Proverbs 28:25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.
And that is gospel Friends! We can trust Sol. His words always reverberate with truth. He was one of the first socio-economic researchers. Being king, he had the time money and connections. Consequently, from all the empirical data he collected, plus his own vast experience, and guided by the wisdom of the Lord, he complied the majority of writings in the Good Book called Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. He lacked nothing, probably had too much, so when he proclaims, ‘He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife,’ he knows what he’s talking about. Earlier on he decrees, that ‘Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.’ (Prov.13: 10) And he’s quite right, for pride does stir up a whole lot of negative emotions and behaviour. Now the pride referred to here is not the normal, healthy, self confidence we all need to feel to survive in this most competitive world, but the kind that crosses the thin, imaginary line, where we’re convinced of our superiority, and wear it like a suit of clothes, always rubbing it in other people’s faces. That’s where pride turns from good to bad, and becomes a detriment to the person filled with only Me, Myself and I. And if we keep it up long enough, people will not only get fed up, but also try to take us down a notch or two. We also know that if it’s one thing our God can’t stand is unwarranted pride, especially when it mutates into arrogance and self-aggrandisement, believing you can do it all, with little or no help from Him. It’s similar to people around us getting to a point where they start thinking they don’t need us any longer, they can do it all on their own, and just wander off without so much as a thank you, conveniently forgetting who set them on their feet, who got them to where they’re at. That stirs up negative emotions in our souls, and also displeases God. But what’s amazing though, is these same proud, arrogant fools, when they fall flat on their faces, and finally realize they’re not as infallible as they think, they come running back and expect immediate help, with no questions asked. And if we refuse, or lecture them, they tell us where to get off, and who do we feel we are, not remembering the times we’ve already bailed them out, but were then unceremoniously kicked to the curb. Friends, it’s the same when we ignore God and he pulls the rug out from under us, then we go running to Him, expecting Him to just jump up right away and solve our problems. Sorry people, but it doesn’t work like that. We can’t be too full of ourselves either with man or God, for no man’s an island, we can’t do it all ourselves. We all need help, and people are more inclined to help if we treat them decently, not with snobbish, petulant arrogance. It’s the same with God. As Sol so aptly declares: ‘But he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat;’ Yes Friends, he who trusts in the Lord, studies His Word and abides by it, shall surely prosper. And strangely enough, Sol’s possibly the best example of this proverb. In his youth, the God of his father, Bruh David, ruled in his heart, so much so, that the Lord made him wiser and wealthier than any before or after him. However, in the winter of his days, ‘Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.’ (1 Kin.11:6) He strayed from the Lord and worshipped the pagan deities of his many wives (woe unto man) Now that’s exactly why the Lord warned His people about inter-marrying with the strangers that lived amongst them. Like many of us, Sol refused to take his own advice at one of the most critical times in his life. Do as I say, and not as I do, is often the best advice. Sol’s backsliding obviously disappointed and angered the Lord. Can you imagine how He must have felt. After placing Sol on such a high pedestal, for him to turn pagan must have cut like a knife to the quick. Because Sol had broken His covenants, the Lord promised to take away the kingdom from him. ‘Nothwithstanding, in thy days, I will not do it for David, thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.’ (1 Kin. 11: 12-13) And we all know the Lord keeps His promises. What I can’t understand is how Sol, after enjoying so much of the Lord’s goodness, turned to pagan worship, even under pressure from his wives. Only the Lord knows what really goes on in a man’s heart and mind yes! But Friends, we need to note two things: Firstly; even though the Lord raised Sol up to great heights when he obeyed His Word, He didn’t hesitate to pull him down, once he became disobedient, although it must have broken His heart. And point two, and most important, is that the Lord did not completely destroy Sol, ‘for David, my servant’s sake.’ Yes Friends, that shows how important our behaviour, our obedience to the Lord’s Word can be in our children’s lives, even down to the nth generation. Because of Bruh David’s constant trust and faith in the Lord, he was held in high esteem and a whole lotta people didn’t receive the punishment they deserved. Friends, it therefore seems the best gift we can bequeath to our families, is our faithful obedience to the Lord, so that when they make mistakes, He’ll look down mercifully on them and say, ‘for my servant’s; your name, sake, I will not extract the full payment.’ That’s such a great bequest Friends. Much LOVE!…material bequests rot or dim…bur faithfulness benefits many generations…
