Work and stewardship

The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and whoever protects their master will be honored.
Proverbs 27:18

The word of God is very clear when addressing a subject, therefore it should not be a surprise the accuracy and simplicity with which it addresses the most important issues of our lives. Two of these issues are work and stewardship. In these two subjects the word of God establishes and reinforces the concepts that should guide the life of God’s children. Work and stewardship are functions assigned to man from the very beginning of the existence of the human race. Our father Adam was assigned various tasks by the Lord in the garden of Eden so that he was not idle. Man was given the task of dominating the earth and multiply himself to put it into submission. God also placed man in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. Additionally, Adam was in charge of naming all the animals that God had created. Regarding stewardship it is clear that the task of cultivating and keeping the garden refers to this aspect. Even after Adam’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden he was in charge of working the ground from which he had been taken.

Our Lord Jesus Christ made reference to these two issues very strongly by means of the parables he used to teach people about the kingdom of God. Among these parables we can refer to the parable of the gold coins and the parable of the wicked tenants. In both parables Jesus spoke of the importance of stewardship and work. The apostle Paul also commented at length the issue urging everyone to work, not to be idle and to be always expectant and in readiness for the return of the Lord. Let us not ignore, then, in view of these teachings and exhortations to live a holy life dedicated to the tasks the Lord has entrusted to us. In due time the Lord will reward us with honor for the loyalty and commitment we have shown in carrying out the works which he prepared from before the foundation of the world for us to do. Only to God be the glory!

Stupidity reigns

The wise inherit honor,
but fools get only shame.
Proverbs 3:35

The Proverbs of Solomon is a book of contrasts. In its lines and paragraphs we can see the contrast between the righteous and the evil, rich and poor, obedience and disobedience, the peaceful and the violent, the generous and the stingy, integrity and perversion, the proud and the humble, the wise and the inexperienced, the sober and the drunk, the diligent and the lazy, insolence and respect, the gossip and the discrete, patience and impulse, you name it, the list goes on and on. However, the more common contrast in this book is between the fool and the wise. When we observe the current state of humanity we see that fools far outnumber the wise. Because of this, some cynics have concluded that the basic characteristic of the human race is stupidity. No wonder some mock the theory of evolution because, according to it, man should be more perfect every day and on the contrary we see that stupidity is increasing. There’s even an honor out there called the Darwin Award given to those individuals who protect the gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives. Darwin Award winners eliminate themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving the human species’ chances of long-term survival.

What a contrast between stupidity and the wisdom that the son of God has. A Christian who properly grows and matures in the faith will always be looking to act wisely and avoid folly at all costs. When you sit down to analyze your life, what do you find to be more prevalent wisdom or folly? When you compare your life against the standard of the Word of God to whom you are most like, the wise or the fool? It’s in your hands, with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, to seek to transform your life and stop being a common being and becoming a useful tool in the hands of God. What do you say to this? Draw near to God with reverence, humility and obedience and you will enjoy the riches that the wisdom of God has prepared for those who walk in its trails. Only to God be the glory!

Absurd honor

Like tying a stone in a sling
is the giving of honor to a fool.
Proverbs 26:8

By definition, a fool, is not worthy but of pity and mercy and that only when there is hope that sometime in some way he can be regenerated. Otherwise one cannot feel but contempt or rejection for a fool. However, every day we can see how fools are honored everywhere in the world. The masses driven by their own ignorance and the clever tricks of their leaders treat fools as gods to whom they must render honor and loyalty. Some would argue that they do it to be able to get something to feed their mouths and their need forces them to bow to injustice and corruption, but the fact is that this servile and hypocritical behavior has no justification.

As children of the Most High, God has given us insight and wisdom to not fall into the mistake of applauding the foolish conduct of imbeciles. Please discard any justification you’ve used so far to excuse your unworthy and servile behavior  and seek God’s guidance and the knowledge of his will for you. It is unacceptable that after having been redeemed by Jesus Christ you now have to depend physically and morally on a corrupt handout. Seek and you will find true wisdom. Lend a deaf ear and you will fall even lower. Only in Christ you can find the solution for your life.To God alone be the glory!

Acknowledgment

You armed me with strength for battle;
You humbled my adversaries before me.
You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed my foes.
Psalm 18:39-40

King David’s greatness was to recognize the limits on its own strength and lean on the strength of God. Moreover, the example of King David is valuable because it teaches us not just to rely on the strength of God but also that we must give him credit for the victories. Egocentrism, that element so prevalent in our sinful nature often causes us to attribute the successes to ourselves when in fact the glory belongs to God and to him only. This happens to us in everything we undertake. We are always leaning on our own knowledge and skills to carry out our dreams and plans and forget all about him who really has given us everything, starting with life.

When writing your curriculum vitae, Who do you attribute the authorship of the achievements that you want to highlight so those who read this document know how valuable you are? At the end of the day, Do you congratulate yourself or on the contrary you offer a prayer of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for all he did for you? When difficulties arise, Who you go for help if indeed seek outside help? Here is the instruction that King David gave his son Solomon: “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” [1] Let us always acknowledge God in our path and give Him the glory that only he deserves. To God alone be the glory!

