Discipline from the Lord

Today's Reading:

• Proverbs 12:26 - 13:1

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Proverbs 12:26 - 13:1

Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the bible because it truly tells how to live a godly life and how to become truly wise.  Today's reading is four verses from Proverbs, which I haven't read yet - so let's see what words of wisdom I have in store for me today!

12:26  The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

I do try to give good advice to my friends.  Good advice, in my opinion, is telling the person what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.  It is also telling them the truth, not some lie that will make them feel better at the moment but will make it hurt more down the road.  I have friends who give me good advice, and those friends are treasured in my heart. 

12:27  Lazy people don't even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.

When I read this verse, I thought of the saying "waste not, want not."  This was odd to me because this translation (NLT) uses the word "diligent" to those who make use of everything they find, whereas the dictionary defines it as "Having or showing care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties".  Regardless, we are being told to make the most of everything we have, and this is definitely something I need to work on!

12:28  The way of the godly leads to life; that path does not lead to death.

I have seen this over and over and over and over; yet the message rings true each time.  Being godly, being wise; that is the path to life.  It is the path I want to be on!

13:1  A wise child accepts a parent's discipline; a mocker refuses to listen to correction.

When I first read this verse, I didn't know what to think about it - how could a child really decide he or she wants to become wise.  In other words; how is this relevant?  Then it hit me - duh! - we are all children of God.  And for us to be wise children of God, we must accept discipline and correction from our Father with a happy heart.  I have children, and I know the reason I discipline them is because I love them.  I want them to be happy, I want them to be safe, I want them to be healthy, I want them to be well managed, functioning adults.  I want them to live a long, happy life.  When I think of discipline from the Lord in this manner, it reminds me that the Lord somehow manages to love me!

The Psalms of Asaph; Godly Advice

Today's Reading:

• Psalm 79:1 - 79:13
• Proverbs 12:25 - 12:26

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Psalm 79:1 - 79:13
Psalm 79 is a Psalm of Asaph.  The people are in the midst of great destruction brought upon them from the Lord.  The people are begging the Lord not to punish them, but to instead punish the godless who caused their demise.

I have a few problems with the cries from these people.  First of all, they do not account of any sins.  They claim they are being punished for their ancestors.  I have not yet read about these people anywhere else but these Psalms -- since my readings are broken up, I am reading Psalms along with my regular readings.  That being said, my study bible quotes two verses that state people will no longer be judged by the sins of their parents -- Ezekiel 18:20 and Jeremiah 31:30.  I assume, based on those two verses being quoted here, that the timing of this destruction took place after people were eradicated of the sins of their parents. So in other words, these people are not yet even realizing what sins they have committed (or they are ignoring them and passing blame elsewhere).  If they don't realize the sins they have committed, how can they ask for forgiveness from them?

The other thing that bothers me about this psalm is that the people don't praise the Lord at all.  All they do is ask the Lord to save them, and only then will they praise and thank him forever (79:13).  All the great psalms of David made sure to praise the Lord, even during the midst of the storms he faced.  Our Lord is worthy of praise, always.

The writer of the psalm begged the Lord to punish the offenders, not His own people.  I could certainly see why the Lord would be more harsh with his own people.  I think of my own children -- when one of them knows that they are disobeying, they are always punished far greater than the one that does wrong yet does not realize it.  As the Lord's people, we are expected to love him, and show that we love him, we obey him.  That is how we choose life instead of death. 

Proverbs 12:25 - 12:26

25  Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers them up

26  The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray

These are two very good verses to consider.  I would like to focus on the second one (verse 12:26).  I can say I do my part by giving my friends good advice and not trying to lead them astray.  So when I read that verse, I thought about the reverse of it -- about receiving advise.

According to this verse, I should be wary of the advice of those who are not godly and give much more esteem to the advice of those who are.  I will certainly keep this in mind for anytime that I am faced with a dilemma! 

Tithing, Debt Cancellation and Slavery in the Old Testament; Godly Advice is an Extension of Virtue

Today's Reading:

• Deuteronomy 13:1 - 15:23
• Proverbs 12:5 - 7

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Deuteronomy 13:1 - 15:23
These three chapters in Deuteronomy had many interesting topics, including tithing, debt cancellation and the release of slaves.  Rather than write a long post on just one of these topics, I think I'd like to write a little bit about each one.
Tithing, Debt Cancellation and Slavery in the Old Testament
I am always interested to learn what the bible says about tithing.  I've seen little about it so far.  Chapter 14 says that the family must take their 1/10 tithe of their crops and eat it before the Lord.  If it's too far to journey with the crops, they should be sold and then the money should be used for a great feast and celebration before the Lord.  Every third year, the money or crops should be given to the Levitites, the widows, the foreigners and the orphans.

As I've mentioned before, my tithe is a combination of donations to my church and to various Christian charities that I believe in.  I don't know enough about tithing to know if that is acceptable -- should I be giving 10% to my church, and then contribute to charities in addition to that?  This passage at least gives me reassurance that tithing can be a combination of the two, and it seems like the formula is 67% to the church, 33% to charities.  I am certain I will learn tons more about tithing, but for now I at least have something to go on!  And without looking at my budget right now, I can say that's probably close to the ratio I have going on now.  

I thought the topic on debt cancellation was interesting.  Chapter 15 tells us that debts were to be cancelled every 7th year if they were not paid back.  I think that many types of debt in the US today also have statues of limitations -- the most common being 7 years.  There are debts that are not subject to those rules, but credit cards, utility bills, etc often have limits like that imposed.  I think it's interesting how I can read about debt cancellation in Moses's time and still see a correlation to today's time.

Chapter 15 also discussed slavery.  You were to release your slaves after a period of six years, and you were supposed to send them away with a generous gift.  I hear people often refuse to even consider Christianity because the bible talks of slaves.  But I have yet to see how slavery in the bible is the same as slavery as we seem to think about it -- with an entire single population being forced into lifelong slavery.  I certainly haven't read enough of the bible to take a stance, but I can say that the things I've read so far -- such as freeing your fellow slaves with generous gifts after a six year period -- seems to fall more along the lines of indentured servants than slavery.  But please remember -- this is my opinion as of this point in time.  I am almost 1/4 through the bible -- so I still have quite a bit to read that could change my mind!

Proverbs 12:5 - 7

5  The plans of the godly are just; the advice of the wicked is treacherous.

6  The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives.

7  The wicked die and disappear, but the family of the godly stands firm.

More words of wisdom to consider from Proverbs.  These words make a lot of sense -- the passages about the godly and their words and their advice makes me think of the virtue ethical theory.  In this theory (from what I remember in college), if a person was deemed to be virtuous, then by default any and all decisions that they made would automatically be considered virtuous and correct.

So I see these verses as an extension of the ethical theory of virtue -- if a person is godly, then the things they do, the plans they make, the advice they give -- is automatically just and right.  Now of course that theory has many flaws, I was just noting the similarity between these passages and that ethical theory.  It makes sense though -- if a person truly is godly, and their plans are godly, their lives are godly -- then the Lord has bestowed upon them favor, blessing and wisdom to pass along to others.  So where should you turn to when you are in need of advice or direction?  Turn to the godly person you trust!