Family Unity: My Role

Ok, I'm back. In all honesty though, my summer schedule didn't allow me to write much of anything.

Well, anything, really.



A Proverb that caught my attention in a big way this past week was Proverbs 15:27:

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

but he who hates bribes will live.

Before I start into my thought process on this verse, I wanted to look up the definition of "bribe" for expansion of clarification in my own mind, if not for yours also.

The first definition is a bit technical: 

"A price, reward, gift or favor bestowed or promised with a view to pervert the judgment, or corrupt the conduct of a judge, witness or other person. A bribe is a consideration given or promised to a person, to induce him to decide a cause, give testimony, or perform some act contrary to what he knows to be truth, justice or rectitude..." (1)

The second definition is much simpler and hits more at the heart of how this verse convicted me:

"That which seduces." (2)

Three words that, when strung together, carry heavy meaning. They kind of scare me, actually. Also, the result of a bribe is most commonly 'unjust gain', as the verse says.

To be unmistakably clear up front, I am not by any means interpreting the strict meaning of this verse, but rather sharing the conviction that the Lord brought to me through it as an offshoot.

So, as to my very first thought upon reading verse 27, it went something like this:

"Yeah.......

...........

......Wow."

The Proverbs of the Bible very frequently state the results of one action or attribute, and then in contrast, that of the opposite action or attribute. If you're a diligent reader of the book of Proverbs, that was an obvious statement. 

I don't think I'm off in believing that the purpose of this method of writing is to make very clear the wisdom that the writer means to impart to the reader, no matter how simple he/she may be. It works, right? The Proverbs are certainly not guessing games. You can't pretend to be confused or baffled by them. The vast majority of them, anyway. It's like telling someone, "If you jump off that 100-foot cliff, you'll die. If you don't, you'll live".

But I digress.

The first half of this verse, "Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household", in my own heart, quickly translated into this concept:

Seeking my own desires, being greedy with my "own" time and resources does not lend to unity in my household, namely my family. 

The heart of God, among other things, is family unity, because it is a pattern set by the Godhead. It pleases the Lord, and thus it must be, and by the grace of God has become, very important to me. But if I am going to live out my belief in the immense importance of family unity, I need to know my role, and how to exercise it. This verse gave me some insight.

If applying my mind to knowledge and understanding means secluding myself for hours at a time while sacrificing the needs of my family, I am not lending to family unity.

If I am being diligent in my work around the house, but placing that above spending time with my younger sibling loving and (coming alongside my parents) discipling them, I am not lending to family unity.

If, in anything, I am exampling self-indulgence, no matter how righteous the use of "my" time may be, and a negative response to the denial of my desires, no matter how good and acceptable they may be, then I am leading my younger siblings astray, and not lending to family unity.

Along those lines, Proverbs 18:1 says that whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire. 

Family unity is a result of love, and love only comes from God, because God is love, (1 John 4:8) and thus defines love. One of the places in Scripture where He defines love is in 1 Corinthians 13, where it is stated that love does not insist on its own way. 

In conclusion, for there to be unity in Christ, we must not insist on our own way. 

But I don't have the capacity to be concerned with "our". All the ability God has given me is to be concerned with my own life before Him. So, by His grace, and through His strength, that's what I'm going to.

In Christ, Emily

(1), (2) Taken from Webster's 1828 Dictionary

Wisdom Vs. Foolishness

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
~Proverbs 10:23

What you find amusing, interesting, and entertaining speaks volumes about your character. Here are just a few examples:

• What do you find yourself laughing at? 
• What kinds of movies/books are you drawn to?
• Who do you like to associate with, and why? Is it because they keep you accountable, or because you can get away with foolishness and evil without being "judged"? (Keep in mind that the only people who use that word are the ones whose consciences are being eaten away at, and they don't want anyone to tell them they're doing anything wrong.)
• How do you use your time on the internet? Would you be okay with your parents (wife, husband, siblings, fill in the blank) knowing all your web history?
• What does your everyday speech consist of? Gossip? Crassness? Impurity? Slander? (All these elements can appear in extremely subtle forms, unless you're deeply and consistently in tune with God's Word.)

Instead, we must take pleasure in, and strive after, wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7) You can't have one without the other. Just like you can't have a garden without having seeds first. If you don't have the Word deeply planted in you, you won't bear good fruit.

Here's the question: is wisdom a pleasure to you, or is it a pain in the neck, so to say? Does it attract you, or does it annoy you?

Look carefully at what grabs your interest, and examine it: does it flirt with foolishness, worldliness and evil? Or is it full of wisdom and understanding?
Are you loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? (Mark 12:30) For (possibly unnecessary) clarification, if you only "love" Him with a small section of your mind, thinking about God sometimes, and the rest of the time filling your head with impure thoughts and images unrepentantly, that is NOT loving God.

Here's the good news: God can take and old, gross plot of dirt and turn it into something beautiful and full of good fruit. Let's pursue wisdom together, and see how God uses our lives for His glory.

What Does "Dying to Self" Mean?

          I think I am learning. Well, a very small portion of it, anyway.

     

          Lately I've been noticing how selfish many of my habitual, every-day motives are. I think of myself more than I ought. More often than not, I value my own will and (self-determined) well-being more than I value those of others around me. The other day, God opened my heart to how ridiculous some of my actions and reactions are.      For example...

          Why do I scoff when my mom asks me not to add a certain ingredient that I prefer to the meal I am making for my family?

          Why do I grumble when my parents advise me not to purchase a certain thing, or when they tell me that it's not the best time for me to get driving hours?

          Do I realize the irony of inwardly complaining when I've been told to watch my younger siblings outside when instead, I want to read a book on relationship with God and building faith and character?

          Well, now I do.

          Why do I let such small matters cause me to sin and fall subject to my own selfish desires?

          The answer is simple: my flesh is alive and well, and by not living my life as unto the Lord in every minuscule aspect of it, I am giving my flesh the power to rule over me.

          But God is faithful to bring to completion the good work in me that He began, and He isn't done with me yet!

          I suppose He won't be until the minute in which I take my last breath in this world, and move on to be with Him in His heaven. And I hope, with all of my being, that He will be able to say, "Welcome, daughter; and well done, my good and faithful servant."

          On a related note, I've seen the parallels between selflessness and joy. To expound on this briefly, I've discovered that when you are not focused on your own desires, there is more ease and joy in serving and obliging others. A certain heaviness and constant discontentment leaves your soul, because you are not seeking your happiness in the obtaining of your own wants, which are impossible to always satisfy. Instead, your goal is to please others, and that always seems to be easier than pleasing yourself.

          Also, when you are truly denying yourself, your whole outlook on life and general every-day attitude is transformed. It's more positive, more apt to seeing the good and pure in people, in situations, and in circumstances, than if you were constantly seeking the gratification of your own will.

     

          So, I am being taught a lesson in selflessness. And I am learning it much more deeply now than I ever thought I may have learned it before. 

          I do not want to lose sight of this thing happening in me, and my constant prayer is that I do not become complacent or apathetic in my walk with Jesus. Whoever may be reading this, I hope you will pray for me as well.

          

         

     ~It is He who works in me~