives.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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