Have you been acting foolishly?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

The way of a fool seems right to him,
    but a wise man listens to advice.
A fool shows his annoyance at once,
    but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
(Proverbs 12:15-16 (NIV))

If everyone lived by this truth, the daytime television shows that thrive on fights and outbursts would soon go away. Unfortunately, instead of thinking first, many in our society seem to act first and never think. This often leads to disastrous results.

I hate to say this, but this current philosophy of society is even beginning to find its way into the church. Nothing seems to be off limits in the eyes of many people. I bet that you can easily recall the last time that you heard someone talking badly about the preacher because a Biblically based message stepped on someone’s toes. Instead of taking the words that God wrote, and the preacher delivered, as an instruction on how to change their life, someone took it as a personal attack by the preacher.

We must pray for our society. We must pray for our churches. We must pray for our families, and we must pray for ourselves. We must pray that we are given discernment so that we never become like the fool who shows his annoyance and his ignorance. We must pray that we never become self-righteous and indignant. We must pray that God grants us wisdom in all that we do.

There is an old saying that “It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Think about this the next time that something begins to annoy you.

keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking lies.
(Psalm 34:13 (NIV))

Focus on God’s Word. Meditate upon it. Let His Word become your words.

May my tongue sing of your word,
    for all your commands are righteous.
(Psalm 119:172 (NIV))

Have you been acting foolishly?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook

Are you robbing God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, ” `My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a `den of robbers.'”
(Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV))

It is easy to turn our worship into something less than it actually is. Jesus took one look at the activities in the Temple and got mad. What God had intended for man to use to turn to God had been turned into a business venture. It was supposed to be a solemn act of reverence and atonement, but it had been turned into a venture that prospered a select few.

Think about that.

Do we still have a tendency to do such things? Do we try to turn what should be a solemn and sincere act of worship into something that will benefit us? I think that we have all been guilty of something like this. It is human nature to try and manipulate every situation so that we come out on top. To put this in context of the church, it is easy to see that we could quickly become focused on receiving a little more than the next person. It may not seem like much, but think about the last time that you tried to get on the good side of the preacher at your church. I bet that you can even think about a time when you needed money for a certain function that you were wanting to happen. When we play these games, is it for the glory of God or is it because we don’t want to lose or appear not to be on top? What about the family in the church that is not as well off as everyone else? Do you try to shun them and block the blessings that God wishes to bestow upon them?

You may not actually be making money on your activities, but would Jesus find you guilty of being a den of robbers? Are you robbing yourself? Are you robbing the blessings from others? Are you robbing God?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Subscribe to daily email delivery