[1] 1 Chronicles 28:9

Today’s word for April 3, 2011

Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
Proverbs 3:16-17

If all the riches of the world were to be distributed among all people of the earth, there would not be enough money to make everybody a millionaire. In fact, everybody would be poor. Not so if what were to be distributed was wisdom. The source of wisdom is inexhaustible; there is much more than enough to go around. To gain wisdom is something relatively easy to accomplish, in fact, too simple. However, very few are wise despite the abundance of wisdom that is available for all. We have said it before: fear of the Lord is the key to wisdom. We have also said that to have fear of the Lord does not mean that we need to be afraid of Him but that we must show reverential respect and obedience towards Him. To understand what the fear of the Lord is, we need to be able to communicate with him. To be able to communicate with Him, we need to know Him and to have a relationship with Him. Only one thing stands in our way to prevent the above mentioned steps to happen: sin, which blocks all possibility of communication with God because it separates us from Him. In Jesus we can find the solution to this quandary, because He took upon Himself all the sins of the world so every obstacle preventing us from having access to the Father would be removed and we could have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. How easy and yet how difficult it is for man to understand these things!

Now we, who have had the privilege of knowing God, let our lives be full of the fear of the Lord so we may receive wisdom from above and so we may partake of all the benefits it entrails. Then, we will live long lives full of honor and riches, walking along pleasant ways, enjoying peace and all other benefits that come along with it. Let us share with others what Jesus has done for us so they may also have access to the blessing of being made children of God and the privilege of walking down peaceful and joyful paths. There is more than plenty of wisdom from above for all who come to Jesus! Only to God be the glory!

Today’s word for March 30, 2011

Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
Psalms 149:5

There is nothing that fills our lives with more joy than to know that God is on our side, or rather, to know that we are on God’s side. The mere consideration of the attributes of God and the wonders he has achieved by his powerful hand is reason enough to rejoice and feel the need to release our emotions through praise. God is always acting for our benefit, but most of the time we don’t even notice because our attention is focused on the things of the world and not on the glory of God. Sometimes, we even complain to God that it seems that He has forgotten us when in fact, it is we who have forgotten Him. This is the typical attitude of a spoiled child whose egocentrism is nourished and strengthened by clumsy parents who do not realize that by bringing him up in such a way may only bring regrets later.

The life of a child of God should be a life of constant growth and learning, whose goal is spiritual maturity. This maturity is only achieved through submission to the learning plan that God has established for each of us according to our personality traits. Not everyone learns the same way but everyone can learn. This also applies to the children of God. Our goal is maturity and this can only be achieved by paying attention to the Master in the classroom of life. Let us prepare ourselves, then, with joy to live in the world of considering the work of God and rejoicing in the praise of His name. Thus, the joy will spring from our pores in a supernatural way and will never run out. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word 3-20-2011

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife,
but every fool is quick to quarrel.
Proverbs 20:3

Conflict has always existed and will always be present around the human race. To try to resolve our differences through violence and confrontation is simply a basic characteristic of our humanity. We do not have to go too far from the beginning of human history to find the story of the Cain, the murderer. In this narrative we can clearly see evidence of the sinful nature that he inherited from his parents as a result of the fall. Abel, his brother, inherited the same sinful nature as Cain, but at least Abel would be more in control of it. Conflict rarely brings resolution and peace. The most likely outcome from conflict is escalation, which makes it increasingly difficult to put an end to it. Conflict brings a curse. When God confronted Cain for what he had done, Cain tried without success to hide behind a lie. Later, God curses Cain and condemns him to a life of wandering and to be a fugitive with no opportunity to cultivate the land or enjoy its fruits. From these events will come later in part, during the Middle Ages, the fantastic and quite popular story of “The Wandering Jew.”

Between human beings there will always be conflict because it is inherent in the flesh. The apostle Paul includes in the list of the works of the flesh, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; all of these ingredients are more than sufficient to trigger conflict. Therefore, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” By making good use of tolerance and forgiveness we will be showing to others the love of God. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word 2-26-2011

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
honor is not fitting for a fool.
Proverbs 26:1

Those who deny the existence of God see themselves as the center of the universe. Their “reality” is only that part of creation that they can detect through their senses. They only use reason ─with some minor modifications, obviously─ to convince themselves that their ideas are right and that the rest of humanity lives under the delusion that there is a Supreme Being. Their view is that since they can not see or hear God, he does not exist. Their science ─that a priori does not recognize God─ is based on the stochastic process─ here you have a new word, look it up in the dictionary and construct a sentence with it─ of evolution and a universe that emerged from an explosion (Big Bang) of concentrated matter. Of course they never bother to explain where that mass came from and how it reached that high state of concentration. They cannot explain how life started either. For them it is enough to assume for a fact the infinitesimal probability that supports their theories, not realizing that it is just that, a probability, and incidentally, infinitesimal. They do not realize that probability, as a coin, has two sides. So when talking about probabilities, we must also consider improbability which carries a heavier weight.

With God we have two options, ignore him or accept him. If we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we will be given life. If we reject him, we will remain on our previous condition, that is, spiritual death. To accept Christ means, among other things, to overcome, once and for all, the chronic stupidity that comes attached to mankind’s sinful nature. If you still do not have Christ in your heart, let your foolishness become wisdom through the transforming power of God. Open your mouth and say “Lord Jesus, I need you. I believe in you. Forgive me and save me. Take control of my life.” The veil placed over your heart will be immediately removed and you will see the glorious reality of salvation. To God alone be the glory!