Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Proverbs 22:22-29
Prov 22:22-29
22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, 23 for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them. 24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 26 Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you? 28 Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set. 29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
1 Thess 4:10b-12
But we urge you, brothers, to do this [love one another rf ] more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
It is amazing to me how many times we are told to mind our own business and not to be busybodies. This means that Robert is supposed to take care of Robert and Suzie is to take care of Suzie. This closely aligns with what Jesus said when he told us to not worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own. It is a hard lesson for some people to learn but none of us can change the other person. We may help them to want to change, but it is up to them to do it.
Johnny Cash wrote a song about not judging others and said that when he wrote it, it seemed like a really good message. But he said the more he sang it, the more he realized how much the song fit him and if he took care of his own faults, he wouldn’t have time to work on other’s faults. Remove the sawdust from your own eye before you try to take the log out of another person's eye.
Work hard with your own hands so that you will have plenty to share with those who are in need. Use what God has given you to help your world be a better place because you are in it. Be an encourager and one who lifts others up when they are down. Never take advantage of a person who is down and out because God looks out for the poor and rewards those who help them instead of robbing them.
O Lord my God, thank you for being my Father and for sending your Son to save me from my sin so that I can live forever with him and with you. Help me be more devoted to you and to living in a way that pleases you. Give me wisdom to know how to understand and to apply your word to my life. Lord, there are so many of your people that are living in danger of their lives because of their faith and many others who lack daily necessities. Use me to help where I can but even more, I ask you to protect them and provide for them. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
