Are You A Busybody?

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When I was 6 years old, my family got its first pet.  Tippy was her name (because of the white tip on her tail), and she looked very much like this sad-eyed beagle.  I wasn't much of a "dog person," having really preferred to have a cute, adorable, fluffy kitten, but my brothers and dad outnumbered my mom and me.

Every third day it was my job to take Tippy her food and water (a child must learn responsibility at a young age!).  But there was just one problem:  every time I entered the pen, Tippy would jump up on me, eager to have her one meal of the day.  I disliked very much that she did this, and in a quite normal reflex, I would lift the food bowl above my head out of fear.  You can imagine what happened then!  You see, I just didn't know the natural tendencies of a dog.  I had to learn them, and Dad was my teacher.  He also taught me one other thing about dogs--never, EVER, pull their ears.  They really don't like that!  I had completely forgotten about this tidbit of information that I was given as a child, until I read today's passages in my read-through-the Bible plan.  Proverbs 26:17 jumped off the page and took me back to my childhood and this one particular thing I learned from Dad.  Read it and smile with me!

"Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him."

What an incredible and powerful image that came to mind as I read that this morning!  

I had to really think about what this verse was saying.  The one who meddles in the business of another is like the one who would cruelly yank on a dog's ears.  This kind would be considered lacking in compassion, mean at heart, and inhumane.

So what is really meant by the term "meddles".  If we are to understand the gist of this verse, we must understand first what meddling is.  In translating the Hebrew, it was found to mean this--"to alienate and provoke to anger, to run over the top of," and its primitive root is "to cross over."  In other words, to meddle it jump into someone else's strife, in such a way that you "take charge" of their situation by speaking out your opinions on the matter.  And in so doing, you alienate them, and possibly make them quite angry with you.  

As you can see, this is quite different than being asked your opinion and expertise in a mentoring sort of fashion.  On the contrary, to meddle in someone's strife is to speak out from some place of assumed "authority," and to lord over them, not only your superiority, but all of your thoughts on the matter that you assume are correct.  (Certainly more correct than the one with an issue; otherwise, they wouldn't be experiencing strife in their situation, right?)

I think we can cross the bridge and say that if we are meddling in the affairs of others, we are busybodies who will likely offend and make angry those who are suffering in their strife.  They will likely hear our meddlings in a way that will likely cause them to rise up in anger, maybe even viciously.  There response will be akin to how a dog would respond if you pull its ears.

We would be wise to remember this analogy given to the wisest man on the earth.  Solomon was given great wisdom and understanding to both the good and bad nature of man.  Consider carefully each time you come in contact with someone who is having difficulty in their personal lives.  Is God calling you to speak a word of encouragement or exhortation?  If you choose to run ahead of Him, and blurt out all that you are thinking on the matter, you might be received as an "ear-puller" and end up with an "angry dog" lurching at you, ready to attack you for being a busybody meddler.  And who could blame them?  We might just react the same way if we are treated that way.

This challenges me.  Does it you?

Do You Follow Your Heart?

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Should We??

The image is deceptive.  We have heard it forever, haven't we?  As teenagers approaching our college days, not knowing which career path we should choose, our parents likely said to us, "Just follow your heart."  In the dating realm when we are making choices about life partners, we hear the same message, "Just follow your heart."  I have even personally heard attached to that phrase, "It can never disappoint you."  

In the end, following your heart is more about going after, and getting, exactly what you want.  Following your heart is often devoid of wise counsel, let alone the wisdom of God.

We have been told by God in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."  Twice in one verse God mentions His plans.  I can only speak for myself when I say that all too often, when there is a choice out there for me to make, I am prone to follow my heart.  Yet, nearly every time I do that, I have not given any consideration to what God want, His will for me. 

Following your heart is easy.  It simply requires that you are able to discern what you want for yourself, then go with the "good feeling."  We know how to do that!  But to follow God's heart you must be able to set yourself aside and be willing to go in the direction that God is leading you in.  God's way and our way are often in opposition.  And since our flesh has strong desires, we often mistake that as the very will of God.

Our hearts were not designed to lead us, therefore they are not trustworthy to follow.  Proverbs 23:19 speaks loudly to this.  

"Listen, my son, and be wise, and direct your heart in the way."

