Proverbs 5:11-14 

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. ¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! ¹³I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. ¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.”

Past Year

If you were to look back to your life in 2022, what do you cherish the most? Have you had a very productive year? Or, did you have any regret? Have you regretted anything that you should have done but you did not? If you were to reconsider and modify your approach to life, what is it that you will prioritize?

Someone said that if you were to start a business, “You should do things that you can do and love to do yourself in your precious time with passion.” It may seem to be very simple advice, but it requires godly wisdom to determine the very thing you can do with passion and love to do in your precious time.

It also needful to know what drives you to be passionate in your task. Is it because you want to earn much money? Is it because you want to satisfy your curiosity? Is it because you want to establish a name for yourself in that particular field? Or, is it because you want to be helpful to people that you really care?

There was an article that featured archeologists who were very passionate about ancient civilization. They uncovered an ancient mansion. They assumed that the owner of the mansion might have been living in luxury and had many servants. It did not mention, however, if the rich person enjoyed his life or not. It’s possible.

King Solomon advised in Ecclesiastes 5:18-19, ¹⁸It is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot. ¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. 

By faith, we believe that God determines if he will let us to be rich or not yet, but to enjoy what we have, that is gift from God. Material abundance is useful; you are blessed if you can enjoy your wealth. Satisfaction in our work or labor is advisable approach to everything we do. Choose a job you are passionate with.

To have productive effort, it is advisable to combine passion with discipline.

1.  Discipline

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. ¹²You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!

The terms discipline and correction are synonymous. To discipline is to give instruction of what need to be followed, and correction is given if it is needed.

King Solomon was well known for his wisdom; he knew how humans reject disciplines and correction. Someone may have warned him of his marital issues but he just ignored them. He has 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines.

The Lord had instructed him in 1 Kings 3:13-14, ¹³I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. ¹⁴And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.

Yet, it narrated in 1 Kings 11:3-5, ³King Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines, and his wives led him astray. ⁴As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. ⁶So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

Solomon was the wisest and wealthiest king of Israel. Initially, he obeyed the Lord. Later in his life, Solomon disobeyed. Did materialism cause him to forget the Lord? Similarly, new believers are very passionate about their faith in Christ. But wait for few years and know if the word of God was planted on good soil.

The Lord teaches in Mark 4:15-20, ¹⁵Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.

How do you know if the soil is good for planting? The soil must be tested. Time to plant and kind of plant should be considered also or it will be a disgrace. Wisdom helps us listen to discipline and correction and avoid disgrace.

2.  Disgrace

¹³I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors. ¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble in the assembly of God’s people.” 

Disregard of authorities and instruction is natural tendency of humanity. We despise being commanded. We want to follow ourselves. But of course, it is foolishness not to consider the advice of those who have previous experience.

Mushroom

At one time, I tried to follow instructions from internet influencers on how to plant mushroom. Their videos appear to be very simple and easy to follow. But after few tries, I failed to produce mushroom I expected. I concluded that those videos were manipulated just for viewers to subscribe and watch them. I still tried to follow some videos that I think were better ways, but I still failed. Why?

Sometimes, God allows failures in our endeavor for us to realize that not everything we think or plan should be pursued. Failures are also instrumental for us to reconsider our priorities. If our passion is not aligned with the will of God for us, and we still insist on doing it then, be prepared for a disgraceful failure.

Nevertheless, failures are some sort of testing to determine if we really are passionate about our endeavor. Failures cannot stop you if you are passionate enough. If we’re passionate about the good work that God has prepared for us, he sustains us also to keep on keeping on. Additionally, God allows success of performance if he deems it essential to his overall plan and mission purposes.

Apostle Paul prayed for his problem to be taken away from him, but the Lord encouraged him in 2 Corinthians 12:9, ⁹“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

As you look back to failures you may have in the past, pray for stronger faith to trust that the grace of God is sufficient enough to sustain you to keep on doing what you consider as the will of the Lord for you. When God’s grace is at work in your life, you will sense gladness and inspiration of his Holy Spirit.

The inspiration of the Holy Spirit is godly empowerment to gladly listen to his instruction and to love his discipline and correction. Changes in our lifestyle, behavior and attitude are practical manifestations of growing faith in the Lord.

Do not allow regret of the past to paralyze you or cause you unproductive! Pray that the Lord may help you maximize your experience of his grace as you look forward to New Year with stronger desire to be at the center of God’s will.

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