By Linda Wegner
We live in a world where exploring every religious or spiritual option is the popular thing to do so; simple as it sounds, accepting Scripture as inspired is seen as 鈥渙utdated鈥�. While it鈥檚 one thing to read the Bible, it鈥檚 another to know how to apply it to one鈥檚 life.聽 The proof is in the pudding - or the living.
In several chapters of Proverbs, Solomon lists a number of things: receive them, treasure His commands, incline your ear to wisdom, apply your heart to understanding and cry out for discernment. Beyond merely reading or listening, we need to consciously tuck them into our hearts and minds (3:3). God鈥檚 commands are not to be feared but rather, treasured (2:1). In the third chapter of Proverbs, Solomon is exacting in how we are to treat them: bind them around our necks and write them on the tablets of our hearts (v.3), allowing them to influence our world view and life style (v.5).
What are the results? First, and one benefit I鈥檝e proven over and over is the growing comprehension of the presence and blessing of knowing the Lord. Equity and justice become part of our lives while obedience to God鈥檚 ways give us the power to avoid walking in the 鈥渨ay of evil鈥�.
While several verses speak of a promise of long life as well as financial and material blessings, it鈥檚 here that I admit to not having answers to the many questions that arise from those promises. Plain and simple, there are so many things I don鈥檛 understand, especially when death seems to come far too early for far too many and too many struggle to make ends meet.
Do I understand it all? No. This I know for certain, though, when our hearts are right with God, it鈥檚 shown in how we treat others.
