Proverbs 29
I would offer that the word love is not a verb, it is a noun. It is not a thing you do. It is the light that you are made of and what you were created to be.
Free Will
1 Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.
2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
3 The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.
4 A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.
5 To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet.
6 Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.
7 The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all.
8 Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger.
9 If a wise person takes a fool to court, there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.
10 The bloodthirsty hate blameless people, but the upright seek to help them.
11 Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.
12 If a ruler pays attention to liars, all his advisers will be wicked.
13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common- the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both.
14 If a king judges the poor fairly, his throne will last forever.
15 To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.
16 When the wicked are in authority, sin flourishes, but the godly will live to see their downfall.
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.
19 Words alone will not discipline a servant; the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.
20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.
21 A servant pampered from childhood will become a rebel.
22 An angry person starts fights; a hot-tempered person commits all kinds of sin.
23 Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.
24 If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify.
25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.
26 Many seek the ruler’s favor, but justice comes from the Lord.
27 The righteous despise the unjust; the wicked despise the godly. (NLT)
insights
Proverbs 29:6
There is much to be joyful about! Hear that and believe it! God gave us free will to choose his love or not. When we focus on God and his love for us, we are released to express our joy. Then why do we experience sorrow?
God knows that without some sorrow in life, we would have no capacity to appreciate that which brings us joy. Kahlil Gibran expressed this concept beautifully in his book, The Prophet, saying “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.”
Just how much does God love you? Just listen to this and choose to love Him as He loves you.
Proverbs 29:13
Rich or poor, weak or strong, powerful or oppressed…the Lord has given us all the same free will opportunity to seek Him in wisdom. We all have the capacity for sight. Even those who may not have the gift of sight in the physical body, still are capable of spiritual vision. We can either chase after him blindly or work at seeing this world as the Lord sees it. When we can see as He sees and weep for what makes Him weep, then we are ready to fulfill the task he has set before us.
Proverbs 29:26
In exercising our free will we will all make some good choices and some bad ones. We have all heard the phrase “life is not fair” and have felt at some point that God must not really care about us. We may have felt guilty thinking the bad fix we are in is solely due to a bad choice we have made.
It is at these times when we must stop looking for our fulfillment to come from the world, but rather from He who is our true Provider. There will be times in life when we grow by leaps and bounds, and other times when pruning is necessary.
Even in times of deepest darkness He is still there for us. He is our hope and our strength, and if we allow Him to guide us through the darkness, we will discover in the light of day that even those dark times were ultimately for our benefit and part of His plan.
lynnibug
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