Two little verses in Proverbs 10:26 - 27 spoke volumes to me this morning. 26 - Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 27 - The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short. Vinegar is an acetic acid and will remove the calcium from the enamel of teeth. It is the calcium that protects the teeth from decay. Smoke in the eyes is an irritant that I have experienced a few times. The first when our home burned down when I was little. Perhaps that is why I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke. These are physical irritants that we can relate to. Solomon uses them as a metaphor for the irritation of a sluggard. A sluggard is defined as a habitually lazy person. Can you see how that would be irritating to people if you sent them a sluggard to help them out? Unfortunately laziness has become too much the norm in todays world. Those who profess to follow Christ should be just the opposite. Go read the words of Colossians 3:23 - 24. The admonition in these verses is just the opposite of being a sluggard. Verse 27 repeats the thesis of Proverbs that we are to fear the Lord. Again, remember that the meaning of fear here is in the context of reverent awe. We need to view our Lord for who He is; the Creator of all things, all-knowing, all-powerful and all-present. How about you? Do you think about these things when you think of our Lord? This viewpoint puts in place the proper perspective we should have and reinforces the fact that there is no righteousness except thru Christ. This viewpoint extends our life for eternity by the admission that Christ is our Lord first, and it is because of His Lordship that He is our Savior. Do you catch that? Lord comes first, not Savior. Those who do not confess Christ as Lord cannot have Him as Savior, and their years will be short - only the years they live on earth. So, are you an irritant or a blessing to others? Your destiny hangs in the balance. God Bless,
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 11:23:01 +0000
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