He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Cultivate Godly Attitudes: Helpful not
Harmful: Proverbs 24:1-2
1) Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with
them.
2) For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of
mischief.
Solomon
now shares with us teachings on the need to cultivate Godly attitudes…
EXPOSITION:
He
begins our study by emphasizing the need to cultivate an attitude to be helpful
not harmful to others…
1) Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with
them.
1. Do not burn with desire to be more evil than
other wicked men
2. Do not long to accompany evil men in their
acts of sin and abuse of others
Our
attitudes should always push us away from wickedness and those who commit
it. For the Christian, our contact with
those who live selfish, hurtful lives is to be limited to witnessing and to be
in contact only when necessary. To form
friendships, business partnerships, or spousal relationships with the wicked is
in clear opposition to the Word of God.
“Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath
Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
[thing]; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto
you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
“Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of
thanks. For this ye know, that no
whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things
cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. For ye were sometimes
darkness, but now [are ye] light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the
Spirit [is] in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable
unto the Lord. And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them].” (Ephesians 5:4-11)
2) For their heart studieth destruction, and their lips talk of
mischief.
Solomon
now gives us sound reasons to refuse to join with those who are wicked…
1. Their desires are fixated upon selfish gain
through bringing others to ruin
2. Their speech talks of bringing harm to
others, while many times results in harm to themselves.
To
summarize… why should we not desire to follow after those who are wicked? They harm others, and eventually, they bring
harm upon themselves.
“The wicked, through the pride of his
countenance, will not seek [after God]: God [is] not in all his thoughts. His ways are always
grievous; thy judgments [are] far above out of his sight: [as for] all his
enemies, he puffeth at them. He hath said in his heart,
I shall not be moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity. His mouth is full of
cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking
places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his
eyes are privily set against the poor. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to
catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. He croucheth, [and]
humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. He hath said in his heart,
God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see [it].” (Psalms 10:4-11)
SUMMARY:
For
us to be living sacrifices for our Lord we need to cultivate the proper
attitude in service to Him. That service
involves cultivating a Godly attitude of serving Christ by helping others. By doing this, we can become living
sacrifices for His honor and glory and for the benefit of others.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
SIH Homepage: http://www.settledinheaven.org
SIH
Text Blog: http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com/all-about-salvation/
SIH
Video Blog: http://youtube.com/settledinheaven/
SIH
Email: settledinheaven@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment