SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
3/27/2013 9:46 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Disrespect
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Studies in
Proverbs
Message of the
verses: In yesterday’s SD we began
to look at what Dr. Wiersbe calls “Popular Sins,” and so today we will look at
the second popular sin that he writes about in his commentary on Proverbs, and
the book of Proverbs speaks out about.
Disrespect:
Let us start with a reminder of what we learned from
the introduction that Dr. Wiersbe wrote at the beginning of his commentary on
the twelfth chapter of his book: “Movies
and TV are instructing generation after generation of children how to ridicule
virginity, laugh at sobriety, challenge authority, and reject honesty. Actors, actresses, and advertisers have
convinced them that ‘having fun,’ ‘feeling good ’and‘getting away with it’ are
now the main goals in life.
“The book of Proverbs has something to say about popular sins
that are weakening our homes, threatening the peace of our communities, and
destroying lives.”
Let us begin this short study of disrespect by looking at
Proverbs 30:17, “The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of
the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.” Verse seventeen is at the end of a paragraph
that starts out in verse fifteen by saying, “There are three things that will
not be satisfied, Four that will not say.”
What this proverb is telling us that the child that does not have
respect for his or her parents will one day be treated like an unburied corpse
and this was a great reproach in Israel.
Let us now look at Proverbs 30:11-14 and compare it to the generation we
now live in: “11 Don’t curse your father
or fail to bless your mother. 12 Don’t imagine yourself to be quite presentable
when you haven’t had a bath in weeks. 13 Don’t be stuck-up and think you’re
better than everyone else. 14 Don’t be greedy, merciless and cruel as wolves,
Tearing into the poor and feasting on them, shredding the needy to pieces only
to discard them.” (The Message)
How do children begin to show disrespect to their
parents? First of all they do not
respect the Word of God, for if they did then they would realize that their
disrespect was totally wrong. Proverbs
15:5 states “A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof
is sensible.” Proverbs 13:13 states, “The
one who despises the word will be in debt to it, But the one who fears the
commandment will be rewarded.”
As a person goes through different stages of life they
learn different things along the way.
When parents spend their hard earned money to send their children off to
a college that teaches them that the Word of God is not what they should be
following they then come home and ridicule their parents and laugh at them
telling them how old fashion they are.
If these children continue along this path, having this haughty
attitude, they will eventually rob their parents as seen in Proverbs 28:24 “He
who robs his father or his mother And says, "It is not a
transgression," Is the companion of a man who destroys.” They may even end up cursing their parents as
Proverbs 20:20 speaks of “He who curses his father or his mother, His lamp will
go out in time of darkness.” Proverbs
19:26 teaches that they will bring shame to their parents, “He who assaults his
father and drives his mother away Is a shameful and disgraceful son.”
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary on being
disrespectful by saying “Under the Old Covenant, children who disobeyed their
parents were in danger of losing their lives.
I’m not advocating that disrespect for parents be made a capital crime
today, but passages like Deuteronomy 21:18-21 and Leviticus 20:9 show how
seriously God takes the Fifth Commandment: ‘Honor your father and your mother,
that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving
you.’ (Ex. 20:12, NKJV; see Eph. 6:1-4).
Children who don’t respect godly, loving parents aren’t likely to respect
teachers, policemen, or any other authority symbol in society.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: From reading
these different verses in Proverbs I can see the importance of teaching
children the Word of God when they are very young. The following are three verses from the book
of Proverbs that all have the words “a child” in them: Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should
go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. Pr 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart
of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Pr 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But
a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”
My Steps of Faith for Today: Share what I have studied with our children
so that they can put it into practice with their children.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 32:1-8
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is
the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my
sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon
me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah. 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my
iniquity I did not hide; I said “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”;
and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. 6 Therefore, let everyone who is
godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great
waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8 I will instruct you and
teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon
you.
Answer to Yesterday’s Bible
Question: “Helped his seven daughters at
the well” (Exodus 2:16-20)
Bible Question for
Today: “On whose name shall one call to
be saved?”
Answer in tomorrow’s SD.
3/27/2013 10:45 AM
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