Proverbs 13:25-14:1

²⁵The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry. ¹The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

Random

Someone claimed, “I am righteous. I do not steal that much. I just want to do what I think best for me. I don’t understand why people tried to hurt me. I did nothing wrong!” Well, others cannot appreciate it even when you think you are doing the right thing. Are they envious? Or, is it just sinful instinct of mankind?

There are confused individuals in the society who may randomly hurt anybody around them physically or even emotionally with no valid reason.

You may have heard of gang related crimes. Anyone who may join their gang is required to commit crime like: stealing, arson or hurting someone at random? Those who commit random crimes do not have the Spirit of God.

It declares in 1 John 3:8-10, ⁸The one who does what is sinful is of the evil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

Anyone may assume that anything favorable to their behavior is right for them. For Christians, the Scripture is prescription of God to have fullness of life.

When a medical doctor prescribes medicine to treat your sickness, what do you do? You diligently follow the prescription. The prescription is a guide on how often and how much medicine you take. The result will be favorable to patients when they follow medical prescriptions and not abuse their medicine, right?

Similarly, we follow the prescription of God to do what is right; it does not favor us to disregard, reject or ignore what God has prescribed. Together, let’s reflect on what God prescribed in Leviticus 18:4-5, ⁴You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. ⁵Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord.

What do you suppose? How strong you believe that it favors us to follow the decrees and laws of God? We claim that God is our Lord. Therefore, we obey his decrees and live by his laws. When situation is not clear in the Scripture and entices us to do otherwise, we should seek inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience to the prescription of the Lord is nourishment to our spiritual life also; have you discovered that already? We grow spiritually mature when we obey the Lord. Reflect on the declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 4:34,

³⁴My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Christ implied doing the will of God is sufficient sustenance; how is that?

Food is for nourishment sustenance. And God has already delivered everything we need for godly life. When we are doing the will of God, we can sense peace despite trials in life. Have you discovered the will of God for you personally?

Prayerfully read the Scripture and listen to the Lord with all your heart.

1.  Heart

²⁵The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.

The phrase, “Eat to their hearts’ content,” is not limited to gratification from eating food. The Lord grants contentment in our heart, and not just one time, as long as we do his will for us. Have you been praising the Lord, lately?

Instead of worry, complaints or bothersome concerns, the Lord wants our heart to be filled with praise and gratitude. Have you proven true what it declares in Psalm 34:15-19? ¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; ¹⁶but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. ¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. ¹⁸The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ¹⁹The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.

Many promises of God have been published by curious individuals in their social media accounts, why? Do they hope that the promises of God may come true in their life? How many of them are situated on praying grounds? Trusting the word of God and not just hope that his promises will come true, we need inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It testified about John the Baptist in John 1:21-23,

²¹They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²²Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’

Repentance is like constructing straight roads. Repentance is prerequisite of straight path for the Lord to come into our life. John the Baptist preached about repentance. He baptized believers who repented of their sins. Yet, Jesus Christ came to John to be baptized. How is that? Has Jesus Christ committed any sin? It is stated in Matthew 3:14-15, ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Jesus Christ exemplified that repentance is necessary requirement to be considered righteous before God. At his crucifixion, Jesus Christ carried with him all our sins. Do you believe that the Lord had already taken from us all our sins?

Do you accept that all our sins were crucified with Christ? His crucifixion proves ultimately his cares for us, even our practical need. How about career or house?

2.  House

¹The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

Filipinos have assumed that in the house or family, fathers are the pillar, and mothers are the light. Truly when mothers are happy, the family is happy. Interestingly, the special translation for wives in Filipino may imply otherwise. What is the Filipino translation for wife? “Maybahay” Literally, “Maybahay” means, “Owner of the house.” When it says, “The wise woman builds her house,” the personal pronoun “her” does not imply collective ownership between husband and wife, right? The pronoun “her” declares who the owner of the house is.

Anyway, if wives control household budget and financial concerns, does it mean that women should always be the one who decides how to spend family finances? It also added the foolish woman tears down her house. Meaning, wives or women are financially educated, if they can handle finances prudently, wisely.

Most often, married couples have problem about who may budget their money. Married couples should discuss among themselves who should budget.

Never Enough

There’s a wife who said that their family financial support is never enough. When she was asked about their monthly expenses, she cannot specify how she spends their money. Apparently, she needs financial education about budgeting.

Another wife handled the transaction when they sold their house. Sadly, the wife ran away with the money, and the husband was left with nothing.

Yet there’re Christian wives who wisely manage their family business, and their husbands are very much active in the ministry. God bless them even more.

Together, let us seriously reflect on what it admonishes in Proverbs 3:5-6.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do you interpret that it’s conditional for the Lord to make our path straight? What is the prerequisite for the Lord to make our path straight? Trust in the Lord with all our heart and not our logical reasons or arguments. To submit to him in all our ways, we prioritize the Lord no matter what we plan or decide, which also means that we seek inspiration of his Holy Spirit for everything we think, say or do. Then, he removes obstacles and makes our path straight and successful.

What practical step should we take? Seek inspiration of the Holy Spirit and read the Scripture. When the Lord gives you practical step you should take, then, prayerfully ask for strong confidence in him to decide firmly without hesitation.

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