Oct 26 - Proverbs 16:3

Commit to the Lord 

whatever you do,

and he will establish

your plans.

Proverbs 16:3

 

Have you ever noticed that some people's lives seem easy and others are an absolute mess? How come?

 

Wait a minute ... let's take this one step further ... Have you ever noticed that some atheist's lives are wildly successful, while all some Christians seem to find is a series of mess? 

 

How come? You'd think it would be the other way around. God ought to bless his children, right? I mean, doesn't today's verse essentially guarantee that? "Commit to the Lord whatever you do," says the book of Proverbs, "and He will establish your plans." He'll make it happen. A guarantee, right?

 

Well, God does bless his children. He gives us wisdom (and the Spirit to flame it into action). Wisdom is one of the major portions of the Bible. Why? Because God set up the world to work in a certain way. If we sow, we tend to reap. If we work as hard as an ant, we'll tend to build and prosper (Prov 6:6). If we work hard, earn money, and pay up-front for what we buy, we'll tend to not be enslaved (to a lender - Prov 22:7) If we raise children in the way they should go, they'll tend to not turn away from it (Prov 22:6). And if we commit to the Lord whatever we do, he'll tend to bless our plans and ventures (Prov 16:3). 

 

Did you notice the key words? 

 

"Tend to." 

 

Proverbs is wisdom - not guarantees. 

 

If we sow seeds, it increases the likelihood that we'll reap. Now locusts could surely come, devouring. Hail could pummel our crops. Wicked people, as Jesus said in a parable, could even sow weeds among our wheat. All of those are possibilities in a broken world. (That's why wisdom is wisdom and not a guarantee.) Nevertheless, those who plant tend to have much more growing in their fields than those who chose not to work the field well! 

And that explains – generally – why some tend to succeed in our world when others tend to fail. It's because they choose (and have consistently chosen) to follow wisdom ... whether they know God or not. 

 

Wisdom comes from God.

 

In fact, you can choose not to belief in God and still absolutely prosper from the principles of sowing and reaping.

 

Conversely, you can authentically love God and make an absolute mess of your life. (The Bible, in fact, even is full of stories of godly people doing foolish things. King David, for example, was said to be "a man after God's own heart"; nevertheless, he let his heart be murderously swayed by a beautiful woman. He blew past several obvious stop signs - wisdom - and chose to follow his flesh. And the results were disastrous.)

 

I know scores and scores of faithful Christians whose lives are upside down because they're forsaking wisdom. Too many have compromised morally, sexually, or financially. They've chased the temporary rather than the permanent. Some of these compromises happened this week. But some happened a generation ago; and too many dug a pit and set a pattern that their family still hasn't crawled out of. 

 

Let this sink in …

 

Some atheists work hard, follow rules, invest wisely, and for them life tends to be easy. They're following God's ways ... without following God. 

Too many Christians, though, are "following" God (believing) ... without following his ways.

And both have consequences. The wise atheist will find blessings on earth - but not eternally. The foolish Christian will find blessing in heaven - but their life is likely to be a painful mess. 

 

Is there a solution? 

 

Duh!

 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your life will tend to be wonderfully blessed. 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who had wise

(and faithful) parents.

(Thank you!)

Then my wife and I

worked hard to raise

our kids that way too.

And it's a joy to see

them, as young parents,

already exhibiting

wisdom and faith.