"Solomon and Self-Esteem" October 28 Readings: Ezekiel 1-2, 2 Thessalonians 3, 1 Timothy 1, Psalm 119:65–72, Proverbs 26:12–14
Reading the Bible in 2023
Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!
NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!
Bible Readings: Ezekiel 1-2, 2 Thessalonians 3, 1 Timothy 1, Psalm 119:65–72, Proverbs 26:12–14
Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version
Daily Devotional: Solomon and Self-Esteem
He may have been the wisest man who ever lived, but Solomon failed completely to understand the wisdom that has come to dominate the mindset of the American educational, sociological, and psychological mindset. "Believe in yourself. Trust your instincts. No one else can tell you what is right or wrong; that is something that only you can decide for yourself. You have to make your own rules, trust your own wisdom, seek your own path, and do it your way." In this world, it's all about self - self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-direction.
Solomon's wisdom moved in a different direction. He told us that the beginning of wisdom was not self-esteem and self-reliance, but humility and the fear of the Lord. Folly, he told us, is bound up in the heart of a child and must be driven away by wisdom, discipline, and the correction of the Lord. We are flawed by inborn sin and natural folly and need the wisdom and correction of God. That is why he spent much of the book of Proverbs admonishing his sons to listen to wisdom and not to lean on their own understanding. Look at Proverbs 26:12.
Of course, one of the most well-known portions of this book is Proverbs 3:5-6. You know it, right? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust God's wisdom. His intelligence. His Lordship and direction. In case you don't understand exactly what that means, he follows that up with the second statement. Do not lean on your own understanding. Solomon makes it very clear. Don't trust yourself. Don't listen to your heart. Don't decide for yourself what is right and wrong. You can't handle that. Trust God and obey his word! Don't trust your instincts - they are flawed and sinful. Don't trust your own ability to figure things out, you will just mess up. Obey God and follow the word.
We have two ways we can walk. We can trust our own understanding or we can walk in obedience to God and his word. One path leads to trouble and the other to the blessing of God. Solomon, in Proverbs 26:12, makes it clear which way he thinks is right. Don't listen to the snake oil that Satan sold to Adam and Eve and that he's been peddling ever since. Listen to God and walk in humility, submission, and obedience to him.
Solomon's wisdom moved in a different direction. He told us that the beginning of wisdom was not self-esteem and self-reliance, but humility and the fear of the Lord. Folly, he told us, is bound up in the heart of a child and must be driven away by wisdom, discipline, and the correction of the Lord. We are flawed by inborn sin and natural folly and need the wisdom and correction of God. That is why he spent much of the book of Proverbs admonishing his sons to listen to wisdom and not to lean on their own understanding. Look at Proverbs 26:12.
Do you see a person who is wise in his own eyes?This is just one of the commands of Proverbs. In 28:26, we read, "He who trusts in himself (his own mind) is a fool." That slaps the mindset of the world right in the face. The false theology of human goodness says that we are innately good and wise and if we follow our instincts everything will be okay. Listen to your heart. Do what you feel inside. Nonsense. Balderdash. Poppycock. Solomon says that is folly and wickedness - the path to a life that is destroyed.
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Of course, one of the most well-known portions of this book is Proverbs 3:5-6. You know it, right? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Trust God's wisdom. His intelligence. His Lordship and direction. In case you don't understand exactly what that means, he follows that up with the second statement. Do not lean on your own understanding. Solomon makes it very clear. Don't trust yourself. Don't listen to your heart. Don't decide for yourself what is right and wrong. You can't handle that. Trust God and obey his word! Don't trust your instincts - they are flawed and sinful. Don't trust your own ability to figure things out, you will just mess up. Obey God and follow the word.
We have two ways we can walk. We can trust our own understanding or we can walk in obedience to God and his word. One path leads to trouble and the other to the blessing of God. Solomon, in Proverbs 26:12, makes it clear which way he thinks is right. Don't listen to the snake oil that Satan sold to Adam and Eve and that he's been peddling ever since. Listen to God and walk in humility, submission, and obedience to him.
Father, I am flawed. My wisdom is not enough. My strength is not enough. I need your wisdom and your strength to get through. I trust in you and not in myself.
Consider God's Word:
Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one?
Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages?
Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to?
Do you trust in your own intelligence, common sense, and wisdom?
Or do you recognize that sin has marred your reason and you need the wisdom of God?
Or do you recognize that sin has marred your reason and you need the wisdom of God?
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