Wise Priorities

"Prepare your outside work, make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house."

Proverbs 24:27

God's word provides wise guidance concerning our priorities.  Sometimes our natural inclination is to prioritise the wrong things or neglect to put "first things first."  When flying in a aeroplane, directions are specifically given in case of an emergency that parents ought to fit their own oxygen mask first before helping their child or others.  This may be due to parents prioritising the health and welfare of their child and their first instinct is to make sure their child is able to breathe.  But if the parent does not put on their own mask first, they may lose consciousness and be unable to render the assistance their child requires for survival.  Put on your own mask first, and then you can help others with fitting their masks.

On the subject of making judgments about others (especially negative ones), it is wise for the person who is offended to examine their own heart, conduct and words before weighing in on how others ought to change.  Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 7:3-5:  "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Jesus explained it was hypocritical to form judgments about others and seek to help them change when you have not considered your own impediments to seeing clearly.  We are to deal with the plank in our eye first before we will be able to see clearly to help others see.

In Solomon's proverb, he guided people to prepare their outside work first before building their house.  Preparing your field by planting and cultivating crops or building fences to protect valuable flocks and herds was a matter of survival.  Neglect of outside work could result in a lack of food, mounting debts and the loss of income if sheep or cows wandered off.  As comfortable and pleasant as having a house would be, tents served as a suitable habitation in the meantime while making fields fit for planting and harvest.  To direct your energies and time towards building a house without food or resources for trading could mean bankruptcy and becoming a slave to others to pay off debts--and never have a habitable home.

I am reminded about what Jesus told His disciples concerning the importance of hearing His word and putting it into practice.  Matthew 7:24-27 says, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: ²⁵ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: ²⁷ and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."  Enthusiasm for building a house and seeing progress leads to ruin if the house is built without a foundation of concrete and steel.  People can have many ambitions, passions and plans, but decisions that are not founded upon faith in Christ and obedience to Him will lead to a great fall.  Once a house is built without a foundation it is very difficult to move it onto one, and praise the LORD what is impossible with men is possible by God's grace.

The Dead Man of God

A tendency we can have as Christians is to negatively judge the character of others by their mistakes, that because of what people have said or done they could not be men or women of God.  The flip side of this error is to put those we respect or admire on a pedestal as a man or woman of God who can do no wrong even when they are imperfect like the rest of us.  The Bible demonstrates many times how godly people can make foolish and sinful choices, but this does not negate their good standing with God--despite the negative consequences and discipline that follows.

1 Kings 13:1 says, "And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense."  This man of God was a prophet through whom God spoke judgment upon the priests who committed abomination in the land and burned incense upon the altar king Jeroboam had made.  The man of God spoke of Josiah by name before his birth, that he would desecrate the altar by burning the bones of the corrupt priests upon it.  When the man of God cried out against the altar in Bethel, the king reached out his hand and commanded he be arrested.  Immediately the hand of Jeroboam was withered and he could not move it any more.  1 Kings 13:6 reads, "Then the king answered and said to the man of God, "Please entreat the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." So the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him, and became as before."

The man of God spoke the message God gave him to speak, and the LORD heard and answered his prayers.  But being a man of God did not prevent him from folly, deception and sin.  Jeroboam invited the man to be refreshed with a meal but he declined, citing God told forbade him from eating or drinking and to return to Judah a different way.  He was able to refuse the invitation of a wicked king, but he was deceived by a fellow prophet who lied and said an angel spoke to him the word of the LORD that he should share a meal with him.  During the meal the old prophet of God in Bethel spoke the word of the LORD, that because of his disobedience he would not rest in the tomb of his fathers.  The word of the lying prophet came to pass in 1 Kings 13:24:  "When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse."  The old prophet of Bethel retrieved the dead body and buried the man of God of Judah in his own tomb and lamented over him like a dear brother.

While we cannot know the motives of heart, it is clear a man of God can be disobedient to God.  The passage shows God's dealing with a disobedient prophet in the short term was more severe than with a wicked king, for Jeroboam's withered hand was healed whilst the man of God perished from the earth.  This is instructive to all God's people by demonstrating the people of God do not receive a free pass for sin, but God will chasten and discipline those whom He loves--so others will hear, fear and avoid sin.  Finally, having received the truth of God's word we ought not be swayed from it even if a prophet and man of God leads us to disobey what God has spoken to us.  Paul said in Galatians 1:8, "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed."  An prophet, angel or apostle can lead us astray, so we ought to hold fast to what God has said to us so we might truly live as God's people.  The dead man of God still speaks and leads us to obey God always.

