COME ON, SMILE!
By Pastor Ralph Wells
Good morning from o dark thirty Lapu-Lapu City; where today we are considering the question, “Are we sometimes too smart for our own good?”
Or, too put it another way, “Are we too big for our spiritual britches?”
What do I mean by that; well let me set the stage before I answer that.
God has much to say about “simple” people; some good and some bad; we are going to consider the good aspects today.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7) “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)
In a nutshell God desires us to be simple, not simple minded, but simple in our approach to Him and others. He even made the Gospel so simply a child can understand it; in fact, we MUST exhibit simple child-like faith to reach our destination, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
So back to today’s thought; are we sometimes so complex, or at least try to appear so, that we confound those we are speaking to? What good is our communication or teaching if we try to speak so “deep” those who may be “shallow” do not understand? And are they really shallow or just simple before God? Are we being “deep” or merely obnoxiously proud?
Here are some thoughts on that from Oswald Chambers. ~
“Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow.
This is a sure sign of spiritual pride.
And. we must be careful; for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher…” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
We must make the determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.” ~ My Utmost for His Highest
David said that when circumstances brought him low, that is made him simple God helped him and preserved him, “The Lord preserves the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.” (Psalm 116:6)
Do we want God to “preserve us” as our helper; perhaps a little more simplicity is needed.
In closing consider this verse, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Is God not saying, “Do NOT be too big for your britches? ~ Baruch HaShem Adonai
By Pastor Ralph Wells
Good morning from o dark thirty Lapu-Lapu City; where today we are considering the question, “Are we sometimes too smart for our own good?”
Or, too put it another way, “Are we too big for our spiritual britches?”
What do I mean by that; well let me set the stage before I answer that.
God has much to say about “simple” people; some good and some bad; we are going to consider the good aspects today.
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7) “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)
In a nutshell God desires us to be simple, not simple minded, but simple in our approach to Him and others. He even made the Gospel so simply a child can understand it; in fact, we MUST exhibit simple child-like faith to reach our destination, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
So back to today’s thought; are we sometimes so complex, or at least try to appear so, that we confound those we are speaking to? What good is our communication or teaching if we try to speak so “deep” those who may be “shallow” do not understand? And are they really shallow or just simple before God? Are we being “deep” or merely obnoxiously proud?
Here are some thoughts on that from Oswald Chambers. ~
“Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow aspects of life are not ordained by God; they are ordained by Him equally as much as the profound. We sometimes refuse to be shallow, not out of our deep devotion to God but because we wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow.
This is a sure sign of spiritual pride.
And. we must be careful; for this is how contempt for others is produced in our lives. And it causes us to be a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than we are. Beware of posing as a profound person— God became a baby.
To be shallow is not a sign of being sinful, nor is shallowness an indication that there is no depth to your life at all— the ocean has a shore. Even the shallow things of life, such as eating and drinking, walking and talking, are ordained by God. These are all things our Lord did. He did them as the Son of God, and He said, “A disciple is not above his teacher…” (Matthew 10:24).
We are safeguarded by the shallow things of life. We have to live the surface, commonsense life in a commonsense way. Then when God gives us the deeper things, they are obviously separated from the shallow concerns. Never show the depth of your life to anyone but God. We are so nauseatingly serious, so desperately interested in our own character and reputation, we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life.
We must make the determination to take no one seriously except God. You may find that the first person you must be the most critical with, as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.” ~ My Utmost for His Highest
David said that when circumstances brought him low, that is made him simple God helped him and preserved him, “The Lord preserves the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.” (Psalm 116:6)
Do we want God to “preserve us” as our helper; perhaps a little more simplicity is needed.
In closing consider this verse, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)
Is God not saying, “Do NOT be too big for your britches? ~ Baruch HaShem Adonai