Topic: Book of Proverbs
My child, be careful about a giving a guarantee for somebody else’s loan… (Proverbs 6:1a)
What are some dangers of being foolish? What are some traps that the people can rob you? Over 1,000 TV commercial ads desired you to buy their merchandises with the low interest rate. They wanted people to buy their merchandises to gain more money. Many people spend more than $1,000,000 on the TV commercial ads. Many people have made guarantee commitments for their customers to buy their products. Are there dangers going on behind the guarantee commandments?
Nowadays, the Psychics Network Reading is commercialized over the hundred channels throughout U.S. The sponsors always say that they can help you to predict your feature. Like the magi and witches (see Daniel 2 and Matthew 2), they have the power of witchcraft to make many feature prophecies. Unfortunately, a CBN Founder Pat Robertson, who invites some occults into his TV program, explained that those psychologists helped the only one percent of the American people to make their dreams come true. Those who practice witchcraft are in real danger to the American people, because their guarantee commandments are falsely used. Not only they are in the danger from the people, they are doing what God said that it’s wrong. (See Deuteronomy 13:1-11.)
Are you aware when someone made guarantee commitment to you? For example, your neighbor wants to offer you a $1,000 to pay your house mortgage. Then you said that you will pay the money back to your neighbor within 30 days. But, after 30 days, you decide to ignore the guarantee commitment and decide to buy a $1,000 worth of car.
What would be your neighbor saying about his money property? Think about it. What would your neighbor is going to you? Solomon said, “My child, be careful about giving a guarantee for somebody else’s loan, about promising to pay what someone else owes. You might get trapped by what you say; you might be caught by your own words.” (Proverbs 6:1-2.)
Even today in this country, many political leaders, even our current president, George W. Bush, and commercial ads want to give some promises that would make the people happy. Then their promises would never happen. Former President Bill Clinton made some lies about his sexual scandal to the nation. Even he committed adultery outside his marriage; he proclaimed that he didn’t have the affair with Monica Lewinsky.
Why these events are happening in the America and rest of the world? Why the lies are popular to these days? One of the reasons of the words of lies is the one of the signs will appear at the scene of the coming of Antichrist after the rapture of the church. In Revelation 13 explains us many people will worship the beast, who will be going to pretend like he is Christian and Christ. Even today, we see that many Christian TV and radio programs proclaim that pastors and reverences can heal the disease upon the people or force the demons out from the person in the name of Jesus Christ, although they rush into the demons without recognizing that they are in the spiritual war with Satan. Or they make a prediction of the second coming of Jesus, although Jesus said that no one, even His angels, can tell the time of His arrival to the earth. (Matthew 24:36.)
When you caught by your neighbor, Solomon gave the rule to get free out of the death of guarantee. He said, “My child, if you have done this and under are your neighbor’s control, here is how to get free.” (Proverbs 6:3a.) Most of the American parents may have the lack of giving a good tip of advice to their children. They may give children some advice how their children have the successful life after their schools. But when the children come to the hard decisions, such as alcoholism, materialism, religion, and paganism, most parents may come to the conclusion of their decisions before the children ask another question. Unlike the modern day of parenting, Solomon gave his child a step of instruction.
First, doesn’t be a proud person (Proverbs 6:3b). God hates a person who has pride herself. Although He loves the people are in the earth, He hates those who are self-sinners and be in proud. In Epistle John said, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. These are the ways of the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world.” (I John 2:15-16.) There are three things that God hate in this passage:
- Wanting to please our sinful selves: Misusing sex, using alcohol, night parties, and etc.
- Wanting the sinful things we see: TV and movie with pornography, violence, romance activities, and etc.
- Being too proud of what we have: Family, marriage, awards, money, car, house, and etc.
Second, go to your neighbor and beg to be free from your promise (Proverbs 6:3c). This is the hardest thing to do in the America today. As we live in today’s society, many teenagers and parents are fighting each other to get what they want. Many parents have decided to divorce from their spouses because of their disagreements. Many teenagers have frustration in their minds because their parents are in the war zone.
