Wednesday, February
8, 2017
Where there
is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18(KJV)
So far we have seen that lack
of vision (divine guidance) produces perishing
(lacking direction or purpose). Alice in
Wonderland had no idea how to get out of the hole in which she’d fallen. Considering she had no direction, Wonderland
became Wander-land…an aimless moving from one fascination to the next.
The Proverb writer was
saying that’s not humanity’s goal, and in order to grow into what we were
created for, there must be discipline. And
even if we don’t understand the why
we must still comply, because God is sovereign and we are the creation of His
hand.
A second reality we bump
into with this wonderful verse is:
SPIRITUAL FAMINE IS WORSE THAN PHYSICAL FAMINE
Chaos in the physical realm is bad; for instance not having any discipline
in a diet to restrict food intake (in my case) will result in a porky preacher
in the pulpit. Chaos in the political realm is also bad;
for instance not having a government to restrict criminals. But chaos in the spiritual realm is the absolute worst!
Why is it the worst? Prove it, you say? Glad to.... Just how long will your physical
life last? How about the politics here
on earth? How long will this old world
be around? Scripture says that the grass withers, the flower fades, but the
word of our God shall stand forever.
(Isa 40:8).
I can say with conviction that spiritual
famine is worse than physical neediness, for the simple fact that the life we
live on earth is short, and eternity beyond this life is long. Simple arithmetic at this point should tell
us that you do better to invest for the long term, and not the short haul.
A four year-old child would tell you in a
heartbeat that if there is ice cream to be had you shouldn't spend your money
on okra! But even if that child were
educated on the relative down-side of ice cream, that it is filled with
cholesterol, sugar and fats, as opposed to the health benefits of okra, which
is filled with vitamins and non-fat iron, chances are a child will still, 99%
of the time, choose a double scoop of chocolate fudge! That's because a child is immature; he is a
child big on natural desire and small on healthy discipline. An adult, on the other hand, MAY choose more wisely! Maybe!
See the same thing in the spiritual
sense. A spiritual infant starved of
Bible Study and regular worship makes the same mistakes...only they are
mistakes that affect his eternity!
Here is an example (one among many) of spiritual
immaturity in the Old Testament. Led by
Joshua, God's people were conquering the Promised Land. There was a man among the soldiers named
Achan. God had told them that in their victory
they were not to touch a single bit of the conquered enemy's possessions...it
was all holy to the
Lord. This one man, Achan couldn't
understand why God prohibited it, and disobeyed. He had no strong faith, disciplined to
believe that God knew what He was doing when He said not to take any of the spoils
of the war. Achan took some, hid it in
his belongings, and God judged the whole nation for one man's sin. Achan's spiritual famine cost thousands of
lives, the defeat of Israel at the hand of a much inferior army, and eventually
his own life.
How many churches today have Achans stunting
their growth? Spiritual famine is far
worse than missing a meal or two.
For You Today
At
what point does your spiritual discipline break down? And does it have the ability to affect others
in your family, neighborhood, workplace, or church?
NOTES
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