Word to the Wise: Your Heart Reflects Who You Are!

I am not a big fan of mirrors.  I try to spend as little time in front of a mirror as possible.  I may spend 4 minutes in front of the mirror combing my hair and brushing my teeth, but that is about it.  Whether we like what we see in or not, the mirror gives a perfectly accurate reflection of our physical appearance.  If there are sleep lines on our face, imperfections on our skin, or our hair is out of place, a mirror is going to let us know.  The more time we spend in front of a mirror the more imperfection we see in ourselves (maybe that’s why I don’t spend much time in front of the mirror, I want to remain as ignorant as possible of my imperfections). In the same way that we use a mirror to reflect back to us the physical condition of our face, there is a place we can look into our lives where we can see the spiritual condition of our entire being!

Where in our lives can we look to have our spiritual condition reflected back to us? 

READ:  Proverbs 27:19

Here’s our WORD TO THE WISE for the week from the book of Proverbs:  Your HEART reflects who you are!  What is our heart?  How does our heart work? Why is our heart important?  Here are a few important things to understand about what our heart is, how it works, and why it is important . . . 1)  Our heart is the SOURCE of our ACTIONS and our BEING (Mt. 12:34-35, 15:19, 6:21; Mk 7:21-23; Lk. 6:45), 2)  Our heart is where God LOOKS into our lives (1 Samuel 16:7), 3)  Our hearts CHANGE when we allow God to lead us (Ps. 139:23-24).  Whatever is in your heart is who you are, . . . and that is where God wants to relate with us!

The wise TRUST in the Lord with all their heart (Prov. 3:5-6) – Where does your confidence or security lie?  For some it lies in a relationship (eg, friend, boy/girlfriend).  For some it lies in our abilities or talents (eg sports, music).  For some it lies in their appearance.  Sadly, for most all of us our trust, security, and confidence lies somewhere within ourselves.  Trust in ourselves might work temporarily but it will not give us any long-term confidence or security.  The Lord God is the only one who is worthy of our 100% “trust”, security, or confidence.  Relationships will fail us, our abilities and talents will come up short, our appearance will fade, but trusting in the Lord with ALL of our heart will make our path we are walking in life straight.

The wise are TESTED by the Lord in their heart (Proverbs 17:3) – A crucible or a furnace is used to heat gold or silver in order to remove “dross”.  Dross is a useless impurity within gold or silver that is removed when it is refined or purified with intense heat.  Dross is worthless and its presence in gold or silver diminishes its value.  You and I have worthless impurity in our hearts that needs to be removed.  Just like a crucible or furnace is used to refine gold and silver, God tests our hearts by applying “heat” to our lives in order to remove impurity so that only what is valuable remains.  God’s testing of our lives may be painful, but the end result is something more beautiful than gold and more valuable than silver!

The wise are to KEEP their heart (Proverbs 4:23) – There are many things that we will defend or protect with our lives . . . our family, our possessions, our reputation, our country, our rights.  We will physically and emotionally fight to protect these things because we do not want them to be exposed to danger.  In the NIV Prov. 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  If there is one thing that is worthy of shielding in order to keep safe, guarded, and protected, it is our heart!  We must “keep our heart” because God knows that any evil that we intentionally or casually allow into our lives can take our hearts hostage and make a permanent impression inside of us.

CONCLUSION:

What place does Jesus Christ have in your heart?  1 Peter 3:15 says, “in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord”.  Jesus Christ must FILL our hearts, He must be given 100% rule and reign over our hearts which will result in a transformation of our thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions. If Jesus Christ is the Lord of our lives and He is living in and through us . . . the reflection of our hearts will be beautiful!!!

Word to the Wise: Fear The Lord First

First things first!  There is always a proper order in which things should be done.  A prerequisite (pre-requirement) is something that is required as a prior condition in order for something else to happen.  Very simply, a prerequisite is something that must be done first at the beginning of a process.  We experience a number of prerequisites in life.  After school, finishing our homework is a prerequisite before getting to watch TV or play on the computer.  At supper, eating vegetables is a prerequisite before getting dessert.  In school, completing certain classes is a prerequisite before moving on to the next subject.  If we do not fulfill a prerequisite, we are not allowed enjoy or experience whatever follows.  Prerequisites are not optional, they cannot be skipped over, they must be done first!

So, when it comes to obtaining wisdom, are there any prerequisites? What comes first? 

