Proverbs 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.
Oh my blessed Friends, it’s shaping up to be another beautiful day in paradise, so let’s give some thanks and praise that we’re alive to behold it nuh. Some of us are alive though, only in the sense that our hearts are beating, pumping blood through our bodies, but the spirits of too many of us are dead. We just drift along from one day to the next, unconcerned about anybody but ourselves, unconcerned with the poverty, suffering, violence and oppression that’s so widespread on our planet. And just because we can’t, or think we can’t do anything to improve the situation, we just muddle along in life, going nowhere, doing nothing worthwhile. But this is a very selfish, unchristian attitude my people. Jesus said that we should care and be concerned with the sorrowful plight of others even if we can’t do anything personally to alleviate it. But Friends I’m here to remind us that there’s one thing we can always do; that’s pray for them. Remember, the Lord ‘heareth the prayer of the righteous.(Prov.15:29)This brings us to the first part of the Bit: ‘Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth mih breddren? Each of us believes that whatever we say or do is always right. We might be proven wrong later, but initially we always tend to think we’re right. And sadly, it doesn’t change our attitude when we discover we’re mistaken or misguided. The next time, we again insist that what we’re doing is right. Why is that eh? Why do we never think that we’re wrong? I guess it has to do with basic pride, ego, and our social system, where so much emphasis is placed on self-confidence and being right, that many of us are deathly afraid to be wrong or make a mistake. That can either make us a laughingstock or trigger some catastrophe, if we’re persons of power. In our busy, gung ho society, there’s no room for error. Those who make minor errors are often discarded by the wayside with no consideration whatsoever. But Friends, the law of averages dictates that no man can be right every time, although we believe that our way is the right one. But then again, why would we choose to hold a particular idea, belief or opinion knowing that it’s wrong eh? That’s a good question, one that I can’t answer. But many of us do it. In fact all of us do it, especially when it comes to being obedient to God. Though we know deep down that certain things are wrong, yet we conveniently find ways to convince ourselves that they are right. We can always find some means to justify our thoughts words and actions. Just look at the behaviour of our politicians, from top to bottom. It’s now become the norm, if not to lie outright, but certainly to prevaricate and spin the truth to the constituents, to make things look better than they really are, so they can be re-elected. Politicians nowadays aren’t as concerned with the welfare of the people they’re supposed to represent, as with personal re-election. From the moment they enter office, that’s their main concern. And being concerned with your own welfare and livelihood might seem right, but it isn’t, if you’re not meeting the needs of those who elected you. Sol said it earlier when he began talking about moral, ethical and spiritual precepts. ‘All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.’ (Prov.16:2) Yes my people, we can hide our true motives from the world, sometimes even from ourselves, but we can’t hide them from God because He’s not taken in by our words or outward actions. He knows better than that. Our fellow man can only judge us by what we say and do cause they can’t see what’s really in our hearts, but our God can, and that’s where He looks to find our real motives and beliefs. As the second half of the Bit says: ‘but the Lord pondereth the hearts.’ That’s another bit of gospel mih people! That’s why they say you can fool man, but not God, for He looks into the innermost depths of our hearts, souls and spirit to discern the real truth that’s hidden there. And if what we show, say or do on the outside doesn’t match what’s on the inside, then we’ll just end up in his bad books. Hear the wonderful advice Bruh David gave his son, Sol, when he encouraged him to build the Lord’s temple. ‘And then Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.’ (1 Chron 28:9) Yes my Friends, that’s wonderful advice we can, or rather should all heed personally, and also teach to our children. Early on, Sol heeded Bruh David’s advice, as we hear when he dedicated the temple. ‘Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men.’ (2 Chron.6:30) But sadly, when Sol got old, he apparently forgot all that stuff because he forsook the Lord and turned to the pagan deities of his many wives. Oh, woe-unto-man! (smile) So even the great, wise Sol eventually didn’t practice what he preached. So my Friends, let’s try to be different nuh. Let’s try to have good hearts, and let good words, deeds and actions flow from them. We won’t, or can’t always be right, but if our motives are decent, the Lord, who sees and knows all, will certainly forgive us if we err. So don’t let the fear of making mistakes prevent us from getting into action on God’s behalf. Oh, by the way, last night the Spirit guided me to a new mantra for the Bit: ‘LOVE thy God, and LIVE thy Faith!’ Friends, as believers, that’s all we need to do in this life! Till next time then, God willing; let’s LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith! Much LOVE!…you can run…but you can’t hide…from God…