True Freedom

Recently it came to mind I had yet to check out the beach at Windsor after the area flooded, and this morning I went and surveyed the area with metal detector in hand.  Typically after a flood the upper layers of sand and everything they contained--usually bottle tops and other rubbish--are all washed away.  Today my experience was much the same as I found mostly metal lids from canned food with a lead fishing sinker here or there.  The most interesting thing I found was not made of metal at all, but was a bookmark that contained self-centred messaging that is rife in the world.

The phrase, "Be anything you want to be" suggests listening to Audiobooks (or reading eBooks) liberates us from the drudgery of being ourselves and provides an opportunity to live vicariously through the stories we hear.  I have read many books during my life, but I cannot say any of them made me to be anything besides what I already was.  What I can say based on a biblical worldview is the humanistic messaging that you are "the captain of your ship" or can "be anything you want" is not liberating at all:  this is the epitome of bondage to self.  It makes me a slave to my own desires and lusts; it is a prison that binds me to my failures, weakness, ill-discipline and sin as self-defining.  This promise of freedom and empowerment is empty as chaff in the wind, having no potential for life that satisfies, is fruitful or endures.

This humanistic appeal to the flesh is a vapid substitution for what is real, satisfying and obtained by God's grace:  in Christ we can be everything God designed us to be.  Rather than swallowing down self-empowering propaganda, we are divinely empowered to glorify God by lives lived in the fear of God and obedience to Him.  Apart from God we were at the mercy of our feelings, circumstances and our own strength, but having been born again we discover freedom to know and serve the God who was, is and is to come, the almighty Creator.  The God who created and loves us has provided all that pertains to life and godliness, and this is an abundant life no activity, possession, achievement or entertainment can rival.  The work Jesus has begun in us He will be faithful to complete.

Better than basing our identity on what we want, how much better it is to embrace the identity God desires for us as souls created in His own image, people He loves and calls to forgiveness, redemption and salvation.  Our wants change continually but God, His love and the abundant life He provides endures forever.  The greatest plans you could devise for yourself cannot compare with the wondrous, miraculous plans God has for you.  God's ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts, and He sheds light on them in the Bible.  Reading and considering God's word with a humble, hungry heart opens a way to freedom of self and joyous glory of God we never dreamed possible.  Everything God has planned for His people blows anything I want to be away.

Quenching Thirst

"Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise."

Proverbs 20:1

I've been reading through the NIV Bible as my evening portion, and given the use of parallelism in Hebrew poetry it is a very pertinent and accessible translation that speaks to the heart.  The KJV and NKJV put "strong drink" where the NIV says "beer."  There are a lot of beer drinkers who do not drink whiskey or other distilled spirits, and such may miss the point because their drink of choice is not expressly mentioned.  The concept is that all beverages that contain alcohol have the potential to lead people astray from God's wise ways.

"Wine is a mocker," Solomon says, and alcohol has a way of blunting kindness and tact.  Drinking to excess can make people seem very funny and clever (at least to themselves) and influences them to say things which ought not to be said.  A person who is gentle and kind in their right mind can be a mocker when under the influence.  In addition to mockery, alcohol can make people combative and violent.  Mild-mannered people after a few beers can be prompted to start arguments, contentions and even land blows.  I remember many years ago giving a patron of a pub a ride home to his hotel.  "I could fight right now," he said.  Motioning to a man at random walking along the street he demanded, "Pull over, I'm going to beat up that guy."  This was not a man in his right mind, but he couldn't see it.

Another application of the passage is to consider how alcohol makes a mockery of a person by leading them astray:  by drinking to excess a man's folly is put on display.  Alcohol wars and fights like an enemy against the better judgment of people, and it is always seeking to undermine their mental and physical well-being.  Even when it does not lead to poverty, drunkenness always leads to spiritual poverty.  By the fear of God the wise will not be led astray by strong drink, though it has left many wounded and ashamed.  Mocking and brawling are a blight upon fools--and how much more so upon those who claim to know and follow Christ!

Rather that toeing the line of sobriety, the child of God is guided by Christ to be led by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18-21:  "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."  Debauchery can be defined as "habitual lewdness; excessive unlawful indulgence of lust" that is not limited to those who abuse alcohol.  Having been filled with the Holy Spirit, the outflow of God's presence results in speaking and singing praise to God, giving thanks to God for everything.  The Living Water of the Holy Spirit is more than sufficient to quench the thirsty soul.