Thursday, September 3, 2015

Proverbs 28:19-20 -- On Patience and Risk

"He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent."
Proverbs 28:19-20


These verses are emphasizing patience, which is something we are not often good at.  Also, I think God is saying that there is a right way and a wrong way to get things, and when we try to take shortcuts it usually lands us in trouble.
If we want bread, there are ways to get it legitimately, without stealing or trying to get handouts.  We work to get it.  And if we don't go about it the right way, we risk poverty, as the natural consequence.
If we want blessings, including riches, there is a way to get those too... through obedience: working for it, albeit sometimes in a more spiritual way than for bread.  If we try to cut corners there, we're risking our innocence, which I take to mean that we will have to sin to get there.
Today, let's not risk poverty or sin in trying to get what we want.  Let's talk to the Lord about our desires, and seek them in the way that he has prepared for us.  Let's work on having patience and work on having what we need in the long term rather than trying to take shortcuts and risking the future on our desire for immediacy.

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