on Proverbs 11

God's word is something I hope that shapes and molds us all the time. My goal this Lent season is to encourage the church to fall in love with the word of God all over again! I think we have seasons in our life filled with zeal and other moments filled with apathy toward the word of God. But, our hope is that as we move toward Christian perfection our hope and desire would grow greater for the word of God.

Here's what Proverbs 11 has to say that is still relevant today.

Proverbs 11:4, "Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath. . ."
  What a powerful reminder to keep perspective on our pursuit of earthly wealth, it won't last. Close to a thousand years before Jesus came on the scene, Solomon used his Godly wisdom to remind people of all generations that wealth is fleeting and it won't matter on the day on judgment. What Solomon is telling us is to focus our energy on something that more permanent than wealth, pursuing God with our whole heart and pursuing the fulfillment of God's will on this earth.

  This is a very, very broad idea. I will admit that. But, as continue to love and fall in love with Jesus more, take it one step at a time. 1) Understand that your wealth is a gift from God. Know that it isn't fair someone is born into extreme poverty, while others are born into the middle class or even great riches. Be thankful for what you have, but don't be so attached that your world would be crushed if it was taken away. 2) Learn to be generous. We live in a broken world that needs shaken up by some radical acts of love, grace, and even forgiveness. Learn to make this a part of who you are. Be encouraging, be hospitable, be generous, and learn to hold your tongue. If you do this you'll be an extremely "wealthy" person.

2) Proverbs 11:17, "Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves."
  When people discuss the church at the coffee house, gym, office, or anytime throughout the week. What are the things they say? What adjectives are typically used to describe the church? Well, I am a big believer in the church, so I am certain that not all adjectives used to describe the church are negative. But, one question I am interested in is how many churches or even Christians for that matter would be labeled as kind people? How many of us make other people better or even take time to listen to others?

  I decided to make kindness my word for this year, and my goal has been learn to hold my tongue in trying situations, to be faithful in prayer that the Holy Spirit would guide me to adopt an attitude of kindness, and I've been intentional about showing undeserved kindness at least once a week. I will tell you it's a difficult process but very worthwhile. I challenge you with this question: do people think you are a kind follower of Jesus? Or is there room for you to improve? We'll talk about Proverbs 12 really soon.