Saturday 19 Aug 2017

August 19: Proverbs 25:6-7

Key Verse: Proverbs 25:6
Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men;

Devotion:
We like to think we are as good as anyone else in society, but the truth of it is that we all have our places. We need to show respect for those people who are in places of authority or indeed those people who are of royal families or governments. If we did not show them some sort of respect, then what would be the use of having such positions within society? We need to be able to show some humiliation in all sorts of circumstances in life. Our parents have tried to teach us some semblance of respect and authority when we were young, as did our teachers in our schools; but how much did we listen? The most important, however, we do not see enough off; the respect and humility that we should show to God!

It would be bad enough to presume we have a place to be able to walk up to a dignitary and stand by their side only to be tackled to the ground by the body guards. But what would it be like to presume we had a place by God's side, only to be judged unworthy and to never see Him again. That sort of presumption is something we often learn the hard way by being told off or pushed out of the way when we try to do something. But when it is our final act we are facing, choosing the wrong way is a bit too late and will haunt us for eternity.

We need to be able to learn about our place in society – and we do learn this quite quickly through parental and other teachings as well as the few bumps and bruises we get along the way. But when it comes to showing our humility to God, we need to stand up and take notice of what it says in the bible. We need to read and study our bibles to make sure we know just how much we do need to respect God. It will take time as we slowly learn just how much He has done for us and work out in our own hearts and minds just how much we do owe Him! With this knowledge should come the humility and respect which we deserve to have toward God…

Points to Ponder:
How many times do you have to be told to respect your parents?

How many chances do you think you will get at the judgement seat?