Psalm 19: 7-10
The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul ...... The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
I awoke this morning with the last words of this section of scripture running through my head. The psalmist is telling us that the law of God is sweeter than honey. Imagine that! When we think about laws we usually think about rules and regulations that keep us from doing things that we don't want to do. Rarely do we truly think about the protection of those laws or the chaotic confusion that would result from a society with no laws. All of us would agree that some laws are good but rarely do we think of them as sweet.
Let's take today for example: Labor Day. Most of us think of it as a last chance to get a few days off before the busyness of the fall is upon us. Traditionally it was the end of the summer vacation season and school started the next day. Very few of us really think about the origins of the holiday. To give the short version, the holiday is a commemoration of the struggles early Americans had in establishing fair labor laws and practices. Today, because of laws passed by Congress, we are no longer at the mercy of our employers whims. We can not be forced to work long hours without overtime. We have unemployment compensation if our position ends or we are dismissed unfairly. There are OSHA codes to ensure safety in the workplace. The list goes on. While there are some who would say the government unfairly imposes itself into our lives, I'm sure all of us are thankful for at least some of these regulations. They have done much good for American society.
We could make a parallel application of these labor laws to our spiritual lives. Many times we are tempted to see the word of God as unfair interference into our lives. When the preacher "steps on our toes" we can get disgruntled or even angry. Why is he picking on me? Why are there so many restrictions in the Christian life? Why can't I just live as I please! The truth is that we need regulations. Without guidelines all of us would wind up in the ditch. Our lives would become a shipwreck on the storms of life. Without some guidance, we would be left to go with our best guess. Often this is not good enough. We need something more concrete to give us direction in times of trouble. The word of God is that concrete direction. If we will heed it, it not only gives us dos and don'ts but offers us protections as well.
God's word gives us a promise that we are blessed when we obey him and cursed when we do not. The reason is simple. His words, when obeyed, keep us from making mistakes that will bring curses into our lives. By default then, we are blessed. When His word is ignored, we are open to the enemy of our souls and whatever he wants to do in our lives. Like the labor laws that this holiday commemorates, God's word stands up for us and offers us protection when we do right. We can never go wrong by seeking the word of God for direction. His word is truly sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
Blessings,
Sullivan Jones
The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul ...... The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
I awoke this morning with the last words of this section of scripture running through my head. The psalmist is telling us that the law of God is sweeter than honey. Imagine that! When we think about laws we usually think about rules and regulations that keep us from doing things that we don't want to do. Rarely do we truly think about the protection of those laws or the chaotic confusion that would result from a society with no laws. All of us would agree that some laws are good but rarely do we think of them as sweet.
Let's take today for example: Labor Day. Most of us think of it as a last chance to get a few days off before the busyness of the fall is upon us. Traditionally it was the end of the summer vacation season and school started the next day. Very few of us really think about the origins of the holiday. To give the short version, the holiday is a commemoration of the struggles early Americans had in establishing fair labor laws and practices. Today, because of laws passed by Congress, we are no longer at the mercy of our employers whims. We can not be forced to work long hours without overtime. We have unemployment compensation if our position ends or we are dismissed unfairly. There are OSHA codes to ensure safety in the workplace. The list goes on. While there are some who would say the government unfairly imposes itself into our lives, I'm sure all of us are thankful for at least some of these regulations. They have done much good for American society.
We could make a parallel application of these labor laws to our spiritual lives. Many times we are tempted to see the word of God as unfair interference into our lives. When the preacher "steps on our toes" we can get disgruntled or even angry. Why is he picking on me? Why are there so many restrictions in the Christian life? Why can't I just live as I please! The truth is that we need regulations. Without guidelines all of us would wind up in the ditch. Our lives would become a shipwreck on the storms of life. Without some guidance, we would be left to go with our best guess. Often this is not good enough. We need something more concrete to give us direction in times of trouble. The word of God is that concrete direction. If we will heed it, it not only gives us dos and don'ts but offers us protections as well.
God's word gives us a promise that we are blessed when we obey him and cursed when we do not. The reason is simple. His words, when obeyed, keep us from making mistakes that will bring curses into our lives. By default then, we are blessed. When His word is ignored, we are open to the enemy of our souls and whatever he wants to do in our lives. Like the labor laws that this holiday commemorates, God's word stands up for us and offers us protection when we do right. We can never go wrong by seeking the word of God for direction. His word is truly sweeter than honey and the honeycomb.
Blessings,
Sullivan Jones