But Solomon gave away the secret to get the freedom from these distractions. That is asking them for forgiveness. This is the same way that Jesus forgave our sins. If there is no forgiveness, how we beg for freedom? Jesus didn’t just die on the cross to show that He is the King of kings. He didn’t just die over and over again, like the Roman Catholicism believes. He died once on the cross to pay our sins and resurrect to His Father, so we can be with Him for eternity. Paul wrote, “When we were unable to help ourselves, at the moment of our needs, Christ died for us, although we were against God. But God shows his great love for us in this way: Christ died for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:6, 8.)
Are you hurting inside of your life? Are you trying to hide something from your neighbor, co-worker, or family? Why not asking them for forgiveness? “Don’t go sleep or even rest your eyes, but free yourself like a deer running from a hunter, like a bird flying away from a trapper.” (Proverbs 6:4-5.) Don’t excuse yourself without asking them for forgiveness.
Are you a lazy person or obedience person when your father asks you to do something for him? In John 6 recorded the situation with more than 5,000 people. We do not know the exact number of people. There may be 1,000 people came up to Jesus or 10,000. Men, women, children, grandparents, and grandchildren may show up to Jesus. But Jesus fed all the people with five loaves of breads and two small fishes. (John 6:1-15.)
Before Jesus fed them bread and a fish, His disciples questioned Him about how they could feed all the people on the field. Of course, Jesus knew what He is going to do, but He wanted to test His disciples. “Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread, so these may eat?’ But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” (John 6:5-6.)
What would you do when Jesus ask you to feed the multitude of people with your small amount of money? What would you do when your parents ask you to clean the whole house within one day? You may say, “You are crazy. I cannot clean all around the house in 24 hours.” And you may ask your parents to have another day of extension. That was the same reaction to Philip’s situation with Jesus’ question. “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” (John 6:7.)
Solomon said, “Go watch the ants, you lazy person. Watch what they do and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6.) Go to the smart person and learn from him. Remember when Jesus gave us the illustration of two ways to build a house. One is a wise builder and another is a foolish builder. (See Matthew 7:24-29.) In Psalm 1, there are two ways of living in life on the earth, but only one of them is what God wants us to live by. Like the ants, we can live by God’s rule. “Ants have no commander, no leader or ruler, but they store up food in the summer and gather their supplies at harvest.” (Proverbs 6:7-8.)
We do not need more government and political laws to survive our needs. We need Jesus Christ and His Word in our lives. The pages of the Bible are filled with God’s promise and truth. It is the only book that explains us about our daily life in pass, present, and future. But God may ask us, “How long will you lie there, you lazy person? When will you get up from sleeping?” (Proverbs 6:9)
Even when we are doing our earthly tasks, God asks us these two questions. “Yet we know that a person is made right with God not by following the law, but by trusting in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God because we trusted in Christ. It is not because we follow the law, because no one can be made right with God by following the law.” (Galatians 2:16)
Are you sleeping in your job as it described in Proverbs 6:10-11? “Some people are wicked and no good. They go around telling lies, winking with their eyes, tapping their feet, and making signs with their fingers. They make evil plans in their hearts and are always starting arguments. So trouble will strike them in an instant; suddenly they will be so hurt no one can help them” (Proverbs 6:12-15.)
Are you one of them?
“There are six things the LORD hates. There are seven things he cannot stand…” (Proverbs 6:’16.) What are they? Why God cannot love the seven things that we are enjoying doing? Let’s go through them:
- A proud look. God hates a proud looking person. He is a jealous God,. He hates a person who says, “I did this or that…” In Isaiah 14:13-15, Lucifer was trying to make a proud look upon himself by saying “I will…” for five time.
- A lying tongue. When the serpent tricked Even in the Garden, Even and Adam had lied to God that they didn’t eat the fruit o9n the middle of the Eden. (See Genesis 3.) From the beginning of sin until now, many people have been used to the “white lie” and it became the growth of the worldwide.
- Hands that kill innocent people. They are abortion, murder, kidnapping, and etc. The first person in this action was Cain, who murdered his brother, Abel, because God didn’t accept Cain’s gift. (See Genesis 4:1-15.)
- A mind that thinks up evil plans.
- Feet that are quick to do evils.
- A witness who lies.
Someone who starts argument among families. (See Proverbs 6:17-19.)
Which of these are you needed to avoid in your life? If you surrender to Jesus Christ with your sins, He can forgive your sins and will make you His child for eternality.
