DO NOT (PART 6) – STAY TRUE TO WHO YOU ARE

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In Christ, Mark

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

When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive.

Proverbs 23:1-3         

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

NOTE: Will be at sea for the next two weeks and may be off the grid. If I can post, I will. If not, I will begin posting again as soon as I get to where I have connectivity.

Today we look at the first verses of Proverbs, Chapter 23, and the seventh of the thirty sayings of the wise that started in Proverbs 22:17. Through these sayings, there is a distinct pattern of warnings, cautions I have called “do not’s” that the Lord is giving us through His words of wisdom. The sixth of these “do not’s” in Saying 7 is as follows:

“Do not allow someone to sway you toward being someone you aren’t”

In other words, stay true to who you are. Let me explain this by giving you an example.

During my Navy career, I had the opportunity to work with a lot of people and meet many acquaintances. The higher up I climbed the rank ladder, the more senior people I had the opportunity to associate with. There I found that so many people were willing to fall victim to the temptations of success that they were willing to completely change their persona, and with it their beliefs and morals, just to try and position themselves for a more lofty stature. The allure of potential fame became their biggest influencer, creating an obsessive quest for life at the top, even if the odds of ever reaching it were slim.

Through these experiences, I became ever grateful that I was a man of the Lord, grounded firmly in His principles and values, rooted in whatever position He led me to because I knew that’s where He wanted me to be and so there was no need to covet anything else. If I was where He wanted me to be, then that was good enough.

As we look at the verses from Proverbs, we find Solomon touching on this same matter, albeit from a different scenario. In his example, a person who would not normally be in the company of royalty could potentially be summoned to dine with the ruler of the land. This was not out of the realm of possibility and so Solomon wrote words of wisdom to regulate conduct if it happened. Look at his words again:

When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive. Proverbs 23:1-3

A commoner would never eat with the extravagance that the ruler dined in every day. Sitting at a table with a bounty of food available, there could be a temptation for the guest to eat with gluttony, changing the frugal, sensible way they would typically eat. Solomon cautioned the people who might be in the company of a ruler to “do not allow themselves to be someone else”, to not be enticed into craving the delicacies in front of them to where they forget that where they sit is an honor and acting inappropriately might just disrespect the very one who could have them executed as easily as dining with them. The guest was to keep everything in the right perspective. He was a commoner. The ruler was the one he was to be subject too. Dining in the presence of the ruler did not change that relationship.

So how in the world does this relate to our Christian walk? What is the Lord getting at here?

It’s easy if you think about it because shift your thoughts on this matter to your relationship with the Lord, the Lord who ever offers us to dine and commune with Him. He sits at the table with us and we consistently can share company with Him but He is still the King of kings and Lord of lords, and we are subject to Him in every way. We aren’t and never will be His equal and so we should never carry ourselves around like we are above others just because we have a special relationship that others still have yet to find. This breeds someone who is self righteous, exceedingly pompous and prideful in their faith to the point that no one wants to be in their company. Given the privilege to dine with the Lord at His table filled with overflowing offerings of righteousness, the guest turns into a glutton and loses perspective as to their relationship with the host, surrendering the expected humility before the One who reigns over them and instead adopting an attitude of spiritual arrogance. They take what was to be an honor and dishonor it with their behavior.

Friends, we are to be checking our spiritual attitudes at all times. Yes, as Christians we have the privilege to be in the company of the only true Ruler of all, the Ruler of all rulers. We should humbly give thanks for this opportunity and not allow ourselves to change who we truly are, blessed servants who are fully subject to the Lord Most High. Partake of His righteousness but in moderation, taking it in and applying it in the measure He desires. For there’s much work to be done in His kingdom here on earth. 

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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