Born to Die

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:18

We’re told nobody knows when Christ was born. Not true. God, of course, knows...as do Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  Since they aren’t talking I’m guessing that, in their minds, it doesn’t really matter. Even so, lots of speculation surrounds December 25th, offering fodder for the skeptics to claim the Christ Story is just a myth. 

“Au contraire, mon ami!”

While the Bible does not directly answer the question, ‘When was Jesus born?’ it does describe two events surrounding his birth that lead many to conclude that he was not born on December 25. First,  Luke 2:1-3 tells us “Caesar Augustus issued a decree ordering all the inhabited earth to be registered.” And, “Everyone had to register in “his own city.” We’re told Caesar would likely not have provoked his subjects by making them travel during the winter. 

Sure...governments never provoke their citizenry.

Second, Luke 2:8 says “there were shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.” Apparently, flocks only lived outside between March and November. This could be, but the Bible doesn’t actually say they “were living outside..” What Luke 2:8 does say is...”in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.” The Greek text says  “ἀγραυλοῦντες”, which means “lodging in the fields.”

If that’s outside...don’t stay at Econolodge...

So...Why is Christmas on December 25th since there is no evidence that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred on this date? The Encyclopædia Britannica says that church leaders probably chose it “to coincide with the pagan Roman festival marking the ‘birthday of the unconquered sun,’” at the time of the winter solstice. According to The Encyclopedia Americana, many scholars believe that this was done “in order to make Christianity more meaningful to pagan converts.”

Because God is intimidated by pagans, right?

Everybody has an opinion so...here’s mine. If we begin with the year 4BC, which seems to be the generally accepted year of Christ’s birth, Passover was March 27th on our calendar.  That’s 273 days before Christmas. The average human gestation time is 280 days. It can vary + or - up to 14 days. Coincidence? With our Biblical text so rich in symbolism, I doubt it. I suggest Jesus was conceived, by the Holy Spirit, on Passover. This would place His birthday on December 25th...spot on.

 Passover commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. In Hebrew it is known as Pesach (which means “to pass over”), because God passed over the Jewish homes when killing the Egyptian firstborn on the very first Passover eve. Moses and Aaron had warned Pharaoh that the LORD would destroy the first-born of every house in the land of Egypt if Pharaoh didn’t let the Israelites leave Egypt...but all Hebrew families were instructed to kill a lamb and put blood on the door posts of their homes. God told Moses, “when I see the blood of the lamb on the doorpost, I will “Pass over” that house and the firstborn will not be slain.”

We recall, when John baptized Jesus, John saw him approaching and told the crowd “behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” ( John 1:29). How profoundly rich is the symbolism of Jesus, the “Lamb of God” being conceived on Passover...the very day that God chose to “pass over” the homes with Lambs blood on the door posts...delivering the inhabitants from death!

When God acts, I doubt he is concerned how governments and pagans will respond to His plans. If He harbors any agenda, I suggest it is the enrichment of His people. So, how about being content with December 25...the birth of a Lamb who was born to die. That’s about as good as it gets.

Live boldly out there today...

The Miracle of Mary

“The angel Gabriel was sent from God, to Nazareth, to a virgin...and the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”  Luke 1:30-31

What if Mary had chosen abortion? 

After all, this child was unplanned, unwanted and inconvenient...as well as embarrassing...since she wasn’t married. We are told “it’s a woman’s right to choose” but, what of the consequences in this case? No Jesus, no revelation of God, no Calvary, no salvation, no eternal life...no hope. Dead in our sin.

Ponder this...

We don’t consider that, for nine months Jesus was profoundly vulnerable. Mary could have shattered God’s perfect plan of redemption just as Adam and Eve shattered God’s perfect creation. That’s how much power we have. That’s the awesome power of free will. What if Mary had chosen abortion?

Free will is not without consequence...

“But, wait” you say...”God would never let that happen! There was too much at stake.”

We can’t look at the world around us and be that naive. God let’s a lot of things happen. Why not this? My heightened sense of vulnerability at this apocalyptic possibility makes me shutter. Does God not love me enough to ensure my salvation? We’re told He does...in the familiar John 3:16. So, is His love powerful enough to overcome everything? First, the stakes really were that high. And, I believe God’s love was so pervasive that He chose very carefully. Understanding the “free will” He bestowed on us, God could only choose a young woman who’s spirit was so devoted to Him that her “free will” would compel her to submit...and obey...perfectly. Love is not incompatible with free will. Love unleashes free will.

