Monthly Archives: September 2020

A Five Minute Devotional

The video shown below is the devotional from September 3rd, 2020. The full text of the devotional follows the video.

WELCOME

Good morning! My name is Gary Wiram and it’s my pleasure to, again, welcome you to Today’s Good News.

INTRODUCTION

Today, as we continue to teach through the first chapter of Proverbs, my assignment is Proverbs 1:19. To set the right tone for what this Scripture has to teach us, let me remind you that this section of Proverbs provides a basic summary contrasting wisdom and foolishness. Actually, the key verse is Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Here’s a non-Scriptural story that may help us in relating to this topic:

A man comes across an old bottle. He pulls out its cork and out pops a genie! The genie says, “In return for freeing me, I will grant you three wishes.” The man says “Great! First, I want one billion dollars in a Swiss bank account.” Poof!” A paper with Swiss bank account numbers appears in his hand! “Next, I want a brand new red Ferrari.” Poof!” A brand new red Ferrari appears right next to him! “Finally, I want to be irresistible to women.” Poof!” He turns into a box of chocolates.

GREED

Proverbs 1:19 tells us, “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;

It takes away the life of its owners.” Of course, we all understand that greed won’t actually turn you into a box of chocolates but it can “take away life” in many ways.

When this verse says, “So are the ways…”, it’s referring to ways mentioned in the immediately preceding verses. These are:

• Their feet run to evil
• They lie in wait and make haste to shed blood
• They lurk secretly for the innocent

Those are some pretty dramatic ways, aren’t they? And, I think it’s obvious they’re ways we should avoid. But greed can blind us to the obvious and just as often, they can be pretty subtle. In a way, as a guy who spent the majority of his professional life in Sales, it reminds me of what I  learned early-on about the key motive for buying and for selling. That is, “What’s in it for me?” Actually, that is a legitimate function when the buyer is looking for a solution to a need in his business and the seller has a product or service that meets that need. However, when either party is solely focused on their own greedy gain, that takes away from the legitimacy.

This is well illustrated by a familiar cross reference for Proverbs 1:19. It’s 1 Timothy 6:9-10, that says, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

I think this, also, illustrates an aspect of the sort of greediness we have to deal with today. It’s not so much the greediness of others that we have to be on guard for. It’s our own greediness and in many ways, often due to peer pressure, it’s so subtle that we don’t recognize it in ourselves. A good example of this, that you’ve probably heard said, is that the American dream has become  striving to buy more things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. By itself, that seems sort of amusing. But when you consider its cost, it’s actually pretty sad.

NO EARTHLY SATISFACTION

I recently read an article in MoneyWatch, entitled “The dark reasons so many rich people are miserable human beings”. It put the wisdom of Proverbs 1:19 into focus in today’s terms. A few highlights from that article are:

• Once a certain household income is reached, more income is actually associated with reduced life satisfaction and a lower level of well-being.
• The wealthier we get, the less we value social connectedness — and that eats into our overall sense of well-being.
• Children who come from affluent families are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and substance abuse than those who come from less affluent families.

When you scrutinize this, considering wisdom versus foolishness, I think it’s pretty easy to put this in the category of foolishness.

ETERNAL SATISFACTION

So, what is the best way to contrast this foolishness and replace it with wisdom? Of course, all you have to do to answer that question is to look to the Scriptures. I recommend Matthew 6:19-21, that says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

And Scripture, also, tells us where to find the wisdom needed in order to do this. James 1:5 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

And THAT, is Today’s Good News!