Truth – Page 2 – Just Keith Harris

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 29

This proverb struck me as a poignant example of the perspective God gives us through His wisdom that counters the anti-wisdom of this world.

Whatever you revere or fear drives you, or at least steers you. Think about it. If there are certain holidays or people that you revere, you will act a certain way around them. Your life and behavior change in their presence or on those days. It works the same with fear. If you are afraid of someone or something, your body does its own thing in their presence. Your heart rate will elevate; your skin may grow clammy and/or sweaty; and your fight-or-flight response kicks in.

We live in a day and age when the powers-that-be use fear to motivate. This can be in the political arena as we have seen recently in many political ads and politically-driven social media posts. The news is always doom and gloom – and changes depending on the political leanings of one channel to the next. We have become accustomed to making decisions based on fear, and per the wisdom we see here, that sort of fear is a snare.

A snare is a device meant to catch something, and often carries with it the purpose of restraining something in order to kill it. If a hunter puts out a snare to catch an animal, it is often so that the animal can be caught, killed, and eaten. This reminds me of the description of Satan in 1 Peter 5:8 as one prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour”. Satan likes snares because they catch people unaware using camouflage and trickery. 2 Corinthians 4:4 describes this work as him blinding “the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” He has no glory of his own and nothing of worth for people to follow, so he tricks and hoodwinks people, trying to keep them from seeing the Light.

God doesn’t work like that. Everything is out in the open with Him – out in the light. We have seen throughout the #DailyWisdomChallenge that following God is often referenced as the “fear of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:24, 10:12, 31:12-13; 1 Samuel 12:24; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Job 28:28; Psalm 19:9, 34:11; Proverbs 1:7, 8:13, 9:10, 14:27; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Isaiah 11:2-3, 33:6; Luke 1:50; Acts 9:31; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:28-29), but this is not the kind of fear that Satan uses. As we said above, what you fear or reverence drives and motivates you. The Lord is not an adversary who uses fear to drive you to a snare but one who is worthy of our reverence, respect, and worship – One worth following. We can trust Him because He, like He teaches His people refuses “to practice cunning or to tamper with [His] Word, but by the open statement of the truth [commends Himself and us] to everyone’s conscience” (2 Corinthians 4:2). We can trust Him because He deals in truth; in fact, He is the Truth (John 14:6).

While Satan is on the prowl seeking to devour and destroy, God offers His mighty hand to lift us up and offers the opportunity to cast “all [our] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:6-7). You can trust the Lord and be safe (Psalm 62:8). There is a big difference between prowling around like a lion and being the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5)! Jesus is the genuine article and came to seek and save the lost instead of seeking destruction (Luke 19:10, John 3:17)!

Your fear of what man can do to you lays a snare. But trusting in God brings safety – from the snare, from destruction, from being devoured.

That’s good news to those who trust in the Lord! How about you? Will you be driven by your fear of man or your trust in God?

For the month of October (and November for slowpokes like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 26

Today’s verse(s) for the #DailyWisdomChallenge use the imagery of eating, just like it did in the one from Proverbs 25. Maybe it is because I have been having to work to get back on my healthy eating patterns, or maybe it is just a holdover from my lifetime as an adult allowing eating to set my course and rule much of my life, but these passages resonate with me.

Psalm 25:16 and 27 dealt with gorging ourselves on good things. Proverbs 26:22 (which is the same exact proverb as 18:8) deals with dining on things that are not good, namely the “words of a whisperer”.

The “words of a whisperer” is referencing the giddy joy people get when they are talking about something they know they shouldn’t be. In some cases, it is the whispers of gossip, sharing some piece of news of something bad that happened or something bad that has befallen someone. That type of news makes people feel good at the expense of others and takes advantage of them looking bad to make oneself look better. In other cases, it could be inappropriate humor or speaking bad/making fun of someone else – things that are bad enough by themselves but made worse by sharing that wicked talk with others.

The very nature of this having to be whispered shows that we know it is bad but decide to do it anyway. Well, we may think we are keeping quiet except to the one with whom we are whispering, but God hears and knows. And here in Proverbs 18:8 and 26:22 we see what he thinks of it; he thinks it is pretty crappy.

That may seem crass (it is definitely pushing Bible study pun boundaries), but look at the end of the verse. When you dine on the whisperer’s words, they go “down into the inner parts of the body”. They get digested. The honey of Proverbs 25:16 gets regurgitated, but the whisperer’s words linger. In the end, they end up becoming waste; however, in the meantime they work their way into our minds and our hearts.

One thing that I remember hearing from teachers and parents growing up – one that I find myself saying to my kiddos at home and school, too – is that, if you have to whisper it, it must not be good. We see that as an example of godly wisdom – not that we should never whisper, but we should not participate in wicked speech, loud, quiet, or otherwise.

Next time you find yourself about to dine on some juicy gossip or listen to someone whisperingly run down someone to you, remember what you are dining on. If you find listening to that crap as appetizing, chew on this analogy and decide if it’s worth it!

For the month of October (and November for lollygaggers like me), we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 23

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

Proverbs 23:23 caught my attention and made me think about the importance of our time in the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Wisdom and knowledge can very easily be treated as a commodity to be sold, traded, and purchased. In our lives, we encounter a lot of distractions that tempt us to chase after fleeting pleasures and material gain. Yet, the wisdom set forth in this verse calls us to prioritize truth — God’s Truth (John 14:6) — above all else, recognizing that it is the foundation for a life of godliness and integrity (Proverbs 4:5-7).

In John Bunyan’s classic allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, he illustrates this challenge by showing his pilgrims traveling through a place called Vanity Fair, a marketplace filled with tempting goods that represent the vanities and temptations of this world. Merchants call out to the pilgrims to “Buy, buy, buy — buy this, and buy that”, but the pilgrims resolutely stand firm and declare, “We buy the truth!” They know that the truth — along with wisdom and understanding — is far more valuable than the fleeting pleasures of the world.

In Matthew 13:44-46, Jesus shares two parables that beautifully show the value of the truth. Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a hidden treasure found in a field along with a merchant searching for valuable pearls. When the treasure is discovered and the merchant finds a “pearl of great price”, they joyfully sell everything they have to have them. The things of God are more valuable than the things of this world. Just as the pilgrims in Vanity Fair chose truth over worldly good, we are called to recognize the value of Jesus — Truth incarnate.

To “buy the truth” means to be willing to sacrifice our time, energy, and even material wealth for the sake of gaining knowledge and understanding, but when we actively seek the God of Truth, whether through studying the Word, praying, or discipleship, we are investing in something that will enrich our lives and guide our hearts (2 Timothy 2:15).

In a world filled with voices vying for our attention, let us look to God’s wisdom in Proverbs 23:23. We are literally in a season when political pundits are spending billions of dollars — on both sides of battle — and peddling truths, mistruths, and false truths. There are people on both sides who, even when presented with truth contrary to what they believe or want to believe, refuse to listen to truth because they have bought what their particular candidate is selling. When faced with such things, may our response be to look to Christ and affirm our commitment: “We buy the truth! We buy the truth! Jesus is the Truth!” In doing so, we seek God’s knowledge, God’s wisdom, God’s instruction, and God’s understanding. His ways are best. His truth is absolute. May we forever side with Him and be satisfied in Him!