A blog for: the broken, the wounded, the mourning, the weak, the desperate, the humiliated.
"Law to the proud. Grace to the humble." ~ Hell's Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort
Reading one of John Dink's older posts (as I have only recently become aware of his writings and wanted to hear more while I waited for the next new post) I found this reminder that grace is for the humbled.
Check out the full blog HERE.
If you despair in your heart from all your misdeeds or the incompleteness of your good deeds, thank Jesus for this brokeness. A contrite spirit and a broken will before God are His blessings to you.
May the Gospel be preached as the Best News to those for whom doom is forecast in their hearts by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Preacher, please remember to preach the devastating nature of the Law in humility and petition that the Spirit may produce in the souls of its hearers a total undoing. Preach the terrifying nature of the Gospel in proclaiming that this new found dilemma has in its wake the reconciliatory solution of Christ on a cross, complete, and accomplished.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fear relieved.
~ "Amazing Grace"
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The surly bird gets the... eye?
Proverbs 30:17
The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be picked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
There's some nice bedtime reminder, don't you think?
"Say your prayers children and remember to obey me and mother or else wild birds will gouge out your eyes and eat them. Good night, I love you."
We have all disobeyed our parents and mocked our father's authority. We begin to adopt a worldly perspective of authority by stating it is granted by me, not inherent to them or their office. By that I mean we begin to think people only have power inasmuch as we give that power to them. If we do not give them power of us, they do not have it.
This is untrue.
Your parents have power and authority over you by virtue of them being your parents. It just is. It is not a matter of them being authoritative or honorable or deserving fear and reverance. It is that they ARE your parents (for better or for worse, they will always be).
It is a beautiful thing to observe a person following Jesus and surrendering themselves volitionally to the authorities in their lives and entrusting their soul's care and provision to God. My sister-in-law, Lauren, is an amazing example and model of this fruit of the Spirit.
My children, observe and learn from your Aunt Lauren's life the value of authority and service to those under whom God has placed you.
Additionally, I can only assume you like your eyes. I like your eyes. People like seeing stuff. I would like you to see stuff. So....
People who mock their dads and disobey in defiance their moms get their eyes pecked out by Polly-wants-a-cracker-with-a-side-of-yo-eye.
Don't get your eyes eaten by Polly-wants-a-cracker-with-a-side-of-yo-eye!
The eye that mocks a father
and scorns to obey a mother
will be picked out by the ravens of the valley
and eaten by the vultures.
There's some nice bedtime reminder, don't you think?
"Say your prayers children and remember to obey me and mother or else wild birds will gouge out your eyes and eat them. Good night, I love you."
We have all disobeyed our parents and mocked our father's authority. We begin to adopt a worldly perspective of authority by stating it is granted by me, not inherent to them or their office. By that I mean we begin to think people only have power inasmuch as we give that power to them. If we do not give them power of us, they do not have it.
This is untrue.
Your parents have power and authority over you by virtue of them being your parents. It just is. It is not a matter of them being authoritative or honorable or deserving fear and reverance. It is that they ARE your parents (for better or for worse, they will always be).
It is a beautiful thing to observe a person following Jesus and surrendering themselves volitionally to the authorities in their lives and entrusting their soul's care and provision to God. My sister-in-law, Lauren, is an amazing example and model of this fruit of the Spirit.
My children, observe and learn from your Aunt Lauren's life the value of authority and service to those under whom God has placed you.
Additionally, I can only assume you like your eyes. I like your eyes. People like seeing stuff. I would like you to see stuff. So....
People who mock their dads and disobey in defiance their moms get their eyes pecked out by Polly-wants-a-cracker-with-a-side-of-yo-eye.
Don't get your eyes eaten by Polly-wants-a-cracker-with-a-side-of-yo-eye!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
When the Church becomes a Mete Market
My wife was recently discussing a women's confernce she attended with a friend. The conference's dominant theme was the finished work of Jesus and His righteousness being ours by faith. It goes without saying that my wife was greatly encouraged.
