Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Strive For Humility

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Proverbs 3:7-8

Your life should be solely dependent upon the word of God and not what you observe or learn through this journey… There are so many people who believe that they have arrived and are invincible because they have landed a sturdy job and have a house that most people dream of; this cannot be any further from the truth as we are reminded today that we must not be wise in our own eyes… No matter the measure of worldly success or even stability; you must maintain your focus and continue to fight the good fight of faith which God has called you to…The enemy has so many people confused about the success and security in money to the point that they have neglected God and have started to crave more money, power and popularity… This is the message that we find in today’s focus verses; being wise in your own eyes means that you have come to a point where you believe that you know it all and have such an inflated ego that you are overconfident in your abilities… The more you become self-confident the more the enemy has you setup for a massive failure… Satan wants you to be confident in your on abilities because then you lack confidence in God’s plan and timing for your life…You may think that you are doing nothing wrong by trying to find answers on your own or even handle situations on your own, but the reality is that you are traveling a dangerous path which will not lead to any positive results… Understand that we enter this world as sinners; we have evil intentions from our mother’s womb and the transformation that must take places bring us into the fear of the Lord and allows us to depart from evil… You intentions can mean and be good; however, when you are not walking in the will and favor of God you will soon realize that your intentions are not the things which are showcased on this earth… The bible warns us countless times about being prideful or having a haughty spirit… Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” When someone is prideful, they are full of themselves or are arrogant and this shows in how they treat people or conduct everyday business…

 When you feel that you are above someone or feel that you are better than someone you are not only prideful, but you also fall into the category that we focus on in today’s verses which is that you become wise in your own eyes… We, as Christians must stand clear of thinking we are perfect or nobody can tell us anything… When we take on this makeup we firmly place ourselves in the worse possible situation and bring on more conflict within our lives than we can imagine... When we are wise in our own eyes we come to believe that everything we do is right, everything we say is right and everything that we perceive is right… This way of thinking brings us to be the exact opposite of what God desires from us… Proverbs 3:7-8 says, “Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord…” Fearing God makes us question our every step trying to ensure that we are aligned with His will… Fearing God calls for us to remain humble in abased, putting others before ourselves… This fear is a respect, honor and admiration to and for the Lord; however, when we think that we are wise in our own eyes we lose this sense of fear and place God and His will on the back burner for our own agenda’s and desires… Egos are one of the most detrimental parts of the human psyche… A wrong motive or direction can produce catastrophic damage that in some case can never be overcome… When we do things to promote our own agenda we end up isolating ourselves from the Lord… The Proverb today reminds us that we are not to be wise in our own eyes; in other words, don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to… 

Remember who has brought you this far and has given you the existence that you call life… The gospel of Luke 14:8 says, "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited….” Luke records this to shine light on the fact that people will see your actions and know the type of person you are; through this they will know your value without you expressing it (ego)… Taking the place of honor pays no respect to those around you nor does it shine a respectable light upon yourself… We are called to “…depart from evil;” the evil in our lives comes in many forms and fashions; however, one of the obvious forms is through the seeking of approval from our peers and colleagues… Promoting yourself is one thing; however, someone else speaking a kind word about you is another… We are called to do the will of God and allow the things outside of our control to be controlled by Him… Honor is not something we strive for, but a Blessing that is received through the kind acts that we do. This proverb tells us that fearing God and departing from Evil brings health to the navel and marrow to the bones… Bones will rot and decay without marrow; we too will rot and decay without Christ… Marrow is the inner strength of the bone, it keeps things together and forms a solid foundation for us to ultimately move our limbs and function… The spiritual marrow we need only comes from our dependence on the Lord; He will give us the ability to move and function through the solid foundation that He will form and lay within our hearts… Be not wise in thine own eyes; not only because God should be the head and He created you, but because you will surely begin to rot and decay spiritually without Him!

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

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