Well, here's a good one; Who is every pig's least favorite actor? You guessed it right; It's of course, Kevin Bacon.
Wednesaday 5/31. It MAY-be the last day of the month.
Prov. 31:4 "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol."
In this entire book Solomon passes on his wisdom to his sons as well as all of us. He begins with guidelines for kings but not just kings, but all of those who find themselves in a place of leadership. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on the seriousness we place on the role of leadership in our lives. The benefit or loss of those who we lead is gauged on the qualities of our life that we faithfully pass onto them.
We choose whether or not we live self-indulgent lives. You may ask, How? Simply by whether we demonstrate proper restraint in our lives. We see demonstrated the benefit of kings who are self-restrained by Solomon's restraint in 1 Kings 3:9 "Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?"
Notice his request:
Give an understanding heart - a sense of responsibility
Who by himself can govern - a realization that Israel was precious to God & not his to rule selfishly
Bathsheba came to the realization that a king has many choices, but self indulgence & neglect of their responsibilities only brings loss & suffering to their people.
She was reflecting of what the entire book said about the actions of what a wise king was to do:
Eliminate wickedness Prov. 20:26
Bring benefit to the nation Prov. 29:4
Recognize that justice comes from God through His leaders Prov. 8:15
You may ask what is required of a godly king (leader)? The continuous control of his full faculties.
Paul affirmed this same requirement for those in spiritual leadership in 1 Tim. 3:3 "Be not given to wine"
Throughout the scripture this warning is given to kings, princes, priests, prophets, elders. In other words for all of those who want to make a positive, long lasting impact on those in their sphere of influence.
We will continue to notice the lasting benefits of self-control in our lives in the coming verses.
So Go With God isn't just a cliche, rather it is a statement reminding us of the mindset that we must have in order to be within the Spirits control. When our senses are uncontrolled by our inner being, then we aren't capable of being empowered by His presence in our lives. The necessary process is to fill our hearts & minds with His word to the point that the Spirit has the strongest voice in our actions...