If God can find the right person...

My second thought is a question; what miracles has God attempted in my life that I aborted before they came to term? I may never know. Tragically, my decisions are not without consequence.

What if...?

I’m comforted by the assurance that God ultimately prevails. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians reminds us “God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (2:9-11) I am, however, sobered by the reality that God could use me as mightily as He used Mary if he looked into my heart and saw I was receptive.

Am I the right person?

Let’s not make our gift of “free will” a weapon against the things God might choose to do through us.

Live boldly out there today...

American Babel

 “And they said, Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name.” Genesis 11:4

With a level of hubris exhibited by but a few nations  in human history,  we took a Divine gift, and thought it was our own creation.  

It all began when the Pilgrims chose to separate themselves from the Church of England because they believed it was beyond redemption...and it resisted reform. Starting in 1608, a group of English families left England for Holland, where they could worship freely. By 1620, the community determined to cross the Atlantic for America, where they would establish Plymouth Colony. 

Before they disembarked in Plymouth...speaking with one voice...they put their names to a compact proclaiming  “IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid:.”

Bestselling author and radio host Michael Medved recounts, in his book God’s Hand on America, a record of improbabilities and amazements that demonstrate what the Founders always believed: that events unfolded according to a master plan, with Divine destiny playing an unmistakable role in lifting the nation to greatness.  We are not, by definition, a Christian nation but...we would not be a nation at all we’re it not for the providence of God almighty.  And, the colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “Thanksgiving,” days of prayer, thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. The U.S. Continental Congress even proclaimed a national Thanksgiving upon the enactment of the Constitution.

It took only about seventy years before our united voice declaring that the providence of God sustained us began to crack. Slowly...almost imperceptibly...people began to hear other voices and the Mayflower Compact became nothing more than a historical curiosity. Even so, the Christian ethos was strong and held sway for generations.

As we grew bigger, and more powerful, we began to read our own press clippings and, as a nation, we began to regard our awesome national miracle as the work of our own hand...forgetting the God who begat us. As the sentiment grew, we could no longer speak with one voice because we no longer recognized our one source of blessing. We became prouder...and more selfish. We began to argue with one another over the best means for continuing to build out nation...now proclaiming it to be the greatest nation in human history. The debates centered around economic theory, social justice and racial equality...God was no longer part of the conversation. And, each view had its own language. Capitalists couldn’t speak socialism and nationalists couldn’t speak globalism. In short order the debate got more heated and cacophonous until nobody could understand what the others were saying.

I can tell you where this is headed...God is not mocked. So God said “Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.” Genesis 11:7-8 

So...we can prepare to be scattered like the wind or...we can humbly turn our  hearts to the benevolent God who gave us all this. Perhaps He might restore our language so we might once again speak with one voice...before everything we have crumbles.

Live boldly out there today...

The Miracle of Humanity

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3:13

Hannah Arendt, in her treatise The Human Condition, suggests nature is essentially cyclical and is an inexorable process of life and death that ultimately ends in doom. Post “Eden”, she is largely correct. The fall destroyed God’s perfect eternal creation and the consequence is death. We see it in the impending death of our planet. We see it in the actual death of our human community. The obituary would read “American goodness and benevolence died of a malignancy complicated by alienation from others and an unwillingness to forgive those the have done harm.

Arendt, however, suggests the miraculous nature of humanity provides a reprieve. The remarkable human condition allows for new possibilities every time one of us is born. Unlike animals, humans have the ability to do the unexpected because we don’t have to “react”...we can “act” independent of circumstances. She highlights two miraculous elements that can potentially reverse the cycle of doom. We humans are capable of “forgiving” and “keeping promises”.

We observe vengeance  is our automatic reaction to any perceived slight. Our streets are burning, we are beating and killing one another and we are actively disenfranchising those with whom we disagree because, you see, they are always wrong if they believe differently from us. So we “cancel” them...we de-platform them from Twitter and Facebook. We dox them and threaten their families. We consider denying them the opportunity to work in “polite society”...which is not at all polite. It’s not difficult to see over the horizon and get a glimpse of doom.

But...we can forgive. We can refuse to harbor the hatred and vengeance that imprison our ability to act miraculously and free others from their guilt. In doing so we liberate ourselves as well. We can also make promises to do better...and keep those promises. And, these promises are fertile seeds of hope for something new and better.

