2007-11-23
Good Morning Cherished of God,
The Holy Spirit directs me to continue going through the comparison of MT 6: 24-34, Christ's Sermon on the Mount words about material things [mammon] with the ideals the Lord sets up in the description of the woman in PR 10: 10-31. For the sake of this discussion these personality traits described actually apply to both sexes. Remember that there is an ideal given in the PR passage for each of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and we have already looked at aleph, beit, gimmel, dalet, hay, and vav, PR 31: 10-15. Today, we will look at zayin, which represents PR 31: 16, "She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard."
The first thing we can notice is that our ideal person 1) has a discerning eye for what is to be bought. That means he knows value when he sees it, and isn't afraid to bring that value into his life. This sort of reminds me of my own husband who plays bridge beautifully. He looks at his hand of cards, and often will pause to evaluate and analyze what he has and what he can do with it. In other words, he formulates a plan and, as long as things go as expected with the play of that hand, he sticks to it. 2) If something unexpected happens, he adjusts his plan accordingly to maximize his hand's value. We must ask ourselves if the expenditures we make of our material wealth are carried out this way. Do we think about the impact on ourselves and others of our expenditure? Do we consider how important it is to ourselves and our family? How about what that expenditure will do to the building of God's Kingdom? If it's a discretionary expenditure, have we taken care of our necessary ones first? Tough questions? You bet they are, but they are important ones to consider. Remember our Lord's words about taxes in MK 12: 17? "Well, then, pay to Caesar what belongs to the Caesar, and pay to God what belongs to God." We must also think of Abram's actions in GN 14: 20. He had just come back from a victory over Chedorlaomer and the other kings, freeing his nephew, Lot. Spoils of victory had been taken, and Abram returned to Mechizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. "'May the Most High God, Who gave you victory over your enemies be praised!' [ Mechizedek said in his blessing of Abraham]. And Abram gave Melchizedeck a tenth of all the loot he had recovered." 3) If we must ask the question of how does one recognize value, the answer can be found in the Scriptures. If this purchase is in line with God's will, it will be made without negative consequences. There will be a peace about it. 4) Remember that to do this, one must familiarize himself with the word of God. I believe our ideal person is taking the time to do this.
Look at again at PR 31: 16. It's clear that the land will benefit her family. Consider this in comparison to her buying silk scarves for herself to see what I mean. Remember that our ideal person here is industrious, in addition to the already established ideals of being a valuable person, trustworthy, righteous, one who values family, organized, wise, and willing to follow though on that wisdom. This land will be used for righteous purposes. 5) If we step back and look not only at the value of this purchase, but the use to which it will be put, we can learn more in the decision-making on the use of our material wealth. In PR 31:16, the ideal person uses it to plant a vineyard, which will produce grapes and/or lead to production of wine. The grapes and/or wine can be sold to bring income into the family unit. In a larger sense, look at the wise use of a congregation buying land to expand its ministries. This happened recently in our congregation, as we are outstripping our physical facilities where we are. The land was dedicated to God and will be used to expand outreach to a community that is 60% "unchurched" for the Lord Jesus. As long as our congregation follows through on this goal, then it's material resources will be used wisely, to the benefit of God's Kingdom.
We can't examine an issue like this without some consideration of God's wise and compassionate use of His resources. The Father's most valuable Resource is His Son, Jesus Christ. The "expenditure" of this Resource on the cross has enormous benefits to us, even through we were His enemies at the time. If there was ever a reason for us to use God's word as the Source of discernment in the use of our material resources, it is Christ's unselfish sacrifice on the cross to open a way to salvation for us! God's plan is the greatest plan ever devised. It is His plan to carry out His mission statements in JN 6: 39-40 and EPH 1: 4-5, to bring back as many of His human creation as possible to His side in heaven for an eternal life of bliss and sweet fellowship with each other and with Him. The ideal person in PR 31:16, 6) supplies his family, making sure that his children see a great example of putting Kingdom matters first, just as Christ in MT 6: 33 asks us to do. So, we learn that our ideal person 7) uses resources with wisdom to benefit the Kingdom of God.
PRAYER: O Lord, our heads are bowed in reverence to You. We are awed by Your unselfish use of Your most valuable "Resource," Your Son, Who suffered, died, and was raised again as the "first among many brothers" [RO 8: 29], so that we might have the opportunity to escape the bondage of sin and certain spiritual death. At one time, we were Your enemies and still, You did this for us! You have made us Your friends [RO 5: 9-11]. When we repented and proclaimed genuinely our faith in Him, You sent us the Holy Spirit to indwell in us and to act as Your Mouthpiece. He gives us Your guidance [PS 25: 4-5; PS 37: 23-24], and He helps us to understand Your word [JN 14: 16-18, 26]. When we are troubled, He encourages us. PS 145: 14, 17-19, "The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all those who bow down...The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made; the Lord is near to all who call on Him. He fulfills the desires of all who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them." When we are having trouble making decisions, He encourages us to pray for help, and You supply the wisdom from Your word that we need. PR 32: 8, "The Lord says, 'I will teach you the way you should go; I will instruct you and advise you.'" 2 TIM 3: 16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed." Dearest Abba, You have equipped us fully to have discernment in everything we do, including the expenditure of our material resources, mammon. You have given us this wealth, so that we can use it for the good of Your Kingdom. By our setting a good example for our children and grandchildren in using our wealth responsibly, encouraging them to reject our worldly society's pressure to be materialistic, and to love You, we are doing our part to help establish Your Kingdom. By giving cheerfully [2 COR 9: 7] to support Your work and those in need, we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, live up to the ideals You give us in PR 31: 10-31 and MT 6: 24-34. We offer You our gratitude, worship, adoration, and praise. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Next week, we will examine the next ideal in PR 31: 17, represented by the Hebrew letter, chet. It isn't always easy to look at God's big picture, His Kingdom, when we are sorely tempted to make impulse purchases. When we see that shiny new car we want or that new electronic device, we tend to get it the minute we can. Some people not only don't consider whether this purchase will further God's Kingdom, but they don't even pause to see if they can afford it. That's when huge consumer debt builds up and interest rates mount. Because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, we who believe now have the choice to pause and ask if a purchase to be made will further God's Kingdom. Being a parent or grandparent is the most important task God will ever give us, even more important that being President of the US! If we don't have children and/or are not married, we still need to set a godly example for our nieces, nephews, or other people whose lives are impacted by us. The future of God's Kingdom is tied up with how children are being raised, the decisions we make in giving our time and resources to reaching out to the yet unsaved, and what we do as a part of God's congregation, the Body of Christ. Believe it or not, God gives us the power to beat down the evil one's attempts to separate us from Him by sin [EPH 1: 18-20]. He gives us prayer and His word as immediate channels to Him for His wisdom. We do not have to be defeated by temptation, if we make the choice not to be. And along the way, we have the Holy Spirit, Who by His love for us, encourages us to remember God's greatest desire is to bring us back to Himself. That's how much our Lord loves each and every one of us! Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn