Shalom
In Proverbs 1:8-33 we read of a warning from Solomon to his son, to avoid joining in with people who would entice him to violence.
Violence in today's world comes in many formats, from physical to emotional, intellectual to spiritual.
Solomon is warning of throwing one's lot in with those who do harm to others for their own gain.
Yet this is easy to do, and easier to justify. From the obvious, direct stealing, and physical attacks, to the more recent cyber bullying and identity theft, all bring violence upon a victim.
Yet we can fool ourselves,
"it's ok to download from a torrent site, the companies make too much money anyway."
"He should have made his password stronger, the site deserved to be hacked"
"They were dressed in a certain way and were asking for trouble"
The list is endless, yet all are abdicating the perpetrator from responsibility for their actions.
God has another plan entirely.
Where the world proposes violence, God proposes peace.
Those who would be a wise follower of Christ must follow the path of peace.
A follower of Christ acknowledges that we were created to work with God's plans not against them.
Sin is trying to succeed by ignoring reality, while wisdom is a matter of life and death, because wisdom reveals we are listening to God with an eager heart.
It shows we are desiring to be within a covenant relationship.
The second part of this proverb is the offer of wisdom to those who would take it, and with it comes blessing. God offers "rest", a sense that once actions are done under God's guidance, one can find peace and rest in theses actions.
The word to describe peace and rest is Shalom.
The follower of Christ is meant to be a person of Shalom, one who brings peace, to their own lives and to others.
This is not to say one never challenges others, Jesus did all the time, but it is to say the ultimate goal is to bring resolution to the conflict in Christ's name.
For consideration
1. Are you a person of peace or just some one who avoids issues?
2. Are you seeking others who also desire Shalom, and working with them in this world, in what format is this taking place?
3. When you are in conflict, who do you call on to find resolution?
Violence in today's world comes in many formats, from physical to emotional, intellectual to spiritual.
Solomon is warning of throwing one's lot in with those who do harm to others for their own gain.
Yet this is easy to do, and easier to justify. From the obvious, direct stealing, and physical attacks, to the more recent cyber bullying and identity theft, all bring violence upon a victim.
Yet we can fool ourselves,
"it's ok to download from a torrent site, the companies make too much money anyway."
"He should have made his password stronger, the site deserved to be hacked"
"They were dressed in a certain way and were asking for trouble"
The list is endless, yet all are abdicating the perpetrator from responsibility for their actions.
God has another plan entirely.
Where the world proposes violence, God proposes peace.
Those who would be a wise follower of Christ must follow the path of peace.
A follower of Christ acknowledges that we were created to work with God's plans not against them.
Sin is trying to succeed by ignoring reality, while wisdom is a matter of life and death, because wisdom reveals we are listening to God with an eager heart.
It shows we are desiring to be within a covenant relationship.
The second part of this proverb is the offer of wisdom to those who would take it, and with it comes blessing. God offers "rest", a sense that once actions are done under God's guidance, one can find peace and rest in theses actions.
The word to describe peace and rest is Shalom.
The follower of Christ is meant to be a person of Shalom, one who brings peace, to their own lives and to others.
This is not to say one never challenges others, Jesus did all the time, but it is to say the ultimate goal is to bring resolution to the conflict in Christ's name.
For consideration
1. Are you a person of peace or just some one who avoids issues?
2. Are you seeking others who also desire Shalom, and working with them in this world, in what format is this taking place?
3. When you are in conflict, who do you call on to find resolution?
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