However, she reported to me that before her post-conference glow had even begun to fade, one of her friends proclaimed that they were disappointed in the conference wishing it had contained more "meat."
I could not help but think, "I think she meant 'mete.'"
Did I not mention that I am also very funny and very punny? "Puns of fun" is what they call me. And by "they" I mean "me."
But I digress.
We love the Law. We adore it. We cannot help ourselves. We love to be told what to do. We love having tasks meted out. If you spend too long telling us what Jesus did we will get anxious and request a respite from grace as we shout, " Now please tell us what to do!!! Preach to us the Christian, not the Christ. How do I fit into all of this? What about me?"
Before tomorrow's sunrise has even crested our to-do lists are formed. We have boxes to check and go to sleep already behind tomorrow's eight ball. We love our to-do lists. It tells us what to do. It keeps us from forgetting important things we need to do, want to do, hope to do (will likely not get to do).
I suggest and implore you to set you to-do's aside every morning and for a moment rest in Jesus' ta-da. Ta-da is the nail in the coffin of a completed act: the "It is finished!" We look so longingly to what we need to tomorrow that we fail to rest in what was done for us yesterday (or yesteryear perhaps more accurately). "Ta da" debatably has its roots in a German phrase meaning, "here it is." All day long we try to get to the ta-da. We long to take our bow and present a finished work. But everyday we go to sleep knowing we did not do with excellence everything on our list and that we have failed miserably in other tasks on our list. We have even failed to place some important things on our lists in the first place. Our to-do's can never grant the rest that Christ's ta-da can produce.
When we react to the Gospel of grace by requesting more meat, we are in essence asking quite figuratively for more meting out of tasks, doling out responsibilities and to-do's. We love to-do's. We get bored quickly with ta-da's.
I love you. Christ loves you. Rest in Him. The only performance that could ever be applauded before the Father is already in the books. He did it! He did it masterfully, sufficiently, completely, entirely, gracefully, and perfectly. For an encore He rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of His Father where He ever lives to intercede for those who in Him by faith find rest.
No magic. No show. No curtain call. No need to reproduce what has already been completed flawlessly. He really did pay it all. He really did win. Can you do the difficult work of placing your faith in Him and this gift again today? Can your to-do list contain but one reminder to repose in the ta-da of Jesus?
Faith is the hard work of trusting in Christ's hard work.
Do not so impatiently blitz through Romans chapters 1-11 to get to the "meat" of Romans chapters 12-16. Romans 12-16 is amazing and I love it. You will be told what to do only after you have understood what God in Christ has done. May your appetite for Law be grounded in responsive Love informed by the Gospel. Romans 12 is beautiful in fleshing this point out. It instructs us how to more specifically live transformed lives in view of God's mercies.
In view of God's mercies.
Please do not place God's mercies in your rearview. You will lose sight of where you are going if you forget from where you were started.
Galatians 3:3
However, she reported to me that before her post-conference glow had even begun to fade, one of her friends proclaimed that they were disappointed in the conference wishing it had contained more "meat."
I could not help but think, "I think she meant 'mete.'"
Did I not mention that I am also very funny and very punny? "Puns of fun" is what they call me. And by "they" I mean "me."
But I digress.
We love the Law. We adore it. We cannot help ourselves. We love to be told what to do. We love having tasks meted out. If you spend too long telling us what Jesus did we will get anxious and request a respite from grace as we shout, " Now please tell us what to do!!! Preach to us the Christian, not the Christ. How do I fit into all of this? What about me?"
Before tomorrow's sunrise has even crested our to-do lists are formed. We have boxes to check and go to sleep already behind tomorrow's eight ball. We love our to-do lists. It tells us what to do. It keeps us from forgetting important things we need to do, want to do, hope to do (will likely not get to do).