Do you see the difference?  God does not say that your heart is to direct you to the right things.  On the contrary, He says that you are to direct your heart!  Why is the heart unreliable to lead us?  Genesis 8:21 gives us insight into that.  "For the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth."  Now, if you are thinking, "Yes, but that is from the Old Testament, before the Spirit was given and my heart could be cleansed by Christ's sacrifice," then consider this New Testament verse spoken to converted Christian Jews.  Hebrews 4:12 powerfully aligns itself with the eternal truth of Genesis 8:21 when it declares, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart . . ."

You see, even though you are a believer and are saved and your heart houses the Holy Spirit this very moment, God is looking into your heart and is quite able to discern which parts of your heart are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and which parts are not.  Though you have been cleansed, you still sin, you still have wrong motives, you still have uncrucified flesh.  And all of that sin resides first and foremost inside your heart, long before it comes out in your actions, words and attitudes.

Do you understand now why it is so dangerous to "follow your heart"?  Your heart cannot be trusted; therefore, it is wise to make decisions based on the counsel of others, the counsel of the Word, and only after much prayer that seeks to know what God desires for you. 

Proverbs 20: 24-25 makes a strong case for not following your heart, but instead, following the steps that God has laid out for you.

"Man's steps are ordained by the Lord; how then can he understand his [own] way [needs, pathways, etc.]?  It is a trap for a man to say rashly, 'It is holy!' [this is what God wants, because it is what I want] and after the vows [making the decision or choice] to make inquiry [ask Him what He thinks or desires]."

How often I have made a decision, determining that what I want is certainly what God wants, only to realize the trap of a poor decision afterwards, when I finally ask God if it is what He wanted for me!  So often I have not been bailed out, but have been disciplined by having to bear the consequences of following my own heart, instead of leading it in the path that God had already ordained for me.  Can you relate? 

Let all believers learn the powerful lesson that following our own hearts is dangerous and most often will lead us on paths that take us away from the safety of God path for us.  And that is not the testimony God desires the lost world to see.

Something More

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(Today's blog is written by Andrea Kukura, and deals with the "meaninglessness of life" and the desire for something more.  Other followers of this blog can submit a blog entry to be published here by sending it to cherylgnagey@gmail.com)

I have read through the Bible many times. I have always thought that the book of Ecclesiastes was kind of depressing. Everything is described as either “meaningless” or “a chasing after the wind”. But this time as I was reading, I was determined to get something more out of it.

It was written by David’s son, Solomon. When he was young and had just become king of Israel, he asked God to give him a wise and discerning heart so that he could govern Israel properly. God was so pleased with his request that he was given those plus riches, honor, and a long life. Other kings came to him seeking knowledge. He had EVERYTHING and yet he said that it was all meaningless.

Now here was the wisest man who had ever walked the earth saying that everything is meaningless. So I thought, if it is all meaningless, why do we stress so much? We measure our worth by how successful we are at work and how many friends we have. We worry about paying our bills, advancement on the job, money in our bank accounts, and what we do or do not own, especially in comparison to others. We strive daily for material possessions, riches, and honor. We never have enough … and it’s all meaningless.

It’s depressing to think that everything that we work so hard for in this life is called meaningless by the wisest man in history. Then I realized that they are all temporal things. The “more” that I was looking for is found in chapter 5 which says “to stand in awe of God” (vs. 7). If he gives you wealth, possessions, and happiness in your work, it is a gift of God (vs19). In 2:26, he says that God also gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to those who please him. So how do we please him? Ch12:13 says “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Everything else is considered “a chasing after the wind”.

To fear God means to have a profound reverence and awe toward God. When you have reverence or revere something, it means to adore, highly respect; to worship. To “keep his commandments” means simply to do what he has told us to do. That includes Matt 6:33 which says, “But seek first his kingdom and righteousness …”There’s the key!

I think that we get it all backwards. We put all of our effort into our physical lives: our careers, our plans, our desires and then give God our leftover time, money, and effort. If we put him first, then he will be faithful to take care of us. So what are we waiting for? What am I waiting for?

What’s really important in this life? Well, nothing that is tangible, that’s for certain! Our relationship with Jesus is first, then our relationships with others. We need to aim our sights higher. Our focus needs to not be on this world but beyond. If all of our efforts are on this life here, how will we ever be prepared for eternity with God? Solomon called our life on earth “a few days” and “a shadow”. I’ve placed a lot of effort into my “few days” when I should be investing in my eternal life with Him. I’m ready to make that investment my main focus. Are you?