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:

Proverbs 15:16-17(KJV):
16 Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

Thoughts for the Day:

The book of Proverbs is full of comparisons throughout its pages. These verses declare that "little" is better with the respect of the Lord,  than great treasures that produce trouble. Without God in our lives every human being is most miserable.  That misery can be temporarily quenched by things in this world, but eventually that emptiness comes back, as only God can satisfy the heart of man. There are many things that money cannot buy, and there are many troubles that come with having a lot of money. The Bible teaches us that godliness, with contentment, is great gain. No matter how much we gain in this world, eventually we will leave it behind as all men do when they die. We bring nothing into the world and we carry nothing out. We are admonished to be content with what we have.  Those who seek to be rich will fall into many temptations.  We are to seek those spiritual things that we can take with us when we go -- righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness.  

1 Timothy 6:6-11:
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

We should note that "money" is not the root of all evil, but rather the "love of money" is the root of all evil.  We all have need of money in this world.  However, money to a Christian, is simply a medium of exchange that we use to take care of ourselves and our families, and to use to spread the good news of the gospel to others. Proverbs 15:17 says it is better to have a small dinner of just herbs and vegetables, if you have true love with it; than to live with someone who is full of hate, even though they had an ox in the stall being fattened up for dinner. Women sometimes make the wrong choice as to who they will marry when they allow money (and what they consider as security) to influence their decision. This scripture tells us that having love is more important than having money. The love we are speaking of here is the God kind of love, not lust. Marrying for physical attraction should not be the deciding factor in the decision of choosing a mate.  It is much better to choose a mate who has character and godliness than to choose one based on emotion, physical attraction, or monetary security.  Not that any of the these things are wrong, as they should be in a marriage; however, choosing on that basis is like getting the cart before the horse.  A Christian should seek the will of God first in their choice for a mate, and then the Lord will bless them with the other things that go along with a marriage.

Choosing a mate on emotions alone is not wise. Our emotions need to be cleansed, as they are not the sign of love. "God is love."  If God is not in a relationship, it is not true love. What this world calls love is really lust since it is built on what the other person does for me, not what I can do for him or her. If the other person fails to keep up his end of the bargain, a divorce occurs because the offended mate is no longer pleased. This is the attitude of the world's so-called "love." God's love loves without receiving back; God's love is forgiving and patient. God's love is gentle and kind. God's love waits. God's love sacrifices. God's kind of love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13 in the Bible and it gives us a beautiful definition of real love: (In the King James translation the word "charity" means "love." It is really my favorite translation. However, for this portion of scripture,  I am copying from the Revised Standard Version):

1 Corinthians 13(RSV): 1-13:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; 5 it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; 10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. 13 So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

We believe if a marriage cannot glorify the Lord, then it would be better to remain alone. There are worse things than being alone. One of these is to be out of God's will by compromising and marrying someone who does not feel the same way we do about the Lord. Marriage is the second major choice we make in our lives, and we should never enter into it without much prayer. To rush into a marriage can be disastrous. The most important decision of our lives, of course, is our decision to follow the Lord. This decision is not a one-time declaration, but a daily determination to follow Jesus above all. Yes, it is better to have little of the world's possessions and to have the Lord, than to have great treasures without Him. Yes, it is better to have a godly loving mate with little of the world's pleasures, than to live with someone hateful. If we first choose the true riches in God, then He can bless us with the things in this world that we need.

Matthew 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Father God, I am so blessed to have You in my life. Thank You for loving me and giving me eternal life. Lord, I am also very grateful to have a wonderful, godly husband who is loving and kind. You have blessed us with a good family. We are thankful for loving children and grandchildren. We have also been blessed with many wonderful friendships over the years that have grown stronger today in the love of God.  How blessed we are with kind, caring, friends that have demonstrated their love over and over again.  Lord, help Bud and I to be the same kind of friends.  Our family and friends are our true treasures in this life.   Keep them all under Your hand of protection and bless them each. Bless the many people we have not met, but that pray for us and support this ministry.  We are thankful for each of them and look forward to meeting them one day, if not in this life, in the life to come. I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.