The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional: 365 Devotions through the Proverbs (29 page)

April 16

Pretending

     
Some who are poor pretend to be rich;

          
others who are rich pretend to be poor.

This proverb gives us two ends of the bad stick of being obsessed with appearances and money.

First Timothy 6:10 tells us that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (
NKJV
).

Pretending to be rich is a trap. First of all, who cares? Big deal! The state of many people’s finances right now is the end result of thinking it is a big deal. We got caught up in thinking “bigger is better.” You buy a bigger, nicer house, then your old furniture and car look shabby. So you need to upgrade your clothes, and your kids need everything new and the latest. That put many people running the rat race, and there is a trap—for the rat—in that. There is!

If you’re a child of God and if you fell into the trap of living beyond your means by buying on credit, you’re probably feeling very desperate right now. This is a hard lesson. I ask you to learn it and
never forget it
. Before God, ask him to break you of judging the value of people by the car they drive or the house they live in.

In Luke 12:15 Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (
NIV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

We are familiar with people who live above their means for show, but does anyone who is rich chose to live like the poor? So glad you asked. Jesus was the Prince who lived like a pauper. He made “Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8,
NKJV
). Somebody asked me one day, “Why would he do that?” Good question. He did it for love’s sake. When was the last time you thanked him for this amazing love?

One Year Bible Reading

Joshua 13:1–14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8

April 17

The Problem of Pride

     
Pride only breeds quarrels,

          
but wisdom is found in those who take advice.

Pride is the topic today. Question: Do you really understand the nature of pride? It’s so easy to see it in other people when they’re bragging excessively about themselves or putting others down. But pride is more complicated than that. Pride doesn’t always manifest itself in outward boasting. Sometimes pride takes the version of just digging in its heels. Of self-preservation at all costs. Of arrogance: no one is going to prove them wrong. This is called “stubborn pride.”

Stubborn pride is really a sentence of death—emotionally, relationally, and even spiritually. It is exactly the opposite of having a soft, receptive, teachable spirit. Stubborn pride won’t forgive, because everything is everyone else’s fault. Stubborn pride is not a team player, because it’s “my way or the highway.” If a wife thinks she must always win, the husband becomes defeated. If a mother never listens to her kids’ side of the story, the kids build their own world and shut her out. Stubborn pride is stuck. It isolates you.

So, dear sisters, let’s be honest. Don’t make this little discussion about everyone else but ourselves.

God himself has some wonderful advice in 1 Peter 5:5: “Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (
NKJV
).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Pride magnifies everything that is wrong with others and at the same time minimizes anything that is amiss in ourselves. That is why pride breeds quarrels. Do you bicker with your husband? Bottom line: you are irritated at not just one thing, but many. Therefore, you are never dealing with just one moment of conflict; you are piling up ten years of annoyance and reacting to it all. This is not wise. When we do that, it makes us very hard to live with. You need to clear the slate. That’s not just what I say, but that is what God says: “First forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too” (Mark 11:25).

One Year Bible Reading

Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 13:9-10

April 18

Dishonest Gain

     
Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,

     
But he who gathers by labor will increase.

When our nation was founded, children learned to read by reading the Bible. If the Bible were still taught in social studies and business 101 classes, the present economic crisis in our country and in our homes could have been averted.

Look at this proverb again: “Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.” This gives us a solid, clear perspective on long-term financial stability.

Wealth gained by dishonesty is buying into a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. Everyone knows that for those on top to win, those on the bottom will lose. Wealth gained by dishonesty is cheating on your taxes. It’s falsifying your credit application to buy more than you can afford. It’s wrong, and for us as Christians, it is out of bounds. Parents, don’t let your kids gain when they use shortcuts either; it erodes integrity and responsibility.

Recently I overheard a discussion between a mom and her teenage son at the store. He was trying to wear her down to buy him a new sweater. She told him that he could spend his own money. But he didn’t have enough. She reminded him that he hadn’t earned money because he hadn’t mowed the lawn, and he knew it. A few moments later, they left the store without the sweater. Good job, mom. Your son needs a good work ethic more than he needs a new sweater. That mom loved her son enough to not cave in.

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

“He who gathers by labor will increase.” Are you in debt? Are you struggling to get by? Let me introduce you to an amazing resource: daveramsey.com. He has lists of ways to save money and get out of debt. Here are just three you can do right away.

• Cut up your credit cards. Shred ’em. Burn ’em. Drop ’em in a trash compactor. You’ll never get out of debt until you stop making debt a way of life.
  
• Put cash in envelopes marked for specific areas. You spend less money when you use cash.
  
• Listen online to
  The Dave Ramsey Show
  . Dave helps millions of people find hope with their money. His advice will help you, too.
  

One Year Bible Reading

Joshua 16:1–18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11

April 19

God’s Waiting Room

     
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

     
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

A hope deferred is a hope that is postponed. It’s when we hope that something will happen, and it doesn’t happen when we hoped it would happen. It takes longer—sometimes much, much longer.

If you’re a mother of a prodigal child, you know only too well the heartache of this painful waiting, watching, hoping. You long for that moment when your child “comes to himself” and comes back into a restored relationship with both you and God.

But may I give you a good word? Don’t hope for a shortcut. Sometimes just to have our children back and safe and comfortable, we would gladly settle. This means that we don’t always have their souls and their relationship with God as our primary concern. We want them back. We don’t want to see them suffer even for their own sin. We bail them out and enable their wrong behavior. But may I say to you, I know your heart breaks, but let it break over their broken relationship with the Lord more than the sorry state of their circumstances. I have seen parents come to a fresh wind of patience and hope when they shift their desire and their prayers there.

Lord, however, whenever, whatever it takes to bring my child back, let them come home to you first.

Then and only then, grieving parent, when that desire is fulfilled, it will then be for both of you truly “a tree of life.”

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Waiting—oh, the agony of waiting! Are you single, wondering if God has forgotten you? Are you in a difficult marriage or longing to have a child? God’s waiting room can be very lonely. On the other hand, it can be the place where you become more desperate for God than you have ever been.

Let’s Pray

Lord, there is no one who understands the longing of my heart like you. I am ashamed that I have been angry at times and shut you out. Help me to trust you more and to be satisfied that you can fill this longing with yourself.

One Year Bible Reading

Joshua 19:1–20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14