The Lover of Pleasure

For Friday, May 4, 2007
Proverbs 21:17

Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

This would seem to be a proverb supporting the ascetic, stoic life. Its emphasis, however, not contrasting pleasure with stoicism, but warning about a life devoted to physical pleasure. In such a pursuit the individual loses common sense. He thinks only of today and does not prepare for tomorrow, thus ending up in poverty. He slacks off from work and stops working altogether. The person who lives for the weekend or the happy hour is not giving due attention to his labors which he devalues.

Indeed, the irony of the lover of pleasure is that he misses out on what is truly pleasurable. True pleasure is found in doing what is meaningful and in taking delight in what is of greater value. And the real poverty that awaits the lover of physical pleasure is that he becomes impoverished spiritually. Nothing is more tragic than to look back over one's life and realize it was a wasted life.

Love pleasure, but love the pleasure of pleasing your Lord by doing his will. Love the pleasure that comes from knowing the love of the Lord, from knowing his majesty, from exploring his character and his work. Such a pursuit only enriches you whatever may happen physically. Better yet, such a pursuit leads you into eternal pleasure.

Good Sense

For Thursday, May 3, 2007
Proverbs 21:16

One who wanders from the way of good sense
will rest in the assembly of the dead.

Do you want rest? Do you want to escape the hassles of life? Wander away from good sense. Throw off your responsibilities and act according to instinct and you can live a contented life. It is fairly easy to be contented when you have no responsibility for anyone and do only what you feel like doing at the moment. You will find rest.

Your contented rest, however, comes at the cost of a living death. You are dead spiritually; dead to what is of eternal value and joy. And it is likely you will find an early rest in death literally. Living for the moment usually leads to a shortened life. The catch there is that death does not provide rest. However peaceful a cemetary may seem, the souls of the dead find anything but rest.

The way of sense requires taking on responsibility for how you live and for loving your neighbor. We will practice good sense in some parts of our lives, but it is difficult to exercise good sense in every area. This is not because it is difficult to know what to do, but that we have limits to how much thinking we want to do all the time. Thus, we may practice good sense at our job and wander from good sense at home, or vice versa.

Will you practice good sense today in the home and work or school and everywhere else you may be? Or will you take a stroll away from good sense when it seems inconvenient or too tiring?

When Justice Is Done

For Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Proverbs 21:15

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous
but terror to evildoers.

When justice is done, the righteous are vindicated and the wicked are punished. But the righteous also rejoice in justice for its own sake. They do not obey God's laws to keep from being punished, but because they actually delight in God's law. The wicked fear punishment, but they also are disheartened to see justice winning over evil which they delight in. A world in which justice prevails is not a desirable place in which to live. They must live in fear in such a world.

And that world will someday come when our Lord returns to establish full justice and a new heaven and a new earth are established. In such a world, God "will wipe away every tear from [the eyes of the righteous], and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcereres, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death" (21:8).

Thus joy for the righteous and terror for evildoers.

Secret Bribes

For Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Proverbs 21:14

A gift in secret averts anger,
and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

This proverb speaks of what secret bribes accomplish, not what should be done. Bribes are given because they accomplish their purpose to appease someone with power. Bribes are not to be used to avert justice, nor to win advantage over someone else unable to equal the gift. Even so, Christians in persecuted lands have used bribes wisely to save innocent lives.

When may Christians give bribes? Undoubtedly fewer times than we think. To do so, after all, requires deceit and other sins, depending upon the type of gift given. In most cases, we resort to bribes because we have not faith. I would not begin to reflect on how Christians in persecuted countries should think about this, but for us who live in the United States, we need to think long and hard on giving into a system that calls for secret gifts.

Some Christians believe that falling in line with bribes is the only realistic way to stay in business and keep up with the competition. They scoff at the Christian idealist who thinks he can apply Sermon on the Mount principles in a cutthroat world. But then see what happens - they become scoffers of their own faith. They turn into the world.

There are worse things than failing in business or in making the grade. There is the loss of dignity and the loss of faith. There is greater cost than the bribe itself.