READ:  Proverbs 1:7, 9:10

Here’s our WORD TO THE WISE for the week from the book of Proverbs:  FEAR the LORD First!  What is the fear of the Lord?  The “fear of the Lord” is a deeply profound REVERENCE and RESPECT for God.  The fear of the Lord is THE mandatory prerequisite before obtaining wisdom!  In the process of obtaining wisdom, the necessary place to begin is with the proper reverence and respect for God.  Before we try to apply any individual proverb to our lives we must fear the Lord.  Fearing the Lord is essential in our pursuit of wisdom, it is the required starting place if we are going to obtain and live a life of wisdom.  Thus, the opposite is true, if we do no fear the Lord, our lives will be void of any godly wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is our MOTIVATION to turn away from EVIL (Prov. 3:7, 8:13, 16:6) – I want my children to have a healthy fear of me . . . not just the possibility of discipline.  I want my integrity and character to influence what good my children decide to do and what evil they decide to avoid.   I want my children to have such a deep reverence and respect for the way I conduct my life that it motivates them to imitate me.  God is the only one who is deserving of reverence and respect, He is holy and His character is perfect.  A healthy fear of the Lord will help us to “turn away from evil”.  What we know and understand about the character of God will be a holy incentive to say “no” to the things that contradict with what we admire about His character.

The fear of the Lord provides CONFIDENCE (Proverbs 14:26) – Our culture teaches us that our confidence (or lack thereof) comes from our self-esteem . . . either our positive or negative view of ourselves.  This way of thinking says that we will experience as much (or as little) confidence as we trust in our own talents and abilities.  The problem is talents and abilities are extremely limited.  We will continually lose confidence because we will continually fail ourselves.  The only way to maintain an unfluctuating, unswerving “strong confidence” is by fearing the Lord.  When we fear the Lord we are not trusting in ourselves, but the One who is able to provide us with whatever confidence we need in any and every situation.

The fear of the Lord brings BLESSING and REWARD (Proverbs 22:4, 28:14) – In our house, allowance is a reward for doing chores and keeping rooms clean.  I’m pretty confident that most weeks allowance is the only reason any work gets done at all!  We are motivated by reward and blessing.  God “rewards” those who fear Him with riches, honor, and life, and He “blesses” those who always revere and respect Him.  Pursing the reward or blessing cannot be what is first, but it is a benefit for those who have feared the Lord first.

CONCLUSION:

Make no mistake about what should be first in our lives . . . the fear of the Lord.  HE is to be our prerequisite before everything else.  In answering a lawyer’s question about what the most important commandment in the Old Testament Jesus answered in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.”  According to Jesus, loving the Lord is the prerequisite before a single one of His commandments.  It’s pretty clear, God requires HIMSELF to be first in our lives!

Word To The Wise: Avoid The Way of Wickedness!

Popular culture is a barometer of the moral values of our society.  The most recent public display of popular culture was provided for us by Miley Cyrus’ performance at the MTV VMA’s.   From some of what I’ve seen and read, it would be an understatement to say that her performance was extremely inappropriate.  According to an article written just 5 years ago by CPYU when Miley was 15, she grew up in a Christian home and that she was a, “grounded, authentic, humble kid who has not let fame and fortune get the best of her”, and that she is, “one of the best role models out there for the emerging generations and is a shining light on a dark industry.”  It appears that Miley, when she came to the fork in the road, chose not to pursue the path of righteousness.

Rather than criticize the path Miley Cyrus’ has chosen, instead we must give serious consideration to whether WE have and are walking down that path with her!  We must take seriously the wickedness in our own lives.

READ:  Proverbs 4:14

Here’s our WORD TO THE WISE for the week from the book of Proverbs:  Avoid the way of WICKEDNESS!  What is the way of wickedness?  The “way of wickedness” is living life as a willing participant in evil and sin.  Wickedness is living life and making choices that are contrary to God’s perfect design for all things in life.

The way of the wicked is DEEP DARKNESS (Prov. 4:19) – One of the highlights of our annual student ministry fall retreat is the night walk.  During the night walk our group walks on a path through the woods at night in the pitch dark.  No flashlights or anything to illuminate our path.  Without light, students yell and scream at the unexpected sounds and terrain that they experience along the way.  It is a relief at the end of the walk when we get closer to the main camp and our path begins to be illuminated by the lights of the camp.  The way of the wicked is “deep darkness”.  By participating in evil and sin we flip off the light switch of God and His truth in our lives. Without the light of God and His truth we will stumble around in the darkness, oblivious to the dangerous consequences of our wicked words, attitudes and actions.

The way of the wicked is an ABOMINATION to the Lord (Proverbs 15:8, *9, 26, 21:27) – God loves everybody, right?  Yes, true, but at the same time God is a harsh opponent of evil and sin.  God has a holy hatred for sin and a righteous indignation for wrong.  Wickedness, evil, and sin are an “abomination” to the Lord.  Habakkuk 1:13 says that God’s eyes are too pure to “see evil” or to even “look at wrong”.  And it is not just the evil and sin itself that is an abomination, but the person who willingly participates in it.  With evil and wickedness in our lives, WE are the abomination! 

