Proverbs 13:18
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
It is so easy to look at the world today and wonder where is God. Those who disobey His ways seem wealthy and honored while those who give regard to His Instructions seem poor and persecuted. Thus it has always been through the generations since the fall of man into sin.
But in the end, when the ‘day’ is done, when the books are opened and judgment is pronounced, what are the parameters whereby we will be evaluated? If they are the unadulterated and non-rationalized Words of the Almighty, some of us who have the habit of changing the perspective of the Word in order to make it fit our preferences may be in trouble.
Many may be surprised on that day. The prophet tells us that some will be resurrected to eternal honor and glory, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. The Master also taught us the same through the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus who was poor in this world received his reward in the next, while the rich man who enjoyed his heaven on earth had none left ‘over there’, so to speak.
I just purchased an acoustic guitar amplifier. I looked at the instruction booklet that came with it and here is how it starts:
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
It is so easy to look at the world today and wonder where is God. Those who disobey His ways seem wealthy and honored while those who give regard to His Instructions seem poor and persecuted. Thus it has always been through the generations since the fall of man into sin.
But in the end, when the ‘day’ is done, when the books are opened and judgment is pronounced, what are the parameters whereby we will be evaluated? If they are the unadulterated and non-rationalized Words of the Almighty, some of us who have the habit of changing the perspective of the Word in order to make it fit our preferences may be in trouble.
Many may be surprised on that day. The prophet tells us that some will be resurrected to eternal honor and glory, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. The Master also taught us the same through the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Lazarus who was poor in this world received his reward in the next, while the rich man who enjoyed his heaven on earth had none left ‘over there’, so to speak.
I just purchased an acoustic guitar amplifier. I looked at the instruction booklet that came with it and here is how it starts:
“1) Read these instructions.
2) Keep these instructions.
3) Heed all warnings.
4) Follow all instructions.”
Only after all these injunctions does the booklet proceed to give me the very precious safety instructions for my amp, and this only for a mechanical type of machine. Those who wrote this booklet must be used to people being disobedient.
What if I were to rationalize the instructions in the booklet and use my machine as I pleased? I would surely break it; I could also injure others and myself with it. Our bodies, life and its interactions are a much more complicated and dangerous machine than a simple guitar amp. How much more then should we respect the Instructions for it given to us by our Creator. If we do, honor awaits us in the next world; if we don’t, poverty and shame.
Let us not be fooled. We will be evaluated by the Instructions given in the Book without any of our modern rationalizations and excuses. We would therefore do well to stop reading books about the Book, and start immersing ourselves in the Book itself, and learn to:
What if I were to rationalize the instructions in the booklet and use my machine as I pleased? I would surely break it; I could also injure others and myself with it. Our bodies, life and its interactions are a much more complicated and dangerous machine than a simple guitar amp. How much more then should we respect the Instructions for it given to us by our Creator. If we do, honor awaits us in the next world; if we don’t, poverty and shame.
Let us not be fooled. We will be evaluated by the Instructions given in the Book without any of our modern rationalizations and excuses. We would therefore do well to stop reading books about the Book, and start immersing ourselves in the Book itself, and learn to:
“1) Read these instructions.
2) Keep these instructions.
3) Heed all warnings.
4) Follow all instructions.”
No comments:
Post a Comment