PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV).

Where are there no good and wise counsel? The company break room is one place. A bar is another. There is no proper counsel at the lodge club. To be honest, there really isn’t any place where you’ll find good, godly, and wise counsel other than your local church. And there is like to be no good counsel from any other than your faithful pastor who has been serving up the Word of God to you and your family for a long enough time that you know that his understanding is a grounded wisdom from God.

This is, for me, the best argument for attending a church with no more than a hundred or so members, or less. When a church becomes too big, the pastor becomes less and less visible except for when he is preaching. If a man needs wise counsel, he is generally sent to a co-pastor or a Sunday school teacher. When churches reach a certain threshold, perhaps it is time to start a new work on the other side of town. A pastor needs to be accessible. The sheep don’t go around looking for a shepherd, their shepherd is constantly looking after them.

Now, this is not to say that a Sunday school teacher can not offer wise counsel, or another faithful brother in Christ, but the pastor should be consulted when a problem is too big. Yet, we are told of a “multitude of counsellors.” That would be at least three, maybe more. But before even going to the preacher, perhaps we should start at the same place where he would begin—the Word of God. Within the Bible you will receive the counsel of a great God. Often, men like David will offer their wisdom, even if it is seeing how they handled a situation wrong—but has similarities to something you might be contemplating.

Paul has much doctrinal advice, James will offer his practical advice. There are forty men in the Bible that have something to say and are worthy to be consulted. We can speak to our Lord Jesus Christ, and often the solution to our problems may just be an application of His cleansing Blood for forgiveness accompanied with a cleansed heart and renewed conscience. And, thankfully, we have our constant teacher residing within: “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (I John 2:27 KJV).

Father, we thank You for the Word which is a lamp in a very dark world, and a light which removes all darkness and guides us through the night. We thank You for not simply saving us and then leaving us to fend for ourselves, but that You instruct us moment by moment as we walk with You, to keep us from falling and provides safety to us and our loved ones. Amen.

Oops! My bad. I posted last month’s devotion by mistake. Here is today’s. Hey! a twofer!

“A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight” (Proverbs 11:1 KJV).

Now, in the physical sense, it is talking about weights and measures and telling us to be honest in business dealings and that sort of thing.

“A just weight and balance are the LORD’S: all the weights of the bag are his work” (Proverbs 16:11 KJV).

Here the concept is stated a bit more clearly in the relation of carefully weighing a product, in other words, it is all the right weight. When the bag says one pound, it contains one pound. When a retailer would weigh out an item for a customer—some people were shady and were shaving the scale a bit so that when the customer thought he was getting two pounds, it was short an ounce or two. Obviously then the proprietor is making money and cheating his customer. What Christian does not realize that they owe their employer eight hours of work for eight hours of pay. You may have a great spoken witness for the Lord, but your unspoken witness is generally the thing that the lost are going to listen to before they ever hear your word for the Lord. Paul wrote: “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:17).

The Bible therefore says that a balance that is not really true is an abomination. It is just a matter of being right. God just hates a person that cheats people. It’s stealing, it’s lying, it’s deceitful. It’s usually done by people that are very proud and self-righteous and believes that they deserve it. And that they need it more than anybody else needs it. I mean, I have to take care of my kids and if I can cheat you out of a buck, well, I’m just better than you. It’s really just thinking more of yourself than you think about anyone else. God hates that and it’s nothing more than satanic pride.

Father, remind us daily that the world is watching us and that in order for our witness to be effective, they must have a sense of our trustworthiness. Convict us of the truth that we must “Provide things honest in the sight of all men.” We love you Lord and ever desire Your approval. Amen.

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