Proverbs 11:28-31 — Meaningless, meaningless…

READ THIS: Proverbs 11:28-31

28 Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf. 29 Whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives. 31 If the righteous receive their due on earth, how much more the ungodly and the sinner!

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Solomon, the guy who wrote the book of Proverbs, loves to talk about the things in life that last forever and the things in life that don’t! The book of Ecclesiastes talks a lot about how the things of this world are “meaningless” in comparison to knowing God, and these verses are very similar. Here’s a list of things in these verses that won’t last: worldly riches, pettiness and family strife, and the products of foolish and ungodly behavior.

However, these verses also talk about a few things that not only last, but thrive and give life! The first thing we see with this description is righteousness, or pursuing and trusting what God calls us to do. Another thing listed with this description is the fruit (or the product) of righteousness… remember the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians? When we display things like love, joy, and patience, we are like a life-giving tree that can help save the lives of those around us… but how? When we display the character of Jesus to the people around us, that can be a way for them to take a step toward a relationship with Christ, which saves them! 

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. What is something in your life that you really wish could last forever? 

2. Just because things in this world won’t last, that doesn’t mean they aren’t important! How can you share the fruit of the Spirit in the places in your life that you know won’t be in eternity? 

TRY THIS:

Interesting fact about these verses: they all bring up something about nature! Verse 28 talks about thriving like leaves, 29 talks about the wind, 30 talks about a tree, and 31 talks about the earth! Take a look at the things that God has created today and thank Him for His creation!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Galatians 2:1-5 — Marathon Training

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:1-5 1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about how Paul went to Jerusalem and shared the incredible things Jesus did, but today, we are hearing about Paul's second time visiting Jerusalem... 14 years later. Paul talks about a bunch of things that happened ...
Read more

Luke 8:19-21 — Jesus's Fam!

R EAD THIS:  Luke 8:19-21 19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Ummmm, hold up, is Jesus dissing on His family here? I mean, I know He is God's Son and all, but at first glance, this passage makes it seem like He is kind of hating on His family! However, if we really look into this passage, it's actually a lot more about us than it is about the family of Jesus.  In case you forgot, the last few passages have features Jesus telling and explaining different parables to a large crowd as well as His disciples. Clearly, the crowd has gotten so large that Mary and Jesus's brothers (yes... Jesus had brothers!) couldn't even reach Him. When someone told Jesus "hey dude, your fam is here an...
Read more

WELCOME BACK! Hebrews Introduction

WELCOME BACK TO DEEPLY ROOTED!!! Greetings fellow Bible readers and Jesus journey-ers! We're stoked to get back in the swing of things with y'all. For any new readers, this section would usually be where our handful of Bible verses will be. The section below would break down what in the world the verses mean. Then, there are some debrief questions for you to dive deeper and an application point. A new addition this year is the Song of the Week! We'll share a song that ties into the theme of the next few verses...if you gaze ahead and have song suggestions, comment below or text! HEBREWS INTRODUCTION: As with any book of the Bible, different Biblical scholars say different things about this letter, but we'll tell you the most probable take. So here it is: Hebrews is a letter written to a group of Jews who were being persecuted for deciding to follow Jesus. It is a letter to encourage them and to show that Jesus truly is the best person to follow despite how hard it was g...
Read more