When men choose to reject the truth, God tends to withhold further truth from them. The result is spiritual and intellectual darkness.
There are two categories of sin: sins against God and sins against man. By default, every sin is against God. Yet, not all sin is against man.
The people of God are to be a people full of the love of God, and as such, they should place the utmost value upon the lives of the innocent.
Be sure to carefully read today’s verse. A basic definition of discretion refers to someone who seeks out knowledge concerning a conflict and then uses wisdom to arrive at the right decision. On the other hand, ungodly anger unwisely reacts without discretion. It is therefore logical that discretion defers anger. Any individual who thrives on anger often does so by neglecting knowledge and wisdom. He fails to patiently consider every perspective and detail before rushing to judgment fueling his fury. Discretion may delay a reaction, but when one does react using discretion, his reaction will be righteous and helpful for all involved even when his reaction might involve anger.
Rebels are sometimes known as loners. Today’s scripture says that this trait can be attributed to their desire to keep their distance from righteousness. Many who would be identified by these terms do not disassociate from sin or sinners. Instead, they disassociate from truth and righteousness. Righteous thoughts and words have been known to melt the hard heart. They penetrate the rocky soil and begin to break down pride and rebellion. In order for a rebel to remain in his rebellion, he must keep a distance between himself and the truth. The very concepts of righteousness and rebellion refuse to coexist. Hence the battle rages: as the Lord works to draw man’s attention to righteousness, the Devil fights to keep man’s distance from it.
God often allows problems to enter people’s lives in order to facilitate His initial plans. For example, God had already expressed His desire to Abram for him to separate from his kindred. For various reasons, Abram had not obeyed God up until this point. In order to bring about God’s desired will, He allowed conflict to enter between the herdmen of Abram and those of Lot. The solution to this unnecessary conflict was quite simple. Abram suggested that they part ways (God’s initial plan) and Abram turned toward the land of Canaan (God’s initial plan). The Lord used the same tactic in the early church to get them to spread out and to preach His word outside of Jerusalem (see Acts 1:8 and Acts 8:1).
Although jealously is one of God’s attributes, envy is not. Rather, envy is a product of a sinful nature found only in mankind. It is important to note that long before envy manifests itself outwardly, it first devises its plan within the heart (Mark 7:21-23). Unfortunately, this characteristic is not limited exclusively to the wicked but also frustrates the righteous. This reveals why Solomon warned his son to guard his heart against the dangers of envy. According to Job, envy slays (Job 5:2), and it often slays the instigator with the victim. Every believer must battle daily to avoid allowing envy to overtake his heart and defile him.
When a loved one passes away, mourning serves as an important part of the healing process. However, believers should never sorrow in the same fashion as the world (1 Thessalonians 4:13), yet mourning is acceptable and proper when grieving the death of someone. In Bible times, people seemed to take mourning very seriously. In fact, the initial mourning period at times was quite lengthy (Genesis 50:3; Numbers 20:29; Deuteronomy 34:8). There were even people whose purpose it was to assist in the mourning of those departed (Jeremiah 9:17). Grieving is a natural part of man’s process in dealing with the loss of loved ones. Failure to give time to properly mourn often prolongs the process and hinders the individual from dealing with the loss.
Few people would readily admit to trusting in lies; however, any individual placing his trust in something outside of the words of God is in danger of doing so. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord warned His people of this danger on numerous occasions (Jeremiah 7:4, 8; Jeremiah 13:25; Jeremiah 29:31). Even today, people all over the world choose to bow down to idols and images, thinking these creations of wood, stone, or metal can assist them in some way. Other people who would never think to bow to an idol place their trust in education or something similar. Unfortunately, there are going to be multitudes sorely disappointed for they have unwittingly placed their trust in the lies of this world.
To trust in someone or something involves an act of the will. The focus of this trust is something that each individual must personally decide. David expressed as much when he said, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). David identified a few of the many things upon which one might trust. The Bible also refers to those who trust in vanity (Isaiah 59:4), others in lies (Jeremiah 7:8), and still others in riches (1 Timothy 6:17). Interestingly, the Lord does not force any individual to trust in Him, nor is anyone ever forced to trust in the things of this world. It is important to point out that one’s trust cannot be divided. An individual cannot simultaneously trust in vanity, riches, or lies while trusting in the Lord.