I suggest and implore you to set you to-do's aside every morning and for a moment rest in Jesus' ta-da. Ta-da is the nail in the coffin of a completed act: the "It is finished!" We look so longingly to what we need to tomorrow that we fail to rest in what was done for us yesterday (or yesteryear perhaps more accurately). "Ta da" debatably has its roots in a German phrase meaning, "here it is." All day long we try to get to the ta-da. We long to take our bow and present a finished work. But everyday we go to sleep knowing we did not do with excellence everything on our list and that we have failed miserably in other tasks on our list. We have even failed to place some important things on our lists in the first place. Our to-do's can never grant the rest that Christ's ta-da can produce.
When we react to the Gospel of grace by requesting more meat, we are in essence asking quite figuratively for more meting out of tasks, doling out responsibilities and to-do's. We love to-do's. We get bored quickly with ta-da's.
I love you. Christ loves you. Rest in Him. The only performance that could ever be applauded before the Father is already in the books. He did it! He did it masterfully, sufficiently, completely, entirely, gracefully, and perfectly. For an encore He rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of His Father where He ever lives to intercede for those who in Him by faith find rest.
No magic. No show. No curtain call. No need to reproduce what has already been completed flawlessly. He really did pay it all. He really did win. Can you do the difficult work of placing your faith in Him and this gift again today? Can your to-do list contain but one reminder to repose in the ta-da of Jesus?
Faith is the hard work of trusting in Christ's hard work.
Do not so impatiently blitz through Romans chapters 1-11 to get to the "meat" of Romans chapters 12-16. Romans 12-16 is amazing and I love it. You will be told what to do only after you have understood what God in Christ has done. May your appetite for Law be grounded in responsive Love informed by the Gospel. Romans 12 is beautiful in fleshing this point out. It instructs us how to more specifically live transformed lives in view of God's mercies.
In view of God's mercies.
Please do not place God's mercies in your rearview. You will lose sight of where you are going if you forget from where you were started.
Galatians 3:3
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Thoughts from “Cheap Law” by Tullian Tchividjian via John Dink
Read the full blog HERE and then HERE.
Pastor Tullian has again found a way to invigorate my heart with confidence in Christ by proclaiming the hardness of the Law in order to magnify the freedom and tenderness of God in the Gospel of Christ.
The blog proclaims that making the Law less does not make Grace abound. Grace abounds only inasmuch as there is something for which grace can apply. If the Law is less demanding, God less holy, and the standards more forgiving than the Law; the Cross is made into foolishness and sinners need not have faith or grace to earn God’s favor (for lower standards are often the penchant of the proud).
“…the proper response to the charge of ‘cheap grace’ is not to make grace expensive by adding a thousand qualifications and footnotes, but rather to declare that grace is free!”
Our default in warring against “cheap grace” is to make it either cheaper or more expensive when by the grace of God it is only available for FREE. No cost. Not a little or a lot, but free.
There is so much I could pull from this blog that I could repost in its entirety. Please do yourself the favor of reading the whole post as desire inspires.
“…there are some who seek to escape their need for grace and deceive us by lowering the cost of God’s righteousness. They preach a ‘cheap law’ that sells indulgences to those who pay with the appearance of sanctification.”
What a brilliant way of stating the dilemma. The old religion of self-righteousness is alive and well. I know it rears its ugly head in me and my soul is forever indebted to the grace of Christ in revealing to me daily my need for Him to save me and empower me to do God’s will (to believe in Him).
“Lowering the bar lets the Old Adam peek into the Promised Land. It allows the flesh to survive by rebelling in a form of external piety. And – it’s a perfect hiding place for the Old Being. We don’t think to rebuke such a moral, well-mannered creature. But cheap law offers mercy in the wrong place. It offers mercy to those who are offended by the gift. It creates a people of great zeal, but they lack knowledge concerning the question “What Would Jesus Do?” Here is the costly answer: Jesus would do it all perfectly. And that’s game over for you. The Father is not grooming you to be a replacement for his Beloved Son. He is announcing that there is blessing for those who take shelter in his Beloved Son. Cheap law tells us that we’ve fallen, but there’s good news, you can get back up again. Therein lies the great heresy of cheap law: it is a false gospel. And it cheapens – no –it nullifies grace.”
