Prov. 22
I have been struggling with discipline. Overall, I think most would say that I am a fairly disciplined person, with the self-motivation and self-control to mostly keep me out of trouble. But there are little things that I constantly cave to and make the wrong, or least beneficial, decision. I came across a quote recently (no idea who said it) that says, “Discipline is choosing between what I want now and what I want most.” I like that, but knowing it doesn’t necessarily help one make that better choice.
All of this came to mind when I read Proverbs 22:3 this morning. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” I looked up the word “prudence” and it is “acting with or showing care and thought for the future”. Interesting. Another definition I saw confirmed my suspicion – a prudent person is “marked by wisdom or judiciousness.” So how does one get discipline? By seeking wisdom, of course! I am not suffering from lack of discipline, I am suffering from a lack of wisdom! The good news is that we can increase wisdom simply by asking – there is hope!!
Speaking of wisdom, Proverbs 22:26-27 speaks to the wisdom of not living on credit. “Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?”. Interesting that the wisest man who ever lived speaks so plainly about the foolishness of doing something that has been such an acceptable practice for quite some time.
Prov. 23
So why do so many live on credit? Between the constant barrage of marketing, telling us how great our lives will be if we just buy their product, and seeing all the nice things that others have, we allow envy to override our sound judgment. Proverbs 23:17-18 says, “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off”. And I would add “fools” after sinners there.
I need to daily remind myself to fear the LORD and seek His wisdom that I might exercise prudence in turning away from that which is harmful to me, no matter how much it looks like the right thing is wrong and the wrong thing is right (or at least more desirable). Bottom line – I know that my future and my hope are found in God alone.
Prov. 24
Proverbs 24 reinforces this line of thought. In verse 1 it says, “be not envious of evil men…”. Verses 13-14 say that wisdom is as honey to your soul and, “if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” And one more time, verses 19-20 tell us to not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked because they have no future and their lamp will be put out. So let us be steadfast in our quest for wisdom. And let us not be distracted by what the world has to offer!
Acts 4:1-22
So much to think about and comment on in the passage. But I am going to go with a more obscure thought here. I noticed in an earlier passage, when the disciples received the Holy Spirit and Peter gave his speech, that Luke, the presumed author of the book of Acts, noted that the number of believers following that event came to about three thousand. And after this healing of the lame man and Peter’s subsequent speech, he notes again that their number increased to about five thousand. Now how did Luke know such a thing?
Clearly, in both of these instances, Peter did not just make a pretty speech and go on about his business. It seems quite likely to me that there was both acknowledgment on the part of those who believed and follow up on the part of the disciples that had to have taken place. Perhaps there were some who believed in their hearts but, for whatever reason, did not make their decision known to the disciples or join their ranks (in which case, I would question the longevity of their commitment). Showing people the path to redemption is only the first part of the story. Isn’t their acknowledgment and the follow up the bigger part of ministry? It took a lot of teamwork – probably on the part of those original 120 that were in the room when the Holy Spirit descended – to bring almost five thousand followers into the fold.