Proverbs - Debt

Chapter 6:1-5

 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,

if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,

 Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,

thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

 Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,

when thou art come into the hand of thy friend;

 go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.

 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,

and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

                        If we have hastily agreed on a financial dealing, if we have entered into some sort of business dealing with a non-believer or committed our resources to that which we do not have the sure leading of God’s Spirit, we must do what we can to get out of it.

                        If you must lose the money, lose it.  If we can pay quickly and be released of such dealings, pay it.

                        We are not to be co-signers for another.  This places our relationships with others under great strain and the love of money can come and birth all sorts of evil.

                        If we find ourselves in great debt - don’t slumber while interest is accumulating.  Wake up!  Make a plan and stick to it!  We will then be as a bird delivered from a trap and fly again freely.

Proverbs - Honor Him With Your Substance

Proverbs 3:9-10

  Honour the LORD with thy substance,

and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty,
and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

                      How might we dishonor the Lord with our substance?  What is on the television we purchased?  What is in our grocery cart?  Do we spend more of our substance on clothing ourselves that we might be glorified rather than looking for ways to bring Him honor with our substance?

                        The firstfruits means just that.   The first of everything our lives yields.  Our time, our money, our energy and anything else He has so graciously allowed us to bear.  Do we give the government the firstfruits from our paycheck in taxes, then our bills, and then the leftovers for the Lord?  We must be searched and really bring by force the firstfruits to the Lord however He may direct.  There is a great promise here regarding such a priority.  Some people say they cannot give regularly to their local church because their barns are barren but perhaps that is why their barns are barren. 

                                                                                      

Proverbs - Watch Out!

Proverbs 1:10-19

            My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

            If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,

 let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave;

and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

 We shall find all precious substance,

we shall fill our houses with spoil:

            Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

            My son, walk not thou in the way with them;

 refrain thy foot from their path:

 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

             Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

  And they lay wait for their own blood;

 they lurk privily for their own lives.

              So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;

which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

                        Sometimes the enemy plants just the ‘wrong’ people into our lives.  They seem to entice us to go in directions with our lives and/or mind that are very dangerous to all that the Lord wants to do in our lives.

                        Money-making schemes are a dime a dozen and many times people will call us on the phone or appear on an infomercial or come into our home in person, via e-mail or by video or CD to get us to jump on board and get rich quick.  Sister, be careful!  The Lord warns us in 1 Tim 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” and in Prov 15:27a, “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house...”  We must be content and seek first His kingdom and the true spiritual riches He has for us so we don’t end up caught in a trap to rob our families of the riches of a mother and wife who invest in the lives of the next generation.

Proverbs - Diligent in Business

Proverbs - Sharp Teeeth

Proverbs 30:14

There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

There are people who look at others only as a means of gain.  They can see the desperate conditions some are living in and take advantage of this to make money.  They want to make these people the source of their food and devour them with their plans.  They may put liquor stores in depressed areas or deal drugs where lifestyles are full of pain and emptiness.  They may offer prostitution jobs to the young girl alone and hungry or hire the illegal immigrant for slaves' wages seeing their hunger and need.  In an evolution based society there is nothing wrong with this sort of strategy.  Darwin was clear that the fit should survive and the weak are to be taken advantage of.  We should not be surprised that the generation around us may in fact be doing such things because they do not believe in the value of the individual created by and in the image of God.  It will grieve us.  It should grieve us.  Let us pity the poor and seek to help them.  Let us show the needy that Christ desires to be their Shepherd in and through the things they face.  Let us never be like this generation that treats the downcast as a means for gain.

Proverbs - Friends that Steal

Proverbs 29:24

Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul:

he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.

This verse is telling us that being friends with someone who steals can put you in a difficult situation.  You might hear his plans to commit a crime and won’t speak up when there is an investigation.  You bring on yourself torment and a moral dilemma by being exposed to wicked and evil plans and then having to reconcile betraying your friendship.  The book of Proverbs is primarily written to young people.  This particular warning is about the type of company one keeps.  We should pray that our children do not hang around thieves or find themselves privy to information too heavy for them to process.

Proverbs - Poverty Should Evoke Compassion

Proverbs 29:7

The righteous considereth the cause of the poor:

 but the wicked regardeth not to know it.

It is quite easy to focus only on our needs.  As we develop more and more into the likeness of Christ, we should find ourselves concerned and investigative into the needs of the poor.  Whether it is their own fault or not, human need is meant to trigger in us compassion.  The Lord is full of compassion and rich in mercy.  He pities us in our affliction and sends His help.  He has chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith.  Lord, help us be sensitive to the needs of others and if they lack something that we can fill, show us.