Tiny Devotional for Saturday, 05-22-2021

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, Alicia Ann made scrambled eggs.

The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord
Are riches, honor, and life.
Proverbs 22:4, NASB

There are two kinds of people who don’t understand the meaning of “fear of the Lord”: tyrants, and the arrogant.

Tyrants are always looking for ways to inspire terror into others. They exaggerate the dangers that we all face, so that they can control the weak. When the natural dangers aren’t enough, they invent something. 
In a religious context, they preach terror of the Almighty, and terror of the Enemy, and screech that the only path from oblivion is through their particular practice. They place a heavy emphasis on all the things you CANNOT do. 
It’s NOT the gospel message.

The arrogant speak slightly differently. They say, “I reject a God we have to be afraid of. Why should we have to fear? I believe in a god of love, who accepts us, just as we are.” 
And, while there ARE strong elements of truth in what they say, look beyond their words. Invariably, these are people who are really just looking for a toy they can play with, not a deity. They want to be able to do whatever they want to do, without having any consequences. 
It won’t work, PRIMARILY because almost all consequences are logical outcomes of our behavior, and not direct interventions from the Almighty.

‘Humility’ means you understand your own limitations; ‘fear of God’ means you understand He is without them. How can we not be drawn to the perfect? How can we be otherwise than reverent? 

That’s how the payoff happens. 

Peace be on your household.


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