Proverbs 30:32 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. (The Words of Augur)
Ah my Friends, the Good Lord has blessed us with another bright, sun-shiny day, full of new mercies and forgiveness that we should gladly take hold of, for they are meant to improve our lives and raise our level of Christian awareness and maturity. Augur’s wise words will also help us do that. The scholars don’t know anything about Augur, and assume he was an international sage in Solomon’s time. His words though, certainly contain wisdom that’s very applicable to our times. ‘If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself…’ That’s the first challenge my Friends. Have we foolishly exalted ourselves? Our modern day society encourages and thrives on the egocentric. The enemy falsely leads us to worship at the altar of the ego; of self-aggrandizement; of boosting ourselves above our true capabilities, so that we can look good to others. We’re encouraged to prevaricate, and even outright lie about out accomplishments, re education, etc. Just read any resume, and you’ll understand; everybody’s an expert, has the world of experience. And with the advent of ‘computer-everything,’ fake Degrees and Diplomas can now be bought fairly cheaply. Some even look better than the real thing. I was certainly disappointed with the real one my young daughter recently got from U of T. It looked so cheap, even the paper seemed rather thin, nothing as solid and uplifting as the one I got from that venerable West Indian Institution, U.W.I. some thirty odd years ago. At least that had a regal, official look to it. Sorry mih D, but that U.of T one didn’t thrill me at all. Even cross dressers nowadays look better than the real thing, and you have to be oh so careful about whom you pick up, for what you see is not always what you get. (smile) Sadly, being real, being true to ourselves doesn’t cut it anymore in this super hyped world. Look at the ads that constantly bombard us. If everything was as wonderful and worked the way they say, we’d never need new stuff. Hn, hn! Talking about that, most of us know the ad about the Maytag repair-man, bored with nothing to do because the products never break down. Well, wonder of wonders! Today a Maytag technician is going to come and check out my fridge, because some aspect of the machinery is liable to start fires, and there’s been a wide recall. So much for that image of superiority. But please my people, please remember that sin of pride, especially when laced with falsehood, which our God intensely dislikes, but gives us plenty room to hang ourselves. And if we don’t smarten up within that time, then he kicks the chair out from under us; much to our chagrin. Please take note of all the things and people pretending to be what they’re not and their eventual fall from grace. We have so many glaring examples in our current economic dilemma. The fact that things were not what they appeared to be is what caused it in the first place. We should be intent on exalting the Most High God Jehovah and not ourselves. Any personal exaltation will come through His workings. Turning to the other part of Augur’s statement; ‘or if thou hast thought evil…’ Now that’s just compounding the problem my brethren. Have we devised wicked plans; thought or considered evil in our hearts; stuff that doesn’t jive with God’s Word? If so, we’re just leaving ourselves open to severe recrimination, both from God and those we’ve devised evil against. For the sowing of one thing only reaps the same thing. You can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn. So if we’re sowing the seeds of evil, then that’s what we’ll get back. And I’m sure we don’t want to be beset by evil. Finally, the last part of the Bit; ‘lay thine hand upon thy mouth.’ What wonderful advice my Friends! If you’ve been foolish enough to exalt yourself and get involved in evil, then just shut up now. Be silent. Don’t take it any further. As Job told his friends; ‘Mark me and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.’ (Job 21:5) As he also said when the Lord called him to account and humbled him: ‘Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.’ (Job 40:4) And there are many instances of those words, or words that convey that meaning through out the Good Book. What Augur is advising my brethren is if in our sinful, foolish human nature we’ve done or thought wrong, then we should just shut up and keep quiet now, because trying to force the issue will only cause strife. Or as he puts it: ‘ Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.’ (Prov. 30:33) Those are true words my Friends, and strife is definitely something we don’t want to cause, since it just opens up a whole new can of angry, divisive worms that eventually lead to destruction. As followers of Jesus, we’re entrusted with building, not destroying, so let’s concentrate on that nuh. How? By studying the Word and focusing on Jesus and all the good things He stands for. Much LOVE!…look ahead to Jesus…not back towards the enemy…
