WHEN WISDOM ENTERS YOUR HEART

WHEN WISDOM ENTERS YOUR HEART

I trust you have enjoyed Pastor John Strain's journey into Proverbs during the month of June. I have appreciated his willingness to share his insights from this powerful book.

Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, is it not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes intoxicating drink' lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice for all the afflicted. Proverbs 31:3-5

We complete our journey through Proverbs today. I thank Bill Welte for allowing me to share this month of Freedom Fighters. It's been a privilege!

These lines from the last chapter speak to two of the issues that prompted the Freedom Fighter email. The Wisdom Writer tells us that we're not to give our strength to women. Some who fight for freedom fight the battle of sexual addiction. Others in the fight know the power of substance abuse, especially alcoholic beverages. The Proverbs writers come back to these problems one last time.

Those who practice the sexual sins engage in that which destroys kings. If the addiction can destroy a king, what can it do to normal guys like you and me? All of us have read or heard of men who have lost everything to satisfy their sexual addictions. Some have gone to jail. I can't remember the whole saying, but Bill Welte has told us that "sin will always take us farther than we wanted to go." Let's not fool ourselves. Sexual sins are seductive, but they're also destructive.

The writer moves onto strong drink-intoxicating drink. Those who drink strong drink take the risk of forgetting the law and perverting justice. Again, we're not kings. We're ordinary men with all the responsibility that comes with being men. Intoxicating drink will do the same thing to us that it does to kings. We'll forget what's right in the pursuit of what is wrong. We may not pervert justice for the afflicted. Many of us know, however, the suffering and injustice our families experience when we pursue our addictions?

Freedom Fighters accept these instructions. We don't explain them away as though they don't apply to us. We think clearly about the consequences of addictive behavior, and we take every precaution to resist temptation. We build wisdom into our lives.

I pray this thirty-one-day journey through Proverbs will push you to take the trip each month. May God help all of us discover the wisdom that helps us "live life skillfully."

Don't forget: "When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil. . . ."

GAITHER TENOR LARRY FORD IN CONCERT TODAY AT AMERICA'S KESWICK 2:30 HYMNSING followed by the CONCERT AT 3:00 PM. Concert is free but we will receive a love offering to cover the expenses of the concert.