The tough truth in Christ’s teaching is, the well of forgiveness must never run dry. While humanly impossible, we are Divine creations capable of supernatural unction. The thing making inexhaustible forgiveness possible is our knowledge that the forgiveness we have received is eternal and immutable. My experience confirms the more forgiveness I receive...the more promises I make...and keep.

Live boldly out there today...

A Passion for Christ

“Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.”  Song of Solomon 1:4

The Song...the most obscure book of the Old Testament... is a love-poem. Even a cursory reading reveals an erotic, intimate passion that seems out of place in sacred scripture. So, in this poem, the sacred subject matter seemed so obscured by the erotic word pictures that people were forbidden to read it until they were at least 30.  Bernhard of Clairvaux (1153) was so intent on restoring a sense of piety to the poem that he delivered eighty-six sermons on it...and had only reached the end of the second chapter, before he died.

In this regard, Keil and Delitzsch remind us this poem is “Typology.” The characters represent something, or someone, “other” than those named in the poem and from it’s inception, the King represented God and the Shulamite woman represented the Nation of Israel. After the Christ Event, the Types came the represent Christ and His Bride (the Church). With this in mind, the poem takes the form of a dialogue between a husband (the king) and his wife (the Shulamite). We can divide the book into three sections: the courtship (1:1 - 3:5); the wedding (3:6 - 5:1); and the maturing marriage (5:2 - 8:14). (https://www.gotquestions.org/Song-of-Solomon.html)

So, what are we to know? You and I (as believers) are the “Bride of Christ”. Every bit of this poem is intended to reveal the nature or our relationship with Christ; it is intensely personal, it is passionate and emotional, it is life-changing. We should regularly read this poem in order to take the temperature of our relationship with Christ and see if we’re healthy.

To do this I can focus on a single verse... “Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.”

Men will surely have some difficulty appreciating the sentiment here. This is a woman who is offering herself to a man...without reservation or equivocation. I’m reminded of the lump in my throat...the sense of import...when my wife offered herself to me on our wedding night. I tried to get my head around what it meant for a woman to say “I’m yours.” Let’s tell the truth...the sentiment loses some of its existential gravity when a men says it. 

It’s a “Life Lesson“ guys...”

When we evaluate our relationship with Christ we should ask ourselves if we feel the sort of passion toward our Savior that we read in this poem. We should ask ourselves if we still give ourselves to Him completely...without reservation. Most of us will be disappointed with what we learn but, we can aspire to that healthy standard. This is when we begin to see the reciprocal love of Christ bloom in our lives and begin to change us.

Throughout the poem we see the two lovers navigate life together but it’s important to recognize it is she that joins his life...not the other way around.  We Join the Christ who called us and loves us. We don’t expect Him to join us.

Live boldly out there today...

Remember

“Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:6, 7

When the Bill Clinton presidential campaign was pursuing the White House in 1991 they constantly reminded themselves of the core issue with the meme; ITS THE ECONOMY, STUPID! It was an acknowledgement that with so many issues and crises swirling around, it would be easy to forget why they were there. 

“It’s hard to remember you came to drain the swamp when you’re up to your hips in alligators!”

So, after eleven chapters of reminding us how meaningless life is, how does Solomon conclude this dissertation? We can be assured he undertook this entire venture with a sober mind and sincere heart since he reminds us...“he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them...seeking to find just the right words to express truths clearly.” Acknowledging the words of the wise are sometimes  painful, he reminds us they are also helpful. 

So, he continues, “here now is my final conclusion:

1 Remember him in the days of your youth...before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” 

2 Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. 

3 Remember him before your legs start to tremble; and your shoulders stoop. Before your teeth stop grinding; and before your eyes see dimly.

4 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades.

5 Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

6 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. For then the body will return to the earth,

Its all we need to know in order to find purpose and meaning in life; “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” 

And then, the spirit will return to God who gave it. That’s the whole story. 

Live boldly out there today...

 

Why?

“Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.“ 

Ecclesiastes 11:5, 6

Emily Conner, (https://www.scarymommy.com), cites a University of Michigan, study explaining the reason why preschoolers ask so many “whys.” Like, “Mom, why is the moon following us?” or “Why should I wear my pants?” Well, it could be one of the following reasons:

The need to know: For a little child who is still coming to terms with the world, everything is overwhelming — hence the need to know.

Attention seeking: According to INSEAD professor and questioning expert Hal Gregerson, child asks why over and over again either because we do not understand their question or are not listening to them. When we answer the wrong question it creates confusion, resulting in...more questions.

