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A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor have this in common: the Lord is the maker of them all. Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of anger will fail. Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them. (Proverbs 22:12, 8-9, 22-23)
May this be a wonderful Wednesday for you dear Friend! May your needs and fears be entrusted to the Lord, and may He graciously bless you is my prayer. Today is one of my favorite days of the week because at 12:10 pm we have our midweek Bible study. We're in the book of Acts and God is blessings us with new insights about the impact Christianity had on individuals, communities, and nations. I trust you are in a Bible study group. If you're in the area you're free to join us; or find one where you live to bless your life!
You hardly see late-night commercials for getting a good name and for building integrity. What you do see are shows, infomercials that show you how to get great riches, how to buy and sell gold, and why silver is what you should invest in. (I'm making this up! I hardly stay up late any more!) But the writer of this proverb passage speaks of the true value of a good new and favor among people. You can lose your riches, but you can never lose your good name if you are a person of integrity; the same is true for silver and gold. And it is not a sin to be rich; it is a sin to be more in love with your possessions than with the things of God. Rick Warren, who started and built up Saddleback Church into a huge mega church in California, wrote a book that changed his life; A Purpose Driven Life. That made him a multi-millionaire. He never changed his lifestyle; kept his home and the old truck he drove, but it did make him realize what he says often; "It's not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to die rich."
The writer of this passage is believed to have been King Solomon. You talk about a rich man, Solomon was it. Yet, his wisdom never clouded his vision on certain things, such as what he shares about the rich and the poor; "The Lord is the maker of them all." This was to show that we must not show favor towards one group or the other. This passage is very closely tied to yesterday's lesson; we must treat all people the same. Solomon is led to say that throughout out life we are planting seeds of one kind or another. He sums it up in the verse that says, "Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity and the rod of anger will fail." This means, be careful to plant that which blessed you later on down the line. Be calm, count to ten before anger ruins everything. He also believes that those who are generous are people who are blessed, because they invest or sow acts of kindness, like giving food to the poor. And though, he was rich, and king of one of the most powerful nations at the time, he cared for those less fortunate. He cautions against robbing the poor or taking advantage of the afflicted; for God is the One over them, and would protect them in just ways.
So, stop and reflect on decisions we have made these past few days. Have we thought about the implications or consequences of our actions? Have we made a long-range plan of how we might be blessing someone not only today but in the days to come? Those are good seeds to plant. To plant seeds seeking revenge or seeking only wealth and not compassion; those are bad seeds. Our aim is to grow the Kingdom of God with a rich harvest of love and mercy, compassion and justice as the fruits we hope to reap one day; and those will come only through the seeds we plant today. So, plant a seed of love and kindness; God will take care of the rest.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bestow seeds of love in my heart. Let my heart burst forth with a rich harvest of live and kindness for all people. May I know, through You, what seeds best serve You and Yours. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek to be a seed of joy for those around you!
Eradio Valverde
