Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24

24:29 "Do not say, 'Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.'" Just as we discussed last Wednesday at church, we tend to want to take the Golden Rule and turn it on its head, an evil twist on "an eye for an eye." When someone does something distasteful to us, we think, "I'm going to show him how it feels..." We forget that the Lord says "Vengeance is mine." Our human wisdom wants to try to get others to feel as we do, but God's standard says to love the person and serve him/her regardless what he has done to us. Impossible to do unless we are walking in the Spirit.

24:33-34 "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest," Then your poverty will come {as} a robber And your want like an armed man."
Sometimes we just get so tired that we need to rest. The problem is inertia sets in ("objects at rest tend to stay at rest, objects in motion tend to stay in motion"). If we cultivate a habit of being at rest, we never have the energy for anything. If we are moving, in motion, seeking the Lord, and looking expectantly for His leading, He will guide us and continue to give us the strength to "run and not grow weary." God designed us with a need to rest (one day in 7). We should have a lifestyle of remaining in the Lord, resting in Him. But resting does not equate with inactivity or putting off until "tomorrow." God created us for service unto Him.