Defiance: Sometimes a child’s why is just a way of being defiant “Why should I brush my teeth?”. However, getting angry is just going to make the situation worse. Rather than saying, “Because I tell you to,” explain what happens if your child doesn’t brush their teeth.

Life is filled with curiosities and uncertainties. We all would like clarification at one time or another. It’s important to remember that many of the things that rest in the mind of God are inexplicable to the human heart. When we ask God “why”, and don’t receive a satisfying answer we have a few options; did God already answer this in scripture and I just wasn’t paying attention? Am I being stubborn and hoping for a different answer? Do I really need to know?

One thing we know for sure, God rarely says “because I said so.” We are assured that “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).  Solomon says sometimes we simply need to get on with our lives, doing what we know to do, and content ourselves with the reality that we don’t need to know everything. And, according to a poll by American research firm Gallup, children ask fewer questions as they grow up...

Live boldly out there today...

Mind your mouth...

“Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.” Ecclesiastes 10:20

The Tenth Chapter reads like An episode of “Things my Mother Taught Me.”

• When you dig a well, you might fall in.
• When you demolish an old wall, you could be bitten by a snake.
• When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you.
• When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax.
• Using a dull ax requires great strength,so sharpen the blade.
• That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
• If a snake bites before you charm it, what’s the use of being a snake charmer?
• Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words.
• Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house.

All of it seems full of common sense and we aren’t even tempted to debate the issues or tempt fate, but...wait! The smartest man in the history of the world closes with a lesson we find almost impossible to learn; “Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.”

I remember being told a story about a chaplain I’d never met. The story was unflattering and I said “if that’s true, he will never get promoted again.” The story was true, my prediction was not. Five years later he became my boss and he confronted my about my comment. How did he know? Why did he care? It doesn’t matter. He made it his mission to make my life miserable. And, he was pretty successful.

It doesn’t matter that he was petty and vindictive...it was my fault, the moment I opened my mouth five years earlier. Wouldn’t it be great if I only had to learn that lesson once? Well, that was neither the first nor the last time for me. Why does this seem to be the most difficult lesson to learn? 

Ashley Evans (https://biblereasons.com) says one of the ways that the Bible talks about the tongue, or the words that we speak, is by warning us about the sins of the tongue. Our words can injure others. Our tongue is one of our most dangerous weapons. What is worse, our words can reveal the sinful nature of our heart. 

Two of the Ten Commandments speak specifically about sins committed with the tongue: using the Lords name in vain, and bearing false witness against someone else (Exodus 20:7, 16.) Also, Jesus Himself warned us about the dangers of using our tongue rashly. Other sins of the tongue include boasting, licentious language, being critical, double-tongued, explosive uncontrolled angry words, hateful speech, or purposefully using obscure words to hide on a significant issue.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” That puts capricious speech in pretty serious company. It’s possible the turmoil in our lives is not because somebody is “out to get us.” It’s possible our untamed tongue already “got” us.

My favorite is Proverbs 26:20 “Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down.” Don’t feed the beast!

Live boldly out there today...

You’re Working on the Wrong Life

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11

The best team doesn’t always win...

Joe Namath may have been confident that the Jets were going to beat the Colts, but nobody else was. Vegas had New York as an 18-point underdog. And for good reason: Baltimore was a dominant team in a better league. It had lost only one game going into the Super Bowl. But it had also lost Johnny Unitas going into the game. Unitas was nicked up so Earl Morrall got the start for Baltimore and struggled. A hobbled Unitas eventually got into the game and led the Colts to their only touchdown.

Super Bowl III: Jets 16, Colts 7...ask any Minnesota Viking fan if that isn’t a big deal!

We’ve all experienced it on some occasion; we did everything right but our marriage failed, while our our self centered neighbor appears to enjoy an idyllic marriage. We raised our children in the church and they still walked away, while an atheist friend’s child comes to devout faith. We posted the best productivity numbers at work and were still let go, while the marginal performer somehow got a performance award. 

It’s not just our imagination. It rains on both the just and the unjust...

Its not fair, but...according to Solomon, God never designed life to be fair. He designed us to seek Him, please Him and live in fellowship with him. Beyond that, there is little difference between any of us. “The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.” Joseph Mengele was a an evil monster while Billy Graham was a modern day saint. They’re both dead...at least in terms of the life we understand on this earth, but we all know...neither is really dead. 

