Life or death

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

LIFE OR DEATH

Prov 19:16

16 He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

NIV

Again we have the comparison of two types of lifestyle. The first person is the one who lives circumspectly, being conscience of the word of God. This is the person who makes the effort to live to please God. In some sense a rule follower. Normally we would not agree with rule following especially the rules and regulations of denominationalism or rather the rules developed by men who think we should live by a checklist of do’s and don’ts. But this rule following is of the commands of God. If those who like do’s and don’ts, they should see the list of do’s as being so much larger than of the don’ts. Things like love your neighbor as yourself, go into all the world and preach the gospel, care for the widows and orphans, give to the poor, heal the sick, ask for anything in Jesus’s name and believe. Get rid of anything, that sort of is the don’ts, like angry, hatred, doubt, malice, envy, jealously, bitterness, judgment, unforgiving and anything else that displeases God. Although this list is rather small, the do’s list encompass the whole of scripture. We would have to copy and paste the whole bible to make this list complete.  The point is here that we should be living always aware of God and his word, trying to live according to his desire and design for our lives, which would include serving him, doing some type of ministry, being involved in some area of service to the kingdom of God. The other person simply lives to satisfy his own heart. That would look more like the person who refuses to acknowledge God, and decides to live according to the ways of self. That word contemptuous in the Hebrew also carries the meaning of despise, disdain, to regard with contempt. How could we ever regard the word of God with contempt? We love the word, but there are people who despise it. They reject it as being the inspired word of God. They reject the fact it is inerrant. They consider other words of men to be true, but the word of God is not. This life serving self, living to satisfy their own hearts will lead them to ruin, to perish in the end. Solomon has more to say about that kind of living and its result.

Eccl 11:9-10

9 Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. 10 So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

NIV

It really comes down to the point that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and our own heart. Unless of course our heart is submitted to God. But we know that is not the case, as he has told us our hearts are bent toward evil. This is why we need Jesus. Yet we also have to acknowledge the mind of man has researched science and has some truths of the laws of nature, physics, math, geology, astronomy, medical, as well as a host of other areas. However, all of that is but man discovering what God has created. Newton only discovered the law of gravity, he did not invent it. Sure there are some mechanical inventions of man, but the laws of the universe are from God, not man. So then let us know the things of man, we can have the knowledge of man, but we need to have to heart of God. Living for self leads to death, living for God leads to life.