For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
A wicked ruler is a greater danger to the poor than wild animals. The second proverb reminds us that evil rulers do not truly understand how things work. Mistreating and oppressing the poor shows that a ruler lacks wisdom.
Continue to be faithful to following God’s laws even when it seems like you have waited beyond reason. There are many who will threaten and persecute us for obeying God’s commands, but if we remain faithful God will reward us. God’s rules and regulations remain as true today as they were in the past. They do not need to be changed to keep up with the times.
God has given each and every one of us various gifts. Whatever our abilities are, whether physical abilities, mental abilities, social abilities, or some other category of ability, they are a gift from God given to us to allow us to serve our fellow believers. I will strive to always remember this and look for ways to use my gifts to serve others. Let us use the strength and energy which God supplies to us to use His gifts to help and uplift others.
We will face insults and persecution for following Christ. We should not be surprised, nor should we complain about this. Instead we should be glad that we are deemed worthy of such abuse because it allows us to share in Christ’s suffering, even if in only a minor degree. However, while we should not seek to avoid such suffering. we should also not act in a manner calculated to increase the suffering which we experience. Trials will come our way if we are faithful, we do not need to seek them out. I want to be very careful how I word this because there are two errors which believers have made. Some believers have compromised their faith in order to minimize the suffering which they experience. The problem with attempting this is that it is not truly possible without giving up that which makes the faith of any value. The opposite error are those who make trouble and otherwise act in ways designed to get the authorities and the crowd to persecute them. This is also wrong. We are not called to seek out suffering and doing so brings dishonor to God’s name. If we live faithfully, always seeking to serve God, the suffering which Peter speaks of here will find us to one degree or another.
When Daniel went before the king to reveal the meaning of his dream he made it clear that he was not offering the answer from his own skill and knowledge. Daniel was careful to explain to the king that he was only able to provide the king an answer because God gave him that answer. Daniel made it clear that he was not smarter, wiser, or anyway more skilled than the king’s other advisers. This is a challenge we all face. My successes and accomplishments are not because I am better than others, they are a result of God’s choosing to give me certain gifts. Sometimes, as in this story, they will be a matter of divine revelation and/or intervention. Other times, they will be the result of carefully cultivating the gifts which God has given me. And still other times they will be a combination of the two. In all cases, let us give credit where credit is due, which is to God for giving us the gift in the first place.