Tiny Devotional for Thursday, 07-20-2023

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, don’t trip over the...never mind.

A king who sits on the throne of justice
Disperses all evil with his eyes.
Proverbs 20:8, NASB



CLOSE. I once was the foreman on a jury. I didn’t disperse anything with my eyes.

I’m not a king, you see.

An argument could be made that being the foreman on a jury isn’t like sitting on the throne of justice, but it’s the second closest I’ve ever come. There are great similarities between the two; I had to listen, evaluate, and decide, just like a king. A major difference: I wasn’t alone in making the decision; my job was to guide the jury in the process. 

Still, I felt the burden of the job. Unless they are psycho, kings NEVER escape the burden.

CLOSER. I’m a parent, and that’s MUCH more like sitting on the throne of justice than jury duty, and therefore much more like being a king. I can testify, having been on both sides,  that a parent absolutely disperses evil with their eyes. 

If you doubt that, just remember THAT LOOK that your father or mother gave you. It came without a swat or a pinch, but it worked anyway. Right? On those rare occasions when your behavior was NOT dispersed by THAT LOOK, the clobbering that came after sure did.

The authority of the parent isn’t solely based on clobbering, though. LONG before any of that happens, parents nurture. In fact, THAT LOOK is nurturing; it prevents worse consequences.   

THAT LOOK stays with us, dispersing evil. 

Do you doubt that?

You aren’t doing evil today, are you? Why do you think that is? 

Peace be on your household.

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