Proverbs 3: 1-10

Proverbs 3: 1-10
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not do what is wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. (NIV)

My first thought when I began reading this chapter went toward those people that I have known that did keep the commands of God in their heart but did not have long lives and were not prosperous. As I thought about this further, I realized that this was not true. See, I was judging the length of life and the measures of prosperity as I (a man) would think of them. However, when I turn my mind toward the thinking of God, it is clear that those who keep God's commands live for ETERNITY and store up treasures in heaven. In this way all those who keep God's commands fulfill this scripture. As this scripture moves on it emphasizes trust in God. I would imagine that I'm not the first person to question verse 1 of this chapter as I did above. God insists that we put our trust in Him, that He knows what is in store for our lives (and our afterlives).

DO NOT DO WHAT IS WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES. The previous chapters have emphasized God's wisdom and it's power over our lives. In this scripture, God points out again that we can not trust in our own mortal wisdom. Again I reference my initial thoughts on this chapter. If I were to go with MY wisdom, I would have thought that this scripture was untrue (for at least some people) and if it were untrue, how could I trust the rest of scripture. But by trying to see God's wisdom in his word, I am able to understand more clearly what He has meant by this. The end of this section tends to be a difficult one for most people to follow strictly. Giving to the Lord what is already His. It has been a struggle for me since I was a young teen-ager, when I got my first paper route and was mowing lawns for money, and I knew that I was supposed to tithe from that money. I often found excuses not to give. "I'm just a kid, that only applies to my parents." "I can't afford to give up my hard earned money." "If I give up that money I won't be able to afford _______." As I have matured, I have forced myself to tithe regularly and write those checks first. It has cut the budget close a few times, but God has never failed to provide my wife and me with what we need. I heard a speaker talk about tithing once and he said that he had a discussion with his wife about whether to tithe pre-tax or post-tax. He said the following, "Do you want God to bless us on the gross or the net." I have remembered this for a long time and it makes sense that the more you give to God, the more he gives back.