"Grace to the humble. Law to the proud."
Grace so free it is unbelievable to those not blessed by faith from God.
Law so unforgiving and so heavy that it is unbearable by any and all.
It is a standard put into practice by Jesus and exhibited by the Father throughout Scripture. As preachers and teachers, we must be faithful to the Word of God in allowing it to break the will as violently as it ought and to heal the break as sufficiently as it is empowered.
“…when we make sacrifices regarding God’s law, we create something that is not strong enough to stop the mouths of self-sanctifying little sovereigns. It simply teaches us to exchange true godliness for a pursuit of godness.”
This parting shot is a great summary of the Gospel of God in Christ and the power of His life, death, and resurrection. It makes much of Jesus and it makes my heart delight in my Savior.
“Cheap law will never quiet the self-righteous being because it invites him to keep haggling over what he can do apart from Jesus. And that is why law must be costly. It must always get to the heart of the matter. It’s not only murder that deserves death, but hate. It’s not only adultery that condemns, but lust. Not only theft, but coveting. It’s not only what is done with your hands that is judged, but what is done in your heart. And so – it should be clear –this is not “let’s make a deal.” The deals have been cut. The law of Moses is more than you can afford. The Son that God did not spare is priceless. The grace Jesus gives is free. That’s all there is. But cheap law keeps us searching for something to leverage against our poverty. Only costly law will bring that search to an end. It empties our pockets and opens our hands – revealing this: unless the religious expert becomes a beggar, he will not be given the kingdom. Costly law closes in on us and puts this prayer in our mouth: 'Be merciful to me, a sinner.'"
Pastor Tullian has again found a way to invigorate my heart with confidence in Christ by proclaiming the hardness of the Law in order to magnify the freedom and tenderness of God in the Gospel of Christ.
The blog proclaims that making the Law less does not make Grace abound. Grace abounds only inasmuch as there is something for which grace can apply. If the Law is less demanding, God less holy, and the standards more forgiving than the Law; the Cross is made into foolishness and sinners need not have faith or grace to earn God’s favor (for lower standards are often the penchant of the proud).
“…the proper response to the charge of ‘cheap grace’ is not to make grace expensive by adding a thousand qualifications and footnotes, but rather to declare that grace is free!”
Our default in warring against “cheap grace” is to make it either cheaper or more expensive when by the grace of God it is only available for FREE. No cost. Not a little or a lot, but free.
There is so much I could pull from this blog that I could repost in its entirety. Please do yourself the favor of reading the whole post as desire inspires.
“…there are some who seek to escape their need for grace and deceive us by lowering the cost of God’s righteousness. They preach a ‘cheap law’ that sells indulgences to those who pay with the appearance of sanctification.”
What a brilliant way of stating the dilemma. The old religion of self-righteousness is alive and well. I know it rears its ugly head in me and my soul is forever indebted to the grace of Christ in revealing to me daily my need for Him to save me and empower me to do God’s will (to believe in Him).
“Lowering the bar lets the Old Adam peek into the Promised Land. It allows the flesh to survive by rebelling in a form of external piety. And – it’s a perfect hiding place for the Old Being. We don’t think to rebuke such a moral, well-mannered creature. But cheap law offers mercy in the wrong place. It offers mercy to those who are offended by the gift. It creates a people of great zeal, but they lack knowledge concerning the question “What Would Jesus Do?” Here is the costly answer: Jesus would do it all perfectly. And that’s game over for you. The Father is not grooming you to be a replacement for his Beloved Son. He is announcing that there is blessing for those who take shelter in his Beloved Son. Cheap law tells us that we’ve fallen, but there’s good news, you can get back up again. Therein lies the great heresy of cheap law: it is a false gospel. And it cheapens – no –it nullifies grace.”
"Grace to the humble. Law to the proud."
Grace so free it is unbelievable to those not blessed by faith from God.
Law so unforgiving and so heavy that it is unbearable by any and all.
