Proverbs 29:18-27 — Be scared of the soul-killer...?

READ THIS: Proverbs 29:18-27

18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. 19 Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond. 20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. 21 A servant pampered from youth will turn out to be insolent. 22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins. 23 Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor. 24 The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify. 25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. 26 Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. 27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

Verse 25 stands out among the verses for today. Being worried about what the people around us think is simply a trap. God is the one who has the power to hurt us or to help us in the most important ways.

Before Jesus sent out the twelve disciples on a missionary adventure, he gave them a little speech, kind of like how Dan/Liz do before a group goes on a mission trip or retreat (except Jesus's is much better). This is part of what Jesus says:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.             -Matthew 10:28-31

We don't need to be worried about what the people beneath us think, or the people above us, or the person who is angry, or the person who thinks that they are better than we are, or the person who always has something quick to say (which, if you take note, are all types of people mentioned in the Proverbs verses!). No, none of those people can truly hurt/help us the way God can. They have no bearing on our souls or our character or our relationship with God. And, say we do have a deep rooted issue with someone, God is still the one who judges between us and that person (26). Which...can sound scary, but the One who is judging and who has the power to kill our souls, is the same God who knows us so intimately that He would die for us and continually invite us into His presence!!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1.  Who scares you the most in this world? Why? What can that person do to hurt you?

2.  When is it alright to be scared? If we can't help but be worried or scared, what should we do?

TRY THIS:
 
Lowkey a bit of a spoiler for question 2, but go to God right now with your answers/thoughts/concerns that came up in answering questions 1 + 2!

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