Tiny Devotional for Sunday, 07-16-2023

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, can you believe how big the grands are getting?

When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Proverbs 16:7, NASB

I got a new understanding of this verse today. In the past, I thought it meant that the Lord made the man’s enemies be at peace with the man. 

This morning, though, as I’m bouncing through the Hebrew, I can’t find evidence to support THAT interpretation over this one: 

When my ways please God, I’m also ending conflict with my enemies.

Consider this:

Q: What happens when you try to placate your enemy?

A: You are giving your pearls to swine; they trample them, and then attack you.

For the last hour, I’ve been thinking about relationships with various people that bordered on enmity. With one possible exception, they all took place before I became an adult.

I’m not saying that my adult life has been conflict-free; far from it. It’s just that the conflicts never escalated into enmity.

If I had more time, I’d develop this further, but we leave for church in 30 minutes, so here’s the rough idea:

If you seek to please God, that brings ALL your efforts and interests into harmony; you have but ONE goal. 

If you seek ANYTHING ELSE, which includes pleasing people, your strength and interests are scattered, because you will have multiple, conflicting goals. What pleases George isn’t what pleases Johnny, and what pleases Dan displeases everybody else.

Having one goal provides both desire and ability to live a life of integrity, which is something people respect.

I’m out of time.

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2023 at 5:52 AM

    I needed this today, thank you for the wisdom

    ReplyDelete
  2. BobDJuly 16, 2023 at 6:32 AM

    You keep pointing me in the right direction, encouraging me to ask the right question. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandJuly 18, 2023 at 12:37 AM

    Seeking to please God brings harmony and peace. Praise God my Brother Pat!

    ReplyDelete

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