Bible Proverbs Practical Applications

Heavenly wisdom and proverbs to live by contrives towards deeds done in humility.  James 3:13-16 Humility is to remove pride and arrogance from one’s life, accepting that we are created beings, here for an ultimate purpose of serving our maker, by making the lives of our fellow creatures better.

Earthly wisdom leads to vain glory or selfish unbridled ambition, bitterness and envy. James is suggesting that these come from the demonic order, full of self-pride and aggression.

Heavenly wisdom is gentle, discerning and loving. It fosters characteristics like Purity, Peace Love, Consideration, Submission, Humility, Selflessness, Acceptance of slights and so on. It does not mean being a walkover, but rather working hard at wisdom, being as wise as serpents, but being as gentle as doves; u see the truth of things, but you are gentle and discerning about it, seeking solutions cleverly.

In walking with humility, you will know the fear of the Lord. He guards the way of the just, and protects the way of his faithful ones

-         To know Gods word

There are things we have no taste for because of what God has put into our hearts. Sin and Godliness cannot occupy one heart. This explains why you lose taste for say violence, greed, selfishness and the like as you expose yourself more and more to Gods word.

Proverbs 4:18 relates to this: Keep close to Gods word and it will keep the filth of the earth from you.

-         Consequences

Safeguards from Wicked people and their intentions

The next inevitable question is who are they?

Who are the wicked?

In a nutshell it is those that harm the harmless and plunder them. The general philosophy of the wicked is the strong over the weak, as is found in the animal kingdom. The grey matter in-between their ears, is for wicked acts, aimed at earthly Material Gain. These are not people, but animals.

I believe there is a hierarchy of good as there is of evil. Imagine a master mind, say running a drug cartel. At the very top is the Boss, and at the bottom is say a drug dealer at a street corner or a mule transporting drugs.

The higher up one goes, the more the acts tend to be of a willful nature, while the lower one goes, the more it is of a forced association. In the lower rungs, once you are in, the harder it is to escape, no matter what your own personal wish maybe. The wicked tempt you to enter, knowing full well that they will never allow you to leave.

In our culture, these could be:

-         The uncommitted 

These have no particular world view, just walking a middle line. They are easily swayed for material gain, but once they taste material gain, they find it difficult to leave and in many cases, they will be stopped from leaving

I hate the saying that “while in Rome do what the Romans do”, because it suggests that you simply go with the flow, regardless of the outcome. Many youths are trapped in gangs, prostitution, trafficking and the like. They simply can’t get out.

In the wider culture, those promoting fornication, adultery, violence and other immoral behavior fall into the category of the wicked. This is a very wide net, considering that our entertainment industry from TV to movies and the like persuade millions, that these kinds of things are normal, when in fact it is the height of wickedness.

Our natural conscience leads us to the light, but we choose to do what is evil because it has immediate benefits; but we fail to understand that it’s a zero sum game: we gain here, but lose spiritually.

Enjoy