A wise man is strong and a man of knowledge increases strength. While the world focuses on physical strength, the greater strength is that which is spiritual.
Men rob God by simply withholding what God requested. This robbing takes on two forms: not giving what God has required or giving less than one’s best.
Most people view sin as a private or earthy matter. Yet, every sin is against the Lord. In truth, men can sin against the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
A man’s salutation can serve as the initial window to the condition of his heart. To understand this truth, consider Nabal's salutation concerning David.
Thrones and empires are terminated because of the unruly evil of sin. As such, they rise or fall based upon their choice to sin or their refusal to partake therein.
A talebearer as one that bears a tale or reveals secrets (Proverbs 11:13; Proverbs 20:19). This type of sin is regretfully a plague amongst modern Christianity.
In a very basic sense, the word hope means desire, yet the true meaning is not nearly as weak as the world presents. The word hope in scripture is associated with the word expectation (Proverbs 10:28; Proverbs 11:7). Hope is not simply some type of wishful thinking; it is something that someone trusts in dearly (Jeremiah 17:7). This type of hope is not something visible to the naked eye of man (Romans 8:24), but it is believed and held firm by faith (Hebrews 11:1). All men live their lives based upon hope; however, not all hope is the same. One man’s hope might be that there is no life after death. Another might place his hope solely upon the payment for sin provided by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some of the most popular televangelists garner their popularity by falsely teaching that God wants everyone wealthy. God simply does not want everyone to have riches. Yet, if wealth is gained through scriptural means, it can be used to do much good (by supporting missionaries, helping those in need, furthering the gospel, etc.). The Bible clearly teaches that it is wrong for anyone to seek to become wealthy. Yet, one should equally not set out to be poor. As such, every believer should know how to avoid self-induced poverty. According to scripture, there are certain actions or inactions that ultimately lead to poverty: laziness (Proverbs 6:10-11; Proverbs 24:33-34), greediness (Proverbs 11:24), pleasure loving (Proverbs 21:17; Proverbs 23:21), and following vain persons (Proverbs 28:19). These truths hold constant on both an individual level as well as collectively.
Gaining wealth (or riches) has allowed some people to increase their levels of comfort far beyond those who are financially disadvantaged. In one parable, the Lord spoke of a rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully (Luke 12:16). The rich man unfortunately came to trust in his abundance and decided to take his ease (Luke 12:19), but that night he died (Luke 12:20). Riches are not for ever (Proverbs 27:24) even if it is not death that robs a man of his riches. The Bible says for the living, riches “certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5). Furthermore, we are told that those who trust in riches will fall (Proverbs 11:28). Perhaps this is why Paul told Timothy to instruct the rich to trust in the living God rather than their uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17).
One of the enemies of righteousness is the type of ungodly anger exhibited all too frequently by so many believers. The Bible says that this type of anger is to have no part in the believer’s life. The apostle Paul gave this admonition, “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). Contextually, it is evident that the anger referenced is not a godly anger against unrighteous things, but an ungodly anger that finds its frustration in things that should not induce one to be angry or wrathful. Unfortunately, believers are far from exempt from this type of sinful anger. This is nothing new since David warned against such anger when he said, “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.”
