For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Like so many of the proverbs, both parts of this proverb are basic common sense. Yet many people come up with excuses as to why they are an exception to one or both of them. While it may work out for them in the short-term, before too long this truth bears out. A group of people may find the thoughts and actions of someone with a warped mind entertaining or beneficial at first, but before very long they start to grate on everyone’s nerves. On the other hand, a group of people may initially find a sensible person boring and “no fun” to be around, but before long they realize that they need people like that to make things happen.
Paul tells us to pray for kings and those in authority. This psalm is a great example of what we should pray when we do so. The first, and most important, part is that we pray that God give His love of justice and righteousness to our government officials. Further, we ask God to help them judge the people under their authority with justice and righteousness. I will ask that God help those government officials to defend the poor and the children of the needy.
The rest of the requests in this psalm follow from these things. If the government authorities judge with righteousness and justice their power will expand. They and the people under their authority will prosper.
The first part of this passage reminds me of something I have commented on a few times so far this year. The fact that John the Baptist and Jesus were perceived by the people of the day as preaching the same message, to the point where many people thought they were the same person.
When Jesus told the crowd that they must take up their cross daily, He was not talking about having to deal with the minor troubles of life such as dealing with difficult people.He was talking about willingly facing a horrible torturous death. The crowd listening to Him would have known exactly to what He was referring. Further, the fact that He was referring to crucifixion is made clear by what He says next. Are we willing to sacrifice our lives in order to serve Jesus? We, here in the United States, have not been asked to make that choice. That may change soon. Probably not our lives, but we may soon struggle to make our livelihoods. Recently, there have been cases where Christians have lost not only their livelihoods but their life savings for standing up for their faith. I believe that this will become more common in the near future. Of course this is minor suffering compared to Christians in some parts of the world. Will we here be as faithful in the face of this minor suffering as others have been in the face of more severe suffering?
A character in a book I like said, “Remember, it does you no good to gain your heart’s desire, if you have to give up your heart to get it.” That is another way of saying what Jesus is saying here. Nothing you can gain is worth giving up your very self. In the same way, no suffering is so bad that it is worth giving yourself up to avoid it. There is so much more I want to write about this, but if you want to understand where I am going read the “Martyrs Mirror: The Story of Seventeen Centuries of Christian Martyrdom From the Time of Christ to A.D. 1660”.
There are several points here which are worth noting. First, the Israelites are told to never put someone to death on the testimony of but one witness. They were to always make sure that there were at least two or three witnesses. This is an important point that applies to many cases. We should never reach a negative conclusion about someone until we have heard from multiple, independent sources. We should recognize that sometimes people misunderstand what is happening around them.
Another point worth noting is the instructions for future kings of Israel. These instructions can easily be extended to others besides kings. Someone who runs a company should not accumulate wealth far beyond what the workers who make the company profitable are able to acquire. It is not my place to tell someone in that situation what that means. I am merely telling someone reading this who is a CEO that they should look at what they make vs what the common worker makes. If, in their judgment, they are making enough to be well above his common workers, he is making too much and/or they too little. I want to repeat, it is not the place of outsiders to tell them how much they can make, or how much their employees should make. It is up to each person to use their judgment, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to determine where that line is.