Happy Friday to you all. Well most of you guessed the answer to what is the force behind the tide. Yes, its the moon's gravitational pull that is the primary force behind the tide. During high tide, the moon is pulling the tide toward it, while during low tide earth is pulling toward the moon. Well, is that clear as mud? Well that's the scientific explanation.
On the lighter side... How do you take a pig to the hospital? Well of course, ... In the hambulance.
Friday 3/3
Prov. 28:19 "A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty."
This warning is directed to all of us, however, directly to Solomon's sons. After seeing the end of the Murdaugh trial, and hearing snatches & grabs of the Saga. We are reminded of this proverb.
We see Mr. Murdaugh coming from a family of influence, but then sank to an illegal life primarily because of his refusal to work hard with in the legal perimiters to provide for his family. And possibly because he enjoyed his families past influence and failed to plan for his own families future. Who really knows, but he for sure turned from his parents life of productivity & integrity.
He took the slippery slope of personal indulgence and came to its common end, disillusioned, broken, awakened by the end spoken of in the second part of the proverb, "a person who chases fantasies ends up in poverty."
Now lets go back to the first part of the verse and its emphasis on the benefit of diligence & hard work. Regardless of where we find ourselves, whether wealthy & influential like Solomon's sons or just a poor sharecropper. In either life position, if we seek to live lives of industry & consistency that effort will render in at least plenty to eat and a comfortable livelihood.
On the other hand, living an undisciplined life in whatever station in life we are in, will result in poverty & loss. The same is true in our spiritual lives, when we determine to be a life long learners & in fellowship with our gracious God that will result in us gaining wisdom & blessings poured out on our lives. When we draw upon Him, Our Father naturally fills our life with those things that truly matter.
As we look about us, we see many, yes, even believers who have fallen into the fantasies of our world, and they have resulted in spiritual poverty for themselves & many times even for their families. My grandmothers family fell into that trap, while my grandfathers family drew near to the Lord. For that I am glad, as my father walked in my grandfathers ways. Ways of industry, creativity, and dependence on God in each decision he made. The results are clear today.
Each of us in each generation must make that same decision. Will I take the way of obedience to God, to guide my family through those lessons that only our Heavenly Father can know. Or will I coast through life, take the way of least resistance (the worldly fantasy) .
Oh, the way is sometimes hard & unsure. But from the song we sang many times as a family "with Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm." This way is so true, standing in Christ alone, not the thinking of the world, we will ultimately, live a life of confidence & hopefulness.
We must toil for Him, regardless of whether in our work, or in our spiritual walk, then He will make sure that we will experience His just reward.
So Go With God, if we work hard, seeking to represent His ways in our lives, Then when we are dependent on honoring Him in whatever we do, work, home, family, church, ministry, whatever.
Then we will look back and see to the extent that they learn, our children, they may learn these lessons in their lives also, and then these fruits will grow in our children's lives, as well.
Oh my friends, it is so easy to get so focused of the present, that we fail to also reflect on the future & very importantly on the past. Face our failures, that is what Solomon is doing in these last chapters of Proverbs.
He is facing his past failures, even through the book of Eccliastes he is wandering through these past failures and striving to give corrective instruction to his sons. He got off the track that his father David had also learned, and now he is warning his sons & us also.
Make sure our valiant, fervent efforts are daily guided by our Heavenly Father, for He knows the eternal gain.
Just think for a minute. Look at Israel & Judah the comparison is clear, the wicked kings & the kings who followed after God. Their decisions resulted in success or failure totally dependent on who they followed after. So it isn't enough to just work hard, it is vitally important, to work hard and and at the same time follow in Our Savior's ways.