Ah my Friends, the Good Lord has blessed us with another bright, sun-shiny day, full of new mercies and forgiveness that we should gladly take hold of, for they are meant to improve our lives and raise our level of Christian awareness and maturity. Augur’s wise words will also help us do that. The scholars don’t know anything about Augur, and assume he was an international sage in Solomon’s time. His words though, certainly contain wisdom that’s very applicable to our times. ‘If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself…’ That’s the first challenge my Friends. Have we foolishly exalted ourselves? Our modern day society encourages and thrives on the egocentric. The enemy falsely leads us to worship at the altar of the ego; of self-aggrandizement; of boosting ourselves above our true capabilities, so that we can look good to others. We’re encouraged to prevaricate, and even outright lie about out accomplishments, re education, etc. Just read any resume, and you’ll understand; everybody’s an expert, has the world of experience. And with the advent of ‘computer-everything,’ fake Degrees and Diplomas can now be bought fairly cheaply. Some even look better than the real thing. I was certainly disappointed with the real one my young daughter recently got from U of T. It looked so cheap, even the paper seemed rather thin, nothing as solid and uplifting as the one I got from that venerable West Indian Institution, U.W.I. some thirty odd years ago. At least that had a regal, official look to it. Sorry mih D, but that U.of T one didn’t thrill me at all. Even cross dressers nowadays look better than the real thing, and you have to be oh so careful about whom you pick up, for what you see is not always what you get. (smile) Sadly, being real, being true to ourselves doesn’t cut it anymore in this super hyped world. Look at the ads that constantly bombard us. If everything was as wonderful and worked the way they say, we’d never need new stuff. Hn, hn! Talking about that, most of us know the ad about the Maytag repair-man, bored with nothing to do because the products never break down. Well, wonder of wonders! Today a Maytag technician is going to come and check out my fridge, because some aspect of the machinery is liable to start fires, and there’s been a wide recall. So much for that image of superiority. But please my people, please remember that sin of pride, especially when laced with falsehood, which our God intensely dislikes, but gives us plenty room to hang ourselves. And if we don’t smarten up within that time, then he kicks the chair out from under us; much to our chagrin. Please take note of all the things and people pretending to be what they’re not and their eventual fall from grace. We have so many glaring examples in our current economic dilemma. The fact that things were not what they appeared to be is what caused it in the first place. We should be intent on exalting the Most High God Jehovah and not ourselves. Any personal exaltation will come through His workings. Turning to the other part of Augur’s statement; ‘or if thou hast thought evil…’ Now that’s just compounding the problem my brethren. Have we devised wicked plans; thought or considered evil in our hearts; stuff that doesn’t jive with God’s Word? If so, we’re just leaving ourselves open to severe recrimination, both from God and those we’ve devised evil against. For the sowing of one thing only reaps the same thing. You can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn. So if we’re sowing the seeds of evil, then that’s what we’ll get back. And I’m sure we don’t want to be beset by evil. Finally, the last part of the Bit; ‘lay thine hand upon thy mouth.’ What wonderful advice my Friends! If you’ve been foolish enough to exalt yourself and get involved in evil, then just shut up now. Be silent. Don’t take it any further. As Job told his friends; ‘Mark me and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth.’ (Job 21:5) As he also said when the Lord called him to account and humbled him: ‘Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay my hand upon my mouth.’ (Job 40:4) And there are many instances of those words, or words that convey that meaning through out the Good Book. What Augur is advising my brethren is if in our sinful, foolish human nature we’ve done or thought wrong, then we should just shut up and keep quiet now, because trying to force the issue will only cause strife. Or as he puts it: ‘ Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.’ (Prov. 30:33) Those are true words my Friends, and strife is definitely something we don’t want to cause, since it just opens up a whole new can of angry, divisive worms that eventually lead to destruction. As followers of Jesus, we’re entrusted with building, not destroying, so let’s concentrate on that nuh. How? By studying the Word and focusing on Jesus and all the good things He stands for. Much LOVE!…look ahead to Jesus…not back towards the enemy…
SCRIP-BITS 