The way of the wicked leads to DESTRUCTION (Prov. 10:27, *14:11, 21:12) – Every action movie has a scene where the evil villain is defeated or destroyed.  Whether it’s Loki being defeated by the Avengers or Emperor Palpatine being destroyed by Darth Vader, we cheer and experience relief when the wicked are defeated and justice is executed.  Why would we expect any less of a response from a holy and righteous God toward the wicked!?!  We want a just response from God, we just don’t like to think of ourselves as the ones who are wicked and deserving of destruction.  And yet, without Christ, we are enemies of God and will receive just punishment for living our lives on the way of wickedness (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:1-4).  

CONCLUSION:

Proverbs warns us to stay away from the way of wickedness.  In Matthew 7:13 in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said that, “the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction.”  According to Jesus there are two ways you can identify the way of wickedness . . . it is wide and it is easy!  The way of wickedness will be attractive because it popular, well-traveled, and free of resistance, suffering or difficulty, but at the end of the path there is destruction.  No matter how attractive the way of wickedness might appear, we would all be wise to avoid it and instead enter the path or righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ!

Word To The Wise: Pursue The Path of Righteousness

In August 2013 my wife Marianne and I went on a vacation in Fort Payne, Alabama.  We had no money, so we spent our days together enjoying the beauty of God’s creation at a few state parks in the area.  The first day we went on a hike through the Little River Canyon National Preserve.  We hiked on paths along the river canyon with waterfalls and whitewater.  Throughout the hike there were forks in the path and we had to decide which way to go.  Often, the paths looked similar, if not identical, making the decision which path to take difficult.

The book of Proverbs describes life as a walk on a path.  There will be one specific fork in the path and a choice must be made which path we will take.  Proverbs reduces the paths we can choose from in life to two options . . . the path of righteousness or the path of wickedness.  The “righteous” and the “wicked” are contrasted in 49 different verses in Proverbs.  It’s pretty clear from Proverbs that the paths of righteousness and wickedness go in completely opposite directions and ultimately end up in two completely different destinations.  They are both clearly marked throughout Scripture, but it’s easy to get deceived into making the wrong choice.  Which path do you think that wisdom would have us choose?

READ:  Proverbs 12:28

Here’s our WORD TO THE WISE for the week from the book of Proverbs:  Pursue the path of RIGHTEOUSNESS!  What is the path of righteousness?  The “path of righteousness” is living life in right relationship with GOD and right relationship with OTHERS.  Righteousness is living life and making choices according to God’s perfect design for all things in life.

The path of righteousness is WELL LIT (Prov. 4:18) – A sunrise is beautiful!  I don’t see them very often, but it is beautiful to see the world gradually transition from the darkness of night to the full light of day.  Living life is much easier with the light of the sun because we can see clearly and we are not hindered by the darkness.  Walking on the path of righteousness in life is like walking in the light of “full day”.  It’s bright and we can see clearly what we are doing in life.  What is the source of light that illuminates the path of righteousness?  A righteous life is illuminated by the truth of God and His Word (Ps. 119:105).  God’s truth and His Word are the like the light of the sun guiding our steps and leading us on the path of righteousness.

The path of righteousness is SAFE (Prov. 18:10) – Medieval civilizations built huge castles and towers in order to protect themselves from attacking enemies.  The stone walls were built deep into the ground, tall in the air, and thick so that no one could go under, over, or through them.  The immense walls kept them safe.  There are a multitude of dangerous enemies on the path of life, but the righteous are kept safe by the “name of the Lord”.  It is the Lord Himself who is our strong protector who keeps us safe in life.  Choosing the path of righteousness provides a God-sized shield of invincibility (Ps 118:19-20)!

The path of righteousness leads to LIFE (Proverbs 11:19, 12:28, *21:21) – What is the meaning of life?  That is a question that everyone is looking to answer.  Answering that question gives us a framework from which to live our lives and find the joy and happiness we are looking for.  There are those who would say that “whatever” path we choose to walk in life is the right one, . . . whatever makes us happy.  According to the book of Proverbs, true life can only be found on the path of righteousness.  True life is found when we pursue righteousness and live in right relationship with God and others, there is no other path that will truly satisfy.

CONCLUSION:

How do we get on the path of righteousness? Do we obtain righteousness simply by making right choices?  NO!  Romans 3:10-23 says, “none is righteous, no, not one”, but instead we gain, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” Getting on the path of righteousness begins with a choice to acknowledge our wickedness and put faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  Word to the Wise . . . Pursue the path of righteousness by believing in Jesus Christ!