And that is gospel Friends! We can trust Sol. His words always reverberate with truth. He was one of the first socio-economic researchers. Being king, he had the time money and connections. Consequently, from all the empirical data he collected, plus his own vast experience, and guided by the wisdom of the Lord, he complied the majority of writings in the Good Book called Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon. He lacked nothing, probably had too much, so when he proclaims, ‘He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife,’ he knows what he’s talking about. Earlier on he decrees, that ‘Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.’ (Prov.13: 10) And he’s quite right, for pride does stir up a whole lot of negative emotions and behaviour. Now the pride referred to here is not the normal, healthy, self confidence we all need to feel to survive in this most competitive world, but the kind that crosses the thin, imaginary line, where we’re convinced of our superiority, and wear it like a suit of clothes, always rubbing it in other people’s faces. That’s where pride turns from good to bad, and becomes a detriment to the person filled with only Me, Myself and I. And if we keep it up long enough, people will not only get fed up, but also try to take us down a notch or two. We also know that if it’s one thing our God can’t stand is unwarranted pride, especially when it mutates into arrogance and self-aggrandisement, believing you can do it all, with little or no help from Him. It’s similar to people around us getting to a point where they start thinking they don’t need us any longer, they can do it all on their own, and just wander off without so much as a thank you, conveniently forgetting who set them on their feet, who got them to where they’re at. That stirs up negative emotions in our souls, and also displeases God. But what’s amazing though, is these same proud, arrogant fools, when they fall flat on their faces, and finally realize they’re not as infallible as they think, they come running back and expect immediate help, with no questions asked. And if we refuse, or lecture them, they tell us where to get off, and who do we feel we are, not remembering the times we’ve already bailed them out, but were then unceremoniously kicked to the curb. Friends, it’s the same when we ignore God and he pulls the rug out from under us, then we go running to Him, expecting Him to just jump up right away and solve our problems. Sorry people, but it doesn’t work like that. We can’t be too full of ourselves either with man or God, for no man’s an island, we can’t do it all ourselves. We all need help, and people are more inclined to help if we treat them decently, not with snobbish, petulant arrogance. It’s the same with God. As Sol so aptly declares: ‘But he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat;’ Yes Friends, he who trusts in the Lord, studies His Word and abides by it, shall surely prosper. And strangely enough, Sol’s possibly the best example of this proverb. In his youth, the God of his father, Bruh David, ruled in his heart, so much so, that the Lord made him wiser and wealthier than any before or after him. However, in the winter of his days, ‘Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.’ (1 Kin.11:6) He strayed from the Lord and worshipped the pagan deities of his many wives (woe unto man) Now that’s exactly why the Lord warned His people about inter-marrying with the strangers that lived amongst them. Like many of us, Sol refused to take his own advice at one of the most critical times in his life. Do as I say, and not as I do, is often the best advice. Sol’s backsliding obviously disappointed and angered the Lord. Can you imagine how He must have felt. After placing Sol on such a high pedestal, for him to turn pagan must have cut like a knife to the quick. Because Sol had broken His covenants, the Lord promised to take away the kingdom from him. ‘Nothwithstanding, in thy days, I will not do it for David, thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.’ (1 Kin. 11: 12-13) And we all know the Lord keeps His promises. What I can’t understand is how Sol, after enjoying so much of the Lord’s goodness, turned to pagan worship, even under pressure from his wives. Only the Lord knows what really goes on in a man’s heart and mind yes! But Friends, we need to note two things: Firstly; even though the Lord raised Sol up to great heights when he obeyed His Word, He didn’t hesitate to pull him down, once he became disobedient, although it must have broken His heart. And point two, and most important, is that the Lord did not completely destroy Sol, ‘for David, my servant’s sake.’ Yes Friends, that shows how important our behaviour, our obedience to the Lord’s Word can be in our children’s lives, even down to the nth generation. Because of Bruh David’s constant trust and faith in the Lord, he was held in high esteem and a whole lotta people didn’t receive the punishment they deserved. Friends, it therefore seems the best gift we can bequeath to our families, is our faithful obedience to the Lord, so that when they make mistakes, He’ll look down mercifully on them and say, ‘for my servant’s; your name, sake, I will not extract the full payment.’ That’s such a great bequest Friends. Much LOVE!…material bequests rot or dim…bur faithfulness benefits many generations…
SCRIP-BITS 