Guidelines For Living Devotional

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him," wrote Solomon 3,000 years ago.  Numbers three and four on that list of character disorders which the Bible calls sins are "hands that shed innocent blood," and "a heart that devises wicked schemes."

Rebekah lived in a polygamous society where the women were property and beautiful women were commodities to be purchased at the cost of gold or blood.  Isaac, her husband, knew this all too well; so when he was asked, "Who is this woman?"  he lied out of fear, saying, "She is my sister!" And why not?  Who keeps faith with the enemy?  A generation before, his father, Abraham, had essentially done the same thing to try to protect his mother.  You can read about both incidents in the book of Genesis.  This issue of lying to protect someone when the very act of dishonesty only endangers relationships all the more is not new.  The incidents which I related took place almost 5,000 years ago, yet the issue is as relevant as your wife's most recent visit with her neighbor or best friend.

The practice of dishonesty is the second taboo on God's list of what He detests (See Proverbs 6:16-19).  While God loves the sinner, He certainly dislikes some of his habits.  Question:  On a scale of 1-10, how honest are you?  Would you say you are honest all of the time?  Most of the time?  Part of the time?  Or whenever it suits your purpose?

The Bible leaves no question about where God stands in relationship to what He loves and what He hates.  And furthermore, He makes it clear that He expects His people to incorporate His view in their personal lives. "There are six things the LORD hates," wrote Solomon in the book of Proverbs, and the first to be mentioned is pride.  A lot of things could have been at the top of the list, yet arrogance and pride are especially distasteful to our heavenly Father. Why?  Why not put drunkenness or infidelity at the top of that list?  Why not drug use, or wars which tear families and nations apart?

When you have poor credit, banks usually refuse to loan you money; however, one loan company advertises that they will make loans when others turn you away because "you are human."   Interesting--is it not--how often we overlook irresponsibility because "we are just human."   How inconsiderate of banks not to loan money when you have a past record of failing to pay your debts!

One of the remarkable things about life today is the fact that science knows so much about some things and so little about some other things which are very common, and we tend to take those things for granted—not sensing how very important they are to our survival.

A coal miner was trapped by an accident deep in the heart of the earth, and after the initial shock of realizing what had happened, the man took inventory to see how badly he was hurt.  His carbon lantern, the only light that he had, was buried under the debris which had covered him.  But his hands were free.  One leg was pinned by a large timber.  After the initial shock, he knew that he was pretty badly bruised and frightened.  Who wouldn't be scared?

In her book, The Fourth Instinct, Arianna Huffington tells of the parents who brought a baby boy home from the hospital, joining an older sibling already in the family.  The four-year-old sister, however, immediately requested to be alone with the little boy.  The parents, though, were afraid that the sister might not handle the little infant with care.  "Why do you want to be alone with him?"  Unsatisfied, the parents ignored the request.  But finally, after persistent requests, the mother agreed; however, she stayed outside within reach should the baby cry.

Some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them, and some could be dumped out of an airplane in a brown paper bag over a country where they had never sat foot, and they would still achieve greatness.  These are the ones who are truly great.  Such was the individual born long ago of Jewish parents in the university town of Tarsus, located in the Zagros mountains of Turkey.  During the first part of his life, he was identified as Saul of Tarsus, but following a dramatic encounter with the risen Christ, he became known as Paul, the Apostle.

One evening when the English essayist and author John Ruskin was a little boy, he was sitting at the window of his home watching the lamplighter progressively work his way up a hill lighting the street lamps.  Poking his finger at the window pane to make a point, the little lad suddenly exclaimed, "Look!  He's punching holes in the darkness."