Godly Character
(Prov 11:5,6 MSG) Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life. Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.
In this passage Solomon, once again, contrasts the life of the Godly with the life of the ungodly. The purpose of these contrasts is to show us a better way. The reason the Father goes to these great lengths – verse, after verse, after verse of contrasts – is to drive home the point that we have a choice.
There are two options. We can either live with God or without Him. We can choose to accept or reject Jesus. We can choose to allow Jesus sit on the throne in our lives or we can sit there and guide our own life by our own counsel. But just remember the Words of Paul, “Don't be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant” (Gal 6:7).
These two verses flow in the same vein as verse three, where Solomon said, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” When the Holy Spirit guides us, when we walk in integrity, when we apply God’s truth to every aspect of our lives, it makes for smooth traveling. The ways of God are clear and safe. Now, does that mean that we will be free from challenges? Of course not, but what it does mean is that we will not get ourselves into unnecessary trouble. There is a difference between facing a challenge and reaping a harvest.
Solomon says that the evil life is a hard life, because in addition to facing the challenges that we all face, the wicked also have to reap the continuous harvest from the unrighteous seeds they sow every day.
You and I, as believers, should be walking in the counsel of God and thereby sowing seeds of righteousness. So we might face our occasional challenge – because we do have an enemy, don’t forget that – but we won’t add to the challenges with unrighteous seed.
Actually, as we sow seeds of righteousness, on a daily basis, we set ourselves up to reap a continual harvest of godliness. So even when we do face challenges, we have the added benefit of God’s grace, mercy, favor, and divine harvest. With all of that going FOR us, then we are more than empowered to face whatever comes AGAINST us!
In the sixth verse Solomon tells us that good character is the best insurance. While the ways of the wicked open them up to destruction, the ways of God provide us holy security!
The more we walk with the Father, the more we learn to hear the voice of the Spirit, the more we apply His wisdom to our lives, the more we transform our thinking to line up with his thinking, the more we will develop our character into Godly character. Once our character is developed into Godly character, it becomes our insurance. It will protect us from sowing the wrong seed and thereby keeping us from reaping the wrong harvest.
So what does this mean to you ? It means that the Kingdom of God operates by the principle of sowing and reaping. If you don’t like the harvest you are reaping, then it is time to check the seed you are sowing. Insure you are doing all you can to develop in Godly character.
As you develop in God, as you learn His ways, as you transform your old thinking (by the Word of God) into Godly thinking, and as you learn to make decisions that line up with His desire for your life, you will be developing your character into a Godly character. Living your life His way makes for smooth traveling. The alternative is a hard life! Jesus came that you would have and enjoy life (John 10:10). So determine to sow the right seed, so you can reap the right harvest!
Father, I thank You for providing me Godly counsel, for sending me people that can teach me Your Word, and for teaching me, personally, every time I open Your Word. Your Word is the rule for my life. Your Spirit is my guide. I declare, by faith, that I learn to apply Your Word, to think like You want me to think, to feel the ways that You want me to feel, and to make the decisions that You want me to make. As I do, I am developing Godly character and it will make for smooth traveling through life! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Prov 11:5,6 MSG) Moral character makes for smooth traveling; an evil life is a hard life. Good character is the best insurance; crooks get trapped in their sinful lust.
In this passage Solomon, once again, contrasts the life of the Godly with the life of the ungodly. The purpose of these contrasts is to show us a better way. The reason the Father goes to these great lengths – verse, after verse, after verse of contrasts – is to drive home the point that we have a choice.
There are two options. We can either live with God or without Him. We can choose to accept or reject Jesus. We can choose to allow Jesus sit on the throne in our lives or we can sit there and guide our own life by our own counsel. But just remember the Words of Paul, “Don't be misled — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant” (Gal 6:7).
These two verses flow in the same vein as verse three, where Solomon said, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” When the Holy Spirit guides us, when we walk in integrity, when we apply God’s truth to every aspect of our lives, it makes for smooth traveling. The ways of God are clear and safe. Now, does that mean that we will be free from challenges? Of course not, but what it does mean is that we will not get ourselves into unnecessary trouble. There is a difference between facing a challenge and reaping a harvest.
Solomon says that the evil life is a hard life, because in addition to facing the challenges that we all face, the wicked also have to reap the continuous harvest from the unrighteous seeds they sow every day.
You and I, as believers, should be walking in the counsel of God and thereby sowing seeds of righteousness. So we might face our occasional challenge – because we do have an enemy, don’t forget that – but we won’t add to the challenges with unrighteous seed.
Actually, as we sow seeds of righteousness, on a daily basis, we set ourselves up to reap a continual harvest of godliness. So even when we do face challenges, we have the added benefit of God’s grace, mercy, favor, and divine harvest. With all of that going FOR us, then we are more than empowered to face whatever comes AGAINST us!
In the sixth verse Solomon tells us that good character is the best insurance. While the ways of the wicked open them up to destruction, the ways of God provide us holy security!
The more we walk with the Father, the more we learn to hear the voice of the Spirit, the more we apply His wisdom to our lives, the more we transform our thinking to line up with his thinking, the more we will develop our character into Godly character. Once our character is developed into Godly character, it becomes our insurance. It will protect us from sowing the wrong seed and thereby keeping us from reaping the wrong harvest.
So what does this mean to you ? It means that the Kingdom of God operates by the principle of sowing and reaping. If you don’t like the harvest you are reaping, then it is time to check the seed you are sowing. Insure you are doing all you can to develop in Godly character.
As you develop in God, as you learn His ways, as you transform your old thinking (by the Word of God) into Godly thinking, and as you learn to make decisions that line up with His desire for your life, you will be developing your character into a Godly character. Living your life His way makes for smooth traveling. The alternative is a hard life! Jesus came that you would have and enjoy life (John 10:10). So determine to sow the right seed, so you can reap the right harvest!
Father, I thank You for providing me Godly counsel, for sending me people that can teach me Your Word, and for teaching me, personally, every time I open Your Word. Your Word is the rule for my life. Your Spirit is my guide. I declare, by faith, that I learn to apply Your Word, to think like You want me to think, to feel the ways that You want me to feel, and to make the decisions that You want me to make. As I do, I am developing Godly character and it will make for smooth traveling through life! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment