No, not the old movie, the writings. I have been studying
and meditating on Proverbs for the last month or so. When you rarely preach,
you are able to spend time on subjects that are more for yourself and less for
the hearers. My graduate studies have been lax over the last year with all the
turbulence. My wife’s health, Moves, Unemployment, a Heart condition and a
broken Pelvis, I can’t say life has been rosy and circumstances have been
positive. But in the midst of all of that what I can say is God is still good
in any bad condition. He has been my one (outside of my wife) constant and on
Him I am and will always set my course towards Him. In the mistakes that have
been made, He has always been my Redeemer. One to set me back on course. In the
proverbs, I see God’s constancy and the ever grinding wheel of justice, truth
and wisdom. If I were to reach three conclusions or lessons in Proverbs it
would be the following:
1>
God is always sovereign and has the last word in
any situation in my life.
2>
Guarding one’s self from the many faces of evil
(lasciviousness, wickedness, deceptive practices, self-promotion, pride, bad
company, slothfulness, offense) will keep one’s mind and heart clean so the Way
can be clearly seen and trod.
3>
Family training and honoring one’s senior is the
way of wisdom, knowledge and prosperity. In fact, the book of Proverbs was
written from Father to a Son not yet ready to face the world in all its
severity, brutality and unrighteousness
The
writer warns the son to listen to him and to mind what wisdom the father can
bestow. In the end times, the Apostle Paul has much to say about the relations
between parents and children – basically there is none. This characteristic is
perhaps the telling of the times. It is also a main manifestation of cult like
behavior. While a group may not be a cult, if the ear markings surrounding it
are centered around children grown or otherwise sacrificing a relationship that
was God ordained, it is not a healthy place. Yes, I know that sometimes sons
and daughters look at their parents as in the wrong and even evil ( that is the
spin inside some groups) but there is no
denying the scriptures ingrained in the Proverbs. The whole premise really
comes from pride. In most groups that are veering towards toxic, one begins to
hear that the group is part of the ‘true’ church. In many groups, there are
even doctrines that are practiced that bend scriptures to cause the delineation
between the group and mainstream faith. It is these that begin to seed the
pride which grows into arrogance. Frankly, one becomes arrogant in toxic groups
and looks at others who call on the name of Jesus, as I have heard from their
pulpits, as sub-normal Christians. It is in this vein all the breaking of
relationships rests. The thought goes, if one can reduce another to sub-normal,
deceived, weak, etc, they can ‘de-humanize’ them. To some groups, we in the
mainstream are retarded. When I began to
see my former way of life and realized it was not about Christ at all, it was
about submission to authorities who in my opinion abused that place of
leadership, I am the deceived evil one. You know, the one that took them in and
loved them as my own, raised them, provided for them and always supported them.
What a wicked misuse of the scriptures. If anyone has half a mind and reads through
the genuine Apostles’ works, they will clearly see, there were from the
beginning different points of faith but the same Lord – so to call it misuse is
not out of bounds here. We have rejected their ‘truth’ and so we deserve their
shunning. It is hard to fathom but this is believe it or not, commonplace in
toxic groups. So, who is really sub-human here? It is a question to ponder.
One
thing Proverbs has resoundingly established, whatever is the real truth will
come forth. The fool always manifests he is a fool. The wise rise on the eyes
of God and the wicked and prideful are remembered no more. I guess depending on
what side of the fence one is on, I could be called either one. But in reality,
the opinions of men do not ultimately matter. It is not in us to build beyond
our lifetime. There really is no legacy other than love, that’s it. But there
is a passing from one to another and the chief crime here is the denial of that
very thing. I have accomplished much in this life. I have made mistakes I would
not wish on anyone. But as the Proverbs so richly set forth, I have God as a
solid foundation and on Him I will rest and wait for the only assessment that
matters. To believe some else has that or partakes in that ability or place is
sorcery.
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