Gulp...it's me

When you read Proverbs, do you find yourself saying, "who is this 'fool'?" "Who is this 'wicked person'?' "Who is the 'righteous'?"

I do. And then I reason, Oh, the wicked person and the fool is the unbeliever. The righteous are the believers made righteous in Christ, as Paul says.

And this is true.

But, I just glimpsed a more relevant meaning. A more applicable meaning. A more realistic meaning.

The fool is...me. The wicked person is

me.

Me in my sin. Me in my natural tendency, my flesh. Me in my own ways. Me without God's help.

Hmmm. I'll be reading Proverbs a little differently now. Heh.

Not what but how

The  more I read the New Testament, particularly the epistles, the more I see that God is not so concerned with what, but how.

I get so contorted with anxiousness about the what: what to-do item to tackle first, what to feed my family, what to be doing with my time, what to buy on amazon. And I so remember that "what" angst with life decisions that seems to start in  high school: what college to go to, what job to take, what man to marry, what city to live in, what house to buy. 

It's so important! 

But...I am really seeing that God is more concerned with how.

(And the right how leads us to the right whats.)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, (how)

And do not lean on your own understanding. (how)

In all your ways acknowledge Him (how)

And He will direct your paths.

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (how)

I was just sitting here thinking, do I really care what my kids do with their free time? I mean, I do. But do I care much what they draw or paint or build? Do I care if they're playing with dolls or legos or Paw Patrol? Certainly I care and I'm interested and I love to hear their play babble.

But I care far, far more about how they are playing: are they getting along, do they have peaceful loving hearts, are they joyful, are they sharing, are their words to one another encouraging and building up, are they working in harmony together and out of love for the Lord?

And those things--mixed in with their own uniqueness and creativity--are what make their play-babble so beautiful to my ears and the rejoicing of my heart.

And what drives me crazy? Not when they change activities (unless they don't clean up the first...which rarely happens actually...we're working on it, ha). 

But when they start fighting. When they grab. When they hit each other. When there's a cutting word, or they turn a deaf ear to a call for help.

Wow, 23 results for "love one another" in the New Testament. It's amazing to skim through those and hear the heart of God. And then most other NT commands are the "how" of that love.

"Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another..." I Peter 4:8

Lord, renew my mind with this truth! So that I can love my fellow Christians and fill Your heart with joy. <3

Infinitely MORE delicious and fun

How exciting must God be

if His gifts alone keep us busy and addicted for a lifetime!

...and distracted from the Giver.

Impossible

Sin is essentially telling God, "I don't need You. I can do this on  my own."

I am so foolish!

I'm like a sunflower seed saying to the sun, "Please don't shine on me. I can do this growing and blossoming thing on my own."