Archive for January 6th, 2008
Humility?
Humility is a quality of strength that is so often scorned. It is seen as week — or at best, boring — in the view of most folks today. So we invest so much of our time and our energy in appearing strong and in control. We want folks to know we have power. We try to garner attention to ourselves and promote our own accomplishments. We don’t think we need to listen to others. We want to prove ourselves and run with the “in crowd.”
Proverbs 1, our reading for today, emphasizes that without humility, however, we rush headlong into our own traps because we scorn godly wisdom. To be wise means we must submit — submit to God and to those who are wise and have gone before us. It means we listen to words of wisdom even when it runs against the grain of the “in crowd” or the popular rowdies around us.
So the Spirit of God anchors wisdom in the ultimate of humilities: “the fear of the Lord.”
//Inspiration: Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
//Incarnation: What this verse means to my life today
So often I get excited about something and want to do it right then. I don’t want to wait. I don’t want to be patient. I don’t want to take the time to wait on the Lord and seek the input of godly counselors. I hope, however, that by now I’ve learned that such a course is not only arrogant, but it is foolhardy. Humbly waiting on the Lord is essential. Knowing that I don’t know what I need to know and realizing that I don’t have the wisdom for many of life’s most important decisions is the difference between walking in the will of the Father and rushing into a trap of my own making.
//Invitation: My prayer for today
O Father, use your Holy Spirit to strengthen my patience and open my heart to hear your counsel as I focus on doing Your work and Your will in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Click the comments link below and share your input on today’s readings!
Here a couple of questions to get you started, but feel free to add whatever you like to the discussion.
What is the verse that speaks most powerfully to you and why?
What makes it hard for you to live out God’s will for you in this passage?
What did you think about Phil’s take on this passage?
(The daily Bible reading schedule can be found online with Heartlight or hard copy out in pdf.)