So, what’s Solomon’s point? When Solomon makes his claim he is talking about the vanity of investing all our resources as though this is the only life we will ever have.  What a waste of effort. Think about it; Abraham is gone, King David is gone, Caesar is gone, Hannibal is gone, Charlemagne is gone, Lincoln is gone, D. L. Moody is gone, Hitler is gone. Unless they laid up some treasure in Heaven, everything they accomplished on earth is gone with them. I imagine, right now, Hitler would trade his Third Reich for a chance to occupy Corrie Ten Boom’s place in Heaven...even though he regarded her as less than a dog when they were both here.

This begs the question; to what end are we working? Youngest CEO ever? Most expensive house ever? Richest man ever?  Will God be impressed when we arrive at the Pearly Gates with our U-Haul  full of accomplishments? No. So, living for this earthly life and working to make something out of it is a fools errand. Solomon advises “go ahead, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! Wear nice clothes, with a splash of cologne! Live happily with the woman you love for she is God’s gift to you.”

So...to whom does the race go? It goes to the ones who invest their lives in following hard after God and acknowledging His Son. When you’re 72 you think about these things...

Live boldly out there today...

God? Or the Devil?

“As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.”  Ecclesiastes 8:8

Nobel recipient Bob Dylan offered his view on life; he must have read the eighth chapter of Ecclesiastes...

You may be an ambassador

To England or France

You might like to gamble

You might like to dance

You may be the heavyweight

Champion of the world

You might be a socialite

With a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody

Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody

Well it may be the Devil

Or it may be the Lord

But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Here’s the problem: the devil is a master just as God is a master. And neither will let us go willingly. Yet, there is a remarkable difference between the two. God loves us; to the point of offering His Son to redeem us from Satan’s clutches. We receive victory over sin and death so we can live eternally in peace with our creator. If we choose to reject His offer He grants us our freedom.

On the other hand, the Devil “was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies”. (John 8:44)

And the biggest lie? If we don’t follow God...we follow our own path. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are born slaves to the devil and remain slaves to him unless we allow Christ to intervene. He’s devious; The devil knows very few of us would consciously follow him so he subtly recasts the choice to “I know what I need more than God knows.” And, we go merrily through life thinking we’re in charge. But, the devil is not going to release us from that misperception without a cosmic fight...one we cannot win on our own.

That level of naïveté is fatal...

So, the question is clear; who do we serve? It’s a binary choice. If not God, there is only one other master.

Live boldly out there today...

Things Money Can’t Buy

“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter” Ecclesiastes 7:12

Rumor has it that Walt Disney had his body frozen in hopes of being resuscitated at later date. CRYOGENICS offers the elderly and terminally ill the chance to freeze their body in the hopes of coming back to life in the future. Advocates believe that scientists will one day work out how to warm the bodies up and bring them back to life, by which time doctors might be able to cure cancer and other diseases which are untreatable today. It’s very expensive. But, hey, what’s eternal life worth?

But, doctors don’t have the knowledge required to reanimate a frozen corpse.

Solomon is literally saying, “in the shade is knowledge, in the shade is money”; “כִּ֛י בְּצֵ֥ל הַֽחָכְמָ֖ה בְּצֵ֣ל הַכָּ֑סֶף וְיִתְרֹ֣ון דַּ֔עַת הַֽחָכְמָ֖ה תְּחַיֶּ֥ה בְעָלֶֽיהָ׃ For, in the shadow of both, we find shelter and relief.  That’s where the similarity ends...

The advantage of knowledge, according to Solomon, is that knowledge preserves the lives of its possessors while wealth may allow us to delay the inevitable but can never preserve our lives. On what basis does Solomon make this claim? Proverbs 1:7 tells us the starting point from which all wisdom derives is “The fear of the Lord”, or the recognition that God is the author, authority and sustainer of all things. Anything we call knowledge that is not built upon this premise is foolishness.

This journey toward true knowledge is described is the fourth chapter of Ephesians; “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it...So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

In other words, real knowledge always results in accepting Christ. Some disagree, and occupy their lives with alternative theories regarding the end of life. And, wealth encourages the search for those alternatives...just like it encourages the search for a nicer house, or car, or job, or spouse. It’s what money does; it provides options. God recognizes this and, with the stubborn, He won’t quarrel; As the Apostle Paul says “just as [some] did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” (Romans 1:28)

Money can offer comfort; heat, air conditioning, food, clothing...even additional days on this earth but...not everlasting life. If we seek relief, there is only one place to begin.

Live boldly out there today...