Good morning from the snow-dusted land of New Jersey! Winter has finally arrived here. I am glad that she delayed her appearance until mid-January, making her stay briefer this year. My childhood years were spent in south Florida, and I have never become a fan of winter. I would be perfectly content to celebrate Christmas with palm trees decorated in white lights and spend my winter weekends on my patio by the swimming pool. But God brought us to New Jersey over twenty-five years ago, and it is our home. As the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Philippi, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” (Philippians 4:11)
However, we should never be content when evil is prevailing. Today as we reflect on the life of Martin Luther King, we should be challenged by his words, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Another time he said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
The book of Proverbs is not so much about theology, although worldview and theology are the foundation of the book. Proverbs is about life in this world and how we live it. Do we live contentedly in comfort and convenience while injustice and suffering surround us? Paul’s statement in Philippians regarding contentment has to do with thankfulness and not wanting what we don’t have. But it has nothing to do with being content while we to allow evil to prevail. We read in Proverbs 24:11-12 (NASB):
Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.
If you say, “See, we did not know this,”
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?
My prayer for y
ou today is that you will be content with Jesus and thankful for His great gift of salvation, His daily provision, and His promise for our future. He indeed is our “wisdom from God” (I Corinthians 1:30), and in Him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3). At the same time, I pray that you will be bold and courageous in standing up for truth and for justice in a day when the enemy may seem to prevail. May we pray for those who are suffering and are persecuted and being martyred for their faith by ISIS and other evil regimes. May we stand for the innocents who are kidnapped, abused, and treated as property through human trafficking. And may we have the boldness to speak up and tell others the good news of salvation that will rescue their souls from the power of the Evil One and eternity without God. May our lives be overflowing with love for others. As MLK once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” May no one be able to say of us who claim to follow Jesus that we stood by and did nothing to rescue those who are victims of the enemy.
Blessings as You Seek God’s Wisdom Today,
Kim
To subscribe to the ProverbWise e-newsletter, please click here.