It is a standard put into practice by Jesus and exhibited by the Father throughout Scripture. As preachers and teachers, we must be faithful to the Word of God in allowing it to break the will as violently as it ought and to heal the break as sufficiently as it is empowered.
“…when we make sacrifices regarding God’s law, we create something that is not strong enough to stop the mouths of self-sanctifying little sovereigns. It simply teaches us to exchange true godliness for a pursuit of godness.”
This parting shot is a great summary of the Gospel of God in Christ and the power of His life, death, and resurrection. It makes much of Jesus and it makes my heart delight in my Savior.
“Cheap law will never quiet the self-righteous being because it invites him to keep haggling over what he can do apart from Jesus. And that is why law must be costly. It must always get to the heart of the matter. It’s not only murder that deserves death, but hate. It’s not only adultery that condemns, but lust. Not only theft, but coveting. It’s not only what is done with your hands that is judged, but what is done in your heart. And so – it should be clear –this is not “let’s make a deal.” The deals have been cut. The law of Moses is more than you can afford. The Son that God did not spare is priceless. The grace Jesus gives is free. That’s all there is. But cheap law keeps us searching for something to leverage against our poverty. Only costly law will bring that search to an end. It empties our pockets and opens our hands – revealing this: unless the religious expert becomes a beggar, he will not be given the kingdom. Costly law closes in on us and puts this prayer in our mouth: 'Be merciful to me, a sinner.'"
Friday, August 3, 2012
For richer or poorer for reals?
Proverbs 30:8b-9
...Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.
Our tendency is to get comfortable and forget God or get desperately anxious and break His commands.
We work so hard and plan so diligently that when things go well we naturally assume that we must have done something right and in the process nearly break our backs with the myriad congratulatory pats we give ourselves. It sounds ridiculous to say, "Who is the LORD?" but when we have too much we often end up making this statement in our attitude. Our hearts generate independence and pride in our accomplishments. We sow the seed forgetting that God provides the seed, sends the rain, grants the growth, and faithfully provides the sun. We high five ourselves all the way to hell over our success.
If you want to see a person get nasty, take away their comforts. Watch how fast someone gets unChristian as all get out once they lack sleep, food, money, health, friends, success, etc... I am the least Christian when I am anxious about unchecked boxes. I am very strong "J" type personality and as such am actually quite weak in that it does not take much to throw me off balance. In those moments, I become more of an animal than a Christian. I get grouchy and react as an organism more than a soul. I hate that about myself. I know Jesus had to die because of my crappy attitude. It deserves to be crucified.
May our prayer today be that God would give us enough to meet our needs, but not so much as to spoil us. May He guide our hearts to greater and greater charity that His blessings upon us might increase and produce more fruit from our hands - the works prepared by Him beforehand; and that they might be fulfilled in His power and grace. May we not look over the works of our hands and think we have accomplished too much like Nebuchadnezzar and "his" kingdom.
Without the Holy Spirit we either neglect God or curse God. We are not just having issues with God or mad at Him in those moments. We hate Him and His ways and think we'd do a better job.
Is it possible that we have too much? Is your love for God as such that you would ask Him to take away anything extra? Especially if that anything would lead your heart astray from Him?
Is it that you do not have what you need? Is your love for God as such that you would honor Him even in seasons of despair? Do you get greedy the moment you feel in want?
The proverb appeals to God's grace to give us what we need: a desire to love Him no matter circumstances into which we find ourselves today or tomorrow. Without Him, riches and poverty are occassions for rebellion. With Him, riches and poverty are occassions for providence.
...Give me neither poverty nor wealth;
feed me with the food I need.
9 Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.
Our tendency is to get comfortable and forget God or get desperately anxious and break His commands.
We work so hard and plan so diligently that when things go well we naturally assume that we must have done something right and in the process nearly break our backs with the myriad congratulatory pats we give ourselves. It sounds ridiculous to say, "Who is the LORD?" but when we have too much we often end up making this statement in our attitude. Our hearts generate independence and pride in our accomplishments. We sow the seed forgetting that God provides the seed, sends the rain, grants the growth, and faithfully provides the sun. We high five ourselves all the way to hell over our success.
