Daily Devotional
Betty Miller shares her daily
devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.
The Wisdom
of God
Verses for the Day:
7 The rich ruleth
over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall
fail.
Proverbs 22:7-8 (AMP):
7 The rich rule over the
poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
8 He who sows iniquity will reap calamity and futility, and the rod of his
wrath (with which he smites others) will fail.
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses in Proverbs
tell us
how the power of wealth gives people an advantage over others, and that vanity
will be reaped by those who sow iniquity. Verse 7 tells us that
those who are rich will rule over those who are poor and that people who borrow
money are in servitude to those who lend it. Having wealth is not sinful, as
there were many people in the Bible who were very wealthy, such as David,
Solomon and Abraham. All of these men had hearts toward God and God used them to
bless others. However, being rich or poor in this world does not define our
relationship with God. Some rich men are very poor in the eyes of God,
because they do not serve Him; while some poor men in this world are very rich
because they are in right standing with God and have what the Bible calls "the
true riches." The true riches of God is having His love, faith, peace, joy,
protection, favor, etc. However, how we use money, or mammon, is one of the ways
in which God tests us, before He entrusts His kingdom riches to us.
Luke 16:10-11:
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he
that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will
commit to your trust the true riches?
One of our
spiritual tests is how we deal with the small issues in this life. The
Bible tells us that if we are not faithful over the small things, we will not
be faithful over larger things. I have observed this truth over my
lifetime, and it has never proven to be wrong. I have watched people's lives and
when they fail to come through in the small issues, they also fail to come
through on larger issues. People who say they will call right back and fail to
do so, will also fail to send that check they said they would send. People
who tell you they will take care of a small matter and do not do so, will not
take care of a larger matter. (I am not referring to occasional oversights, of
which we all fail to do at times, but am talking about habitual failings.)
I had a neighbor,
when I was young, who always excused her messy apartment on the fact that it was
just too small, so she couldn't keep it clean and picked up. She would
always complain to her husband that if he would just get her a bigger house, she
would be able to keep it clean and straight. He finally got her a nice big
house, and instead of her keeping it nice and straight, as she claimed she would
do, she just ended up with a bigger house and a bigger mess. If we are not
faithful in little, we will not be faithful in much. I never give a big
job to someone, until I first see how they will handle a small job, because I
have found this scripture to be absolutely true.
This is true with
our finances, as well. Some people are waiting to give their tithes and offerings
when they have more money, but they will never have more money to give, until
they give out of what they have. The Bible speaks of giving a "tithe" or ten
percent, as our portion to the Lord. We can give this to the Lord's work whether
we have little, or much. If I have a dollar that I have earned, I can give a dime
to the Lord's work; or if I earn $100.00, I can give $10.00. Giving is one way
that we will work our way toward getting out of debt because it releases the
favor of God and man toward us. It is wise to get out of debt, because as
long as we are in debt, we are servants to those who have lent us the money. It
also limits us when we are in debt, in regard to heeding the call of the Lord.
We must stay and discharge our debts, instead of being free to go and serve the
Lord.
Verse 8
talks about the unrighteous man who is a sinner and is continually doing evil
deeds. The Bible says he will reap what he is sowing. He will come to
calamity and futility. Bad things are bound to happen to people who
continually use threats with angry words, to get people to do things.
These kinds of people are manipulators; however, in time, their angry words will
fail to get them what they want, and people will finally leave them to their own
evil devices.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You, God, for Your abundant blessings! Lord, I am grateful that I am
rich with Your many spiritual blessings and I also appreciate the material
blessings You have given me. You take good care of me, and I am grateful.
Lord, I do ask that You help all of Your people to get out of debt and stay out
of debt. I pray this personally as well. I want to do what Your scripture
says, in that I do not want to owe anyone anything, except the debt of love, and
I will gladly pay that debt. Help me to show integrity in all my dealings in regard
to money and finances. Lord, may I be generous and always give to the work of
the Lord and help others as well. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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