Read: Proverbs 4:18-27 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. (v. 23) I served as a campus pastor to three college students whom we’ll call Molly, Jon, and Andy. Molly worked at a nursing home, but resigned after a rule forbidding staff from hugging residents went into effect. Management noticed and reconsidered. Molly kept her job—and her heart, her integrity. Jon was denied entrance to the medical school of his choice. He told …
Questions for the Rich Farmer
Read: Luke 12:13-21 Be on your guard against all covetousness. (v. 15) In just three verses, this rich fool refers to himself seven times. Count them. He reminds me of the T-shirt that says, “Enough about me, let’s talk about you. What do you think about me?” This raises several “what if” questions. What if the rich farmer had reflected on God’s blessings, which enabled his bountiful crops? What if he had thought, “I will build bigger so I’ll have …
Conquering the Green-eyed Monster
Read: Proverbs 14:26-30 A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. (v. 30) In Dante’s Inferno, the eyelids of the envious are sewn shut. No more gazing at good fortunes of others. Envy caused the first murder. If only envy had ended with Cain. The wise teacher of Ecclesiastes says, “And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the …
Acting as God Does
Read: Matthew 5:7; 25:37-40 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. (5:7) A friend of mine goes to an area campground during the summer. There he met a couple whom we will call Joe and Mary. Mary has been a foster mom for a long time. One little boy they had fostered was a special needs child who was born with alcohol and nicotine addiction. Mary and Joe feared he would be passed along to endless foster homes. …
Not a Spirit of Fear
Read: 2 Timothy 1 God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Our granddaughter was showing a calf at the fair. She emailed us a picture of herself with the calf. It looked more like a full-grown cow. I asked her, “How does it go when you lead the calf around?” She said, “The calf has to know who’s in charge!” Ask yourself the question: “Who’s in charge of my life?” Is it …