God's Wisdom for Daily Living
Devotional Scripture
Proverbs 21:3-4 (NIV):
3 To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin.
Thought for the Day
Verse 3 - Living consistently with integrity toward God and our fellowman pleases God more than an occasional sacrifice with fasting or giving up something important. It is not easy to live a disciplined life. Our human nature is such that we tend to become slack in doing what we should. God desires to lead us into a lifestyle of righteousness that is not erratic.
Sometimes we think outward actions, such as good works, giving tithes and offerings, etc, are sufficient to please God. God, however, desires a relationship with us. Sacrifices may help us live unselfishly and uprightly before God, but they should not be motivated by a desire to pacify Him or to earn His love. They should be the natural results of loving Him and walking in faith and obedience with Him. " “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. " (Matthew 23:23).
Verse 4 - Pride causes a man to feel that he is above others, thus looking down on them, revealing that he considers himself superior to them. Earlier in Proverbs, we found a list of seven things that are an abomination to God. A proud look heads the list: " There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: aughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. " (Proverbs 6:16-19). God resists the proud and exhorts us to humble ourselves before Him. "...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you ...Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:6-7).
Where the King James reads "plowing" in verse 4, the Amplified Bibles reads "tillage or lamp of joy." The good things in this world, like food (tillage) and entertainment (lamp of joy), can become stumbling blocks for us, if we do not honor God in them. God made these things for us to enjoy. However, if we pursue them with our time and money so that we have little time to spend with God or to do His will, they become sin to us. Jesus said that if we seek first His kingdom and righteousness, that all those things would be added unto us (Matthew 6:31-33). Pride in any form will cause us to sin and set us up for a fall. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever" (1 John 2:16-17).
Prayer Devotional for the Day
Dear heavenly Father, I am thankful that You have always supplied all of my needs. Help me to always trust You and not to worry about having a supply of food and clothes and the other things that I need in this world, but to just seek You and Your will daily in my life. Lord, I want to be more concerned about having a pure heart in Your sight than any material thing. Lord, I humble myself in Your sight and ask You to remove all pride and critical attitudes from my heart. Give me a heart of mercy and love for others and most of all, I want to always love You and follow You in all things. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