Oh my blessed Friends, it’s shaping up to be another beautiful day in paradise, so let’s give some thanks and praise that we’re alive to behold it nuh. Some of us are alive though, only in the sense that our hearts are beating, pumping blood through our bodies, but the spirits of too many of us are dead. We just drift along from one day to the next, unconcerned about anybody but ourselves, unconcerned with the poverty, suffering, violence and oppression that’s so widespread on our planet. And just because we can’t, or think we can’t do anything to improve the situation, we just muddle along in life, going nowhere, doing nothing worthwhile. But this is a very selfish, unchristian attitude my people. Jesus said that we should care and be concerned with the sorrowful plight of others even if we can’t do anything personally to alleviate it. But Friends I’m here to remind us that there’s one thing we can always do; that’s pray for them. Remember, the Lord ‘heareth the prayer of the righteous.(Prov.15:29)This brings us to the first part of the Bit: ‘Every way of a man is right in his own eyes.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth mih breddren? Each of us believes that whatever we say or do is always right. We might be proven wrong later, but initially we always tend to think we’re right. And sadly, it doesn’t change our attitude when we discover we’re mistaken or misguided. The next time, we again insist that what we’re doing is right. Why is that eh? Why do we never think that we’re wrong? I guess it has to do with basic pride, ego, and our social system, where so much emphasis is placed on self-confidence and being right, that many of us are deathly afraid to be wrong or make a mistake. That can either make us a laughingstock or trigger some catastrophe, if we’re persons of power. In our busy, gung ho society, there’s no room for error. Those who make minor errors are often discarded by the wayside with no consideration whatsoever. But Friends, the law of averages dictates that no man can be right every time, although we believe that our way is the right one. But then again, why would we choose to hold a particular idea, belief or opinion knowing that it’s wrong eh? That’s a good question, one that I can’t answer. But many of us do it. In fact all of us do it, especially when it comes to being obedient to God. Though we know deep down that certain things are wrong, yet we conveniently find ways to convince ourselves that they are right. We can always find some means to justify our thoughts words and actions. Just look at the behaviour of our politicians, from top to bottom. It’s now become the norm, if not to lie outright, but certainly to prevaricate and spin the truth to the constituents, to make things look better than they really are, so they can be re-elected. Politicians nowadays aren’t as concerned with the welfare of the people they’re supposed to represent, as with personal re-election. From the moment they enter office, that’s their main concern. And being concerned with your own welfare and livelihood might seem right, but it isn’t, if you’re not meeting the needs of those who elected you. Sol said it earlier when he began talking about moral, ethical and spiritual precepts. ‘All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits.’ (Prov.16:2) Yes my people, we can hide our true motives from the world, sometimes even from ourselves, but we can’t hide them from God because He’s not taken in by our words or outward actions. He knows better than that. Our fellow man can only judge us by what we say and do cause they can’t see what’s really in our hearts, but our God can, and that’s where He looks to find our real motives and beliefs. As the second half of the Bit says: ‘but the Lord pondereth the hearts.’ That’s another bit of gospel mih people! That’s why they say you can fool man, but not God, for He looks into the innermost depths of our hearts, souls and spirit to discern the real truth that’s hidden there. And if what we show, say or do on the outside doesn’t match what’s on the inside, then we’ll just end up in his bad books. Hear the wonderful advice Bruh David gave his son, Sol, when he encouraged him to build the Lord’s temple. ‘And then Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.’ (1 Chron 28:9) Yes my Friends, that’s wonderful advice we can, or rather should all heed personally, and also teach to our children. Early on, Sol heeded Bruh David’s advice, as we hear when he dedicated the temple. ‘Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men.’ (2 Chron.6:30) But sadly, when Sol got old, he apparently forgot all that stuff because he forsook the Lord and turned to the pagan deities of his many wives. Oh, woe-unto-man! (smile) So even the great, wise Sol eventually didn’t practice what he preached. So my Friends, let’s try to be different nuh. Let’s try to have good hearts, and let good words, deeds and actions flow from them. We won’t, or can’t always be right, but if our motives are decent, the Lord, who sees and knows all, will certainly forgive us if we err. So don’t let the fear of making mistakes prevent us from getting into action on God’s behalf. Oh, by the way, last night the Spirit guided me to a new mantra for the Bit: ‘LOVE thy God, and LIVE thy Faith!’ Friends, as believers, that’s all we need to do in this life! Till next time then, God willing; let’s LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith! Much LOVE!…you can run…but you can’t hide…from God…
SCRIP-BITS 
Jul 18, 2009 @ 01:32:23
Thank you Mr. O’Brien. I’m afraid that all too often I’m convinced that I’m right and everyone else is wrong, so I needed your reminder!Carm