No Lyin' About a Lion

"Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

 The sluggard says, "There's a lion in the streets!" 

Proverbs 26:12-13

The Book of Proverbs.  It's a Spirit-filled treasure chest overflowing with golden nuggets of wisdom.

God designed it that way. When He saved us He knew we would desperately need guidance of wise teachers to show us the blessed way to live for His glory. And so, we have the literal words of God written down for us in our Bibles. We'll always find gold when we are digging in the Scriptures, whether we're looking for advice or to gain more knowledge. 

The Book of Proverbs warns of the dangers of living like a fool. "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinion"  (Proverbs 18:2). "He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe" (Proverbs 28:26). 

We have to decide. Do we want to be our own god and put our trust in ourselves? Well, it's the path of the fool. There are so many huge, hindering rocks on that path, like pride and self-centeredness. It's the path of a control freak, who experiences lots of anxiety and fear. Yep, I learned this the hard way: experience.  We are not in control of the universe, God wisely,powerfully and lovingly rules all things! 

So our other choice is the path of wisdom -- living and loving God's way. It is a supernatural way to live. You have to know God and faithfully follow Him on this path to know how awesome He is! That requires us to humble ourselves with the Holy Spirit-led insight that we need a Savior named Jesus. 

Look at Proverbs 23:13, the man says there's a lion in the streets because he doesn't want to go to work! He uses the excuse--the lie, actually -- that there's a fierce lion outside! The ESV Bible commentary on the Proverbs 23:13-16 states, "Four proverbs reflect on laziness that works against well-ordered human existence and against life itself."

Charles Spurgeon's comments on verse 13 says: "He invents bugbears to excuse his idleness. Any falsehood will serve as an apology for his laziness. How doubly wicked is this: but a lazy person is capable of anything."

Busted. Yep. Caught lyin' about a lion. What a waste. It was only a dog. Stop your lying and get to work! "All hard work leads to profit" (Proverbs 14:23). 

It's not too late for any of us to turn to God in repentance and faith and receive a fresh start with His amazing promises for "life in abundance!"  (John 10:10).

Think about this. We always find a way to do what we really want to do. Yes, we do. We will do whatever it takes to juggle our schedules to do it. It's (sinful) human nature. And we will make excuses (lie) to not do what we should be doing... for the glory of God. 

Hey, it's 2019. God will only speak truth. What are we going to do with this beautiful,  supernatural power from God? "Diligent hands will rule but laziness ends in forced labor" (Proverbs 12:24).

Polly💕

Matthew 5:16