For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
If your plan for success involves oppressing the poor, or giving lavish gifts to the rich, you will end up in poverty.
Clap your hands, shout your praise, make a joyful noise to bring glory to God. Let everyone know that you serve the Lord. We are called to let everyone know of our faith. Honor and praise God, let no one doubt that you have faith in Him.
This passage is a hard one. Paul tells us that we, as believers, should not team up with unbelievers. The first interpretation I ever heard of this was that a believer should not marry an unbeliever. While it is certainly true that a believer should not marry an unbeliever, I do not think that is the point which Paul is making here. I am pretty sure that Paul means that believers should not partner with unbelievers in any way. This does not mean that a believer cannot partner with an unbeliever to play tennis, but, I think, that it means that a believer should not partner with an unbeliever to form a business. Further, I believe Paul is warning us against partnering with unbelievers when we are pursuing social causes. Our goal, in everything we do, should be to honor and serve God. Unbelievers will never share that goal, therefore we will never truly have common goals with unbelievers. If we partner with unbelievers in order to pursue worthwhile goals, those goals are likely to become idols. The unbelievers will encourage us to put the shared goals above serving God.
In the middle of talking about the futility of life, the writer hits on something of great importance. We should not attempt to go through this life alone. Everyone needs someone to share their life with, not necessarily a spouse. The writer goes on to tell us that we would be even better off as part of a group of three. If we hope to serve God faithfully we need to have others around us who can hold us accountable for our actions and who can pick us up when we fall.