JMD Daily Devotional 130 Proverbs 11:1,2,3 True and False
1 A FALSE balance and unrighteous dealings are extremely offensive and shamefully sinful to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.
2 When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
Are these just three disconnected pithy sayings; or do you see a theme?
A ‘just weight’ is not more nor less than what it claims to be; a 1oz weight is not in competition with a 10oz one; it just needs to maintain its integrity.
Leaven, or yeast swells up the dough; and in the Hebrew mind this was a kind of evil that deceived a person to believe that there was more substance in a loaf than was truly there, hence the sacredness of unleavened bread: honest, simplicity, what you see is what you get; no air pockets. Maybe we are so protective of our ego because the part we show is just so much hot air?
Being upright implies being straight forward, authentic, genuine and true. I think most of us grew up feeling we were nothing special, maybe even fearing we were bland; so we reacted to the pressures of our adolescent years by adopting false personas, exaggerated interests, and contrived mystiques; some of which quickly flopped, and others that stuck. But who are we really? Is that unique person lost behind the mask and makeup even now? Are we willing to trust that God didn’t make any ‘bland’ people; that just being one’s self is the very best possible thing to be?
Dear God,
People are so inscrutable and I am no exception! Sometimes I’m really afraid to just be me; I have practiced for other people’s approval and acceptance so much I am not even sure who I am anymore. How can I represent the Truth (Jesus) when I am less than true to myself and others? Set me free of that which binds my soul into a distorted caricature. May your healing continue; may the real inner man surface to please my audience of one, the Master who created me to enjoy His presence forever; may your perfect love drive out even this fear.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
2 When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also, but with the humble (those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial, and renounce self) are skillful and godly Wisdom and soundness.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
Are these just three disconnected pithy sayings; or do you see a theme?
A ‘just weight’ is not more nor less than what it claims to be; a 1oz weight is not in competition with a 10oz one; it just needs to maintain its integrity.
Leaven, or yeast swells up the dough; and in the Hebrew mind this was a kind of evil that deceived a person to believe that there was more substance in a loaf than was truly there, hence the sacredness of unleavened bread: honest, simplicity, what you see is what you get; no air pockets. Maybe we are so protective of our ego because the part we show is just so much hot air?
Being upright implies being straight forward, authentic, genuine and true. I think most of us grew up feeling we were nothing special, maybe even fearing we were bland; so we reacted to the pressures of our adolescent years by adopting false personas, exaggerated interests, and contrived mystiques; some of which quickly flopped, and others that stuck. But who are we really? Is that unique person lost behind the mask and makeup even now? Are we willing to trust that God didn’t make any ‘bland’ people; that just being one’s self is the very best possible thing to be?
Dear God,
People are so inscrutable and I am no exception! Sometimes I’m really afraid to just be me; I have practiced for other people’s approval and acceptance so much I am not even sure who I am anymore. How can I represent the Truth (Jesus) when I am less than true to myself and others? Set me free of that which binds my soul into a distorted caricature. May your healing continue; may the real inner man surface to please my audience of one, the Master who created me to enjoy His presence forever; may your perfect love drive out even this fear.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 7:34 AM
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