proverbs3: the reward for trusting in the Lord

 In proverbs 3, we read:

1-2 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;

    take to heart my commands.

They’ll help you live a long, long time,

    a long life lived full and well.

3-4 Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.

    Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.

Earn a reputation for living well

    in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.

5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

    he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

    Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

    your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

    give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

    your wine vats will brim over.

But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;

    don’t sulk under his loving correction.

It’s the child he loves that God corrects;

    a father’s delight is behind all this.

The Bible repeatably says to trust the Lord. There is a reward for trusting in the Lord: he will make you prosper. To trust the Lord means to abandon our ways. This may happen by a loving correction. 

27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;

    your hand is God’s hand for that person.

Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”

    or “Try me tomorrow”

    when the money’s right there in your pocket.

Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor

    when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.

In Brazil, there are many beggars, but who deserves help? Here we read to help who deserves help. For me, it is better to help our brothers and sisters in church because we know their struggles in life. Anyway, the Lord is good and wants me to be good, generous.

30-32 Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder,

    always spoiling for a fight.

Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life.

    Why be a bully?

“Why not?” you say. Because God can’t stand twisted souls.

    It’s the straightforward who get his respect.

Some people fight for the pleasure of winning a fight. The Lord is not pleased by this kind of people. Am I fighting for the pleasure of feeling above others?