If you want to see a person get nasty, take away their comforts. Watch how fast someone gets unChristian as all get out once they lack sleep, food, money, health, friends, success, etc... I am the least Christian when I am anxious about unchecked boxes. I am very strong "J" type personality and as such am actually quite weak in that it does not take much to throw me off balance. In those moments, I become more of an animal than a Christian. I get grouchy and react as an organism more than a soul. I hate that about myself. I know Jesus had to die because of my crappy attitude. It deserves to be crucified.
May our prayer today be that God would give us enough to meet our needs, but not so much as to spoil us. May He guide our hearts to greater and greater charity that His blessings upon us might increase and produce more fruit from our hands - the works prepared by Him beforehand; and that they might be fulfilled in His power and grace. May we not look over the works of our hands and think we have accomplished too much like Nebuchadnezzar and "his" kingdom.
Without the Holy Spirit we either neglect God or curse God. We are not just having issues with God or mad at Him in those moments. We hate Him and His ways and think we'd do a better job.
Is it possible that we have too much? Is your love for God as such that you would ask Him to take away anything extra? Especially if that anything would lead your heart astray from Him?
Is it that you do not have what you need? Is your love for God as such that you would honor Him even in seasons of despair? Do you get greedy the moment you feel in want?
The proverb appeals to God's grace to give us what we need: a desire to love Him no matter circumstances into which we find ourselves today or tomorrow. Without Him, riches and poverty are occassions for rebellion. With Him, riches and poverty are occassions for providence.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Because left to ourselves we all fall
Proverbs 29:15
The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
My dearest children:
I pray that the consistency and standard of discipline by which you were raised has afforded you wisdom by God's grace.
If left to yourself, you would shame your mother and yourself. Not because you are worse than any other, but because you are just as bad as all who have come before you - including your mom and dad.
If we go where we want to, do what we want to, and live how we want to, we will bring shame upon ourselves and others. Our hearts are broken, deceptive, wicked, and incapable of desiring the best things. We cling to the better things and the good becomes the enemy of the best. We brandish the better as a weapon against the best. Common sense wars against faith in Christ. Our default is to go down swinging or go down drowning; but either way, down we go.
Unless God sheds light into our darkness, speaks words into our silence, softens our hardness, makes alive our deadness, makes visible our blindness; we languish.
Do not withhold Your discipline from me, my wife, or my children O God. Do not let us enjoy that which is done without You in mind. Do not let the deceptive joys and thrills of sin capture our hearts. May You be swift to smack our hand and patient to counsel us in Your Spirit. Regenerate us to both want what You want and hate what You hate. Be a good Parent and guide us, train us, instruct us, and spank us. But give the spank the supernatural ability to go further than the sting of flesh that it may transform our soul in conformity to Your will as living sacrifices. Do not leave us to ourselves even when by prayer it is our request. Do not answer our prayers for things that lead us astray. Do not leave us alone. Do not leave us to ourselves.
Amen.
The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
My dearest children:
I pray that the consistency and standard of discipline by which you were raised has afforded you wisdom by God's grace.
If left to yourself, you would shame your mother and yourself. Not because you are worse than any other, but because you are just as bad as all who have come before you - including your mom and dad.
If we go where we want to, do what we want to, and live how we want to, we will bring shame upon ourselves and others. Our hearts are broken, deceptive, wicked, and incapable of desiring the best things. We cling to the better things and the good becomes the enemy of the best. We brandish the better as a weapon against the best. Common sense wars against faith in Christ. Our default is to go down swinging or go down drowning; but either way, down we go.
Unless God sheds light into our darkness, speaks words into our silence, softens our hardness, makes alive our deadness, makes visible our blindness; we languish.
