Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother. If your brother isn’t near to you, or if you don’t know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother comes looking for it, and you shall restore it to him. So you shall do with his donkey. So you shall do with his garment. So you shall do with every lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found. You may not hide yourself. You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again.”
(Deuteronomy 22:1-4)

“Wisdom has built her house.
    She has carved out her seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat.
    She has mixed her wine.
    She has also set her table.
She has sent out her maidens.
    She cries from the highest places of the city:
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
    As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
“Come, eat some of my bread,
    Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!
Leave your simple ways, and live.
    Walk in the way of understanding.””
(Proverbs 9:1-5)

Israel was DIFFERENT. Their code of day to day behaviour was different from the countries around them. They were held to a higher standard of conduct. They were not to act the way the other people in the ancient world acted. They were to be better. They were to respect one another. Act in a way that blessed and lifted each other up. Going the extra mile to do what was right in the eyes of God – the only OBJECTIVE observer anyone ever has. Whether it was in sexual relationships, neighbourhood relationships, business relationships, or in judiciary judgements. They were to be aligned with the heart of God. Love, respect, honour, generousity, and kindness were to be the way they built up their character and reputation. It was the way to a healthy community. Because it helped them and closed the door on sin and ungodly conduct, God was firm in how they were to do it and how they were to handle those who refused to behave in the only way that benefited the whole: righteous conduct.

We don’t always know what to do. It can be hard and we often find ourselves fighting our selfish inclinations. That’s why God gives us wisdom. It’s available to us for the asking (James 1:5). We can make sure that we are operating the way that we should by taking in the correct building blocks. What is in our hearts determines how we act. God is always encouraging us to align ourselves with His way and His thinking (Romans 12:2). In a battle of wits, He doesn’t want to see us unarmed.

Summary

We have to remember that God doesn’t want to see us fail. He wants us to SUCCEED. He created wisdom so that we would have an algorithm we can use to make godly decisions. He created that benchmark by which we can measure the material we choose to watch, listen to, and read. Whether it is well done isn’t the question. Whether it’s ‘catchy’ isn’t the question. Whether the creator(s) are talented isn’t the question. The question is what the underlying values are and how they align with God’s moral character. We are to use wisdom – freely given by God – to determine whether something is worth paying attention to. If it isn’t worthy, we won’t enjoy the harvest that comes from that seed. Better to plant godly seeds and get a plentiful harvest in all areas of our lives.