Do not withhold Your discipline from me, my wife, or my children O God. Do not let us enjoy that which is done without You in mind. Do not let the deceptive joys and thrills of sin capture our hearts. May You be swift to smack our hand and patient to counsel us in Your Spirit. Regenerate us to both want what You want and hate what You hate. Be a good Parent and guide us, train us, instruct us, and spank us. But give the spank the supernatural ability to go further than the sting of flesh that it may transform our soul in conformity to Your will as living sacrifices. Do not leave us to ourselves even when by prayer it is our request. Do not answer our prayers for things that lead us astray. Do not leave us alone. Do not leave us to ourselves.
Amen.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Good n' Plenty or Bad n' Plenty?
Proverbs 28:19
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
I love the play on words in this proverb. The use of the word "plenty" becomes key with regard to what follows it. Plenty of bread or plenty of poverty. I would bet most people associate the word plenty with positive feelings. We assume plenty means "more awesome" because we like more of whatever, and after all, we probably deserve it! (right?). But if you pursue plenty of worthless pursuits you will have your hands full of poverty. Truck fulls of poverty. You can build a big ol' mansion of poverty. A veritable pallet of poverty.
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
Putting your face to the plow is always of some value whereas chasing fantasies is always a luxury which, if indulged in too often, produces more than its share of unfulfilled desires. The danger of religion is that it is productive on a pragmatic and practical level. It does get things done. The questions is not, "Is it effective?", but rather, "To what end is it effective?" Things getting done is only as valuable as the things themselves have value.
[Additionally (and perhaps parenthetically - for example) gettings things done leaves little time to dwell in that which was done once for all.]
We can worship will power in either direction. We either are sure to "always" do this and "never" do that or we are sure to do whatever we desire and do it with no restraint. Religion and irreligion both are manifestations of will power (or perhaps more rightly: will powerlessness). Will power either becomes our god our our devil. We are sure we are saved because, "We can," or we find salvation in knowing that another cannot tell us we can't. One seeks to harness will power. Another seeks to unleash it.
"Do you want plenty?"
"YES!" you empathically reply as you jut out your open hand in eager anticipation.
You should respond rather by asking, "plenty of what?"
[Additionally (and perhaps parenthetically - for example) gettings things done leaves little time to dwell in that which was done once for all.]
We can worship will power in either direction. We either are sure to "always" do this and "never" do that or we are sure to do whatever we desire and do it with no restraint. Religion and irreligion both are manifestations of will power (or perhaps more rightly: will powerlessness). Will power either becomes our god our our devil. We are sure we are saved because, "We can," or we find salvation in knowing that another cannot tell us we can't. One seeks to harness will power. Another seeks to unleash it.
"Do you want plenty?"
"YES!" you empathically reply as you jut out your open hand in eager anticipation.
You should respond rather by asking, "plenty of what?"
I love the play on words in this proverb. The use of the word "plenty" becomes key with regard to what follows it. Plenty of bread or plenty of poverty. I would bet most people associate the word plenty with positive feelings. We assume plenty means "more awesome" because we like more of whatever, and after all, we probably deserve it! (right?). But if you pursue plenty of worthless pursuits you will have your hands full of poverty. Truck fulls of poverty. You can build a big ol' mansion of poverty. A veritable pallet of poverty.
The point:
Work hard (especially if you like to eat). Do the thing that lies at hand.
Hobbies are luxuries. Treat them as such.
Not because you have to, but because you get to. Not because your salvation depends on it, but because God's reputation by you is represented. Not because His glory depends on you, but because you have good works prepared beforehand for you and you should walk in them now.
The rally cry of justification by faith alone in election is yoked the reality of all that God has prepared for those who love Him (including even their faithful service to Him).
Work hard (especially if you like to eat). Do the thing that lies at hand.
Hobbies are luxuries. Treat them as such.
Not because you have to, but because you get to. Not because your salvation depends on it, but because God's reputation by you is represented. Not because His glory depends on you, but because you have good works prepared beforehand for you and you should walk in them now.
The rally cry of justification by faith alone in election is yoked the reality of all that God has prepared for those who love Him (including even their faithful service to Him).
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