Elderly Clutter

Proverbs 24:4 (KJV) And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

As I was reading this section, there are several verses that talk about our home, and what we fill are home with, and the idea is to fill our heads, our minds and our lives with wisdom and righteousness.  Actually, I think I just added the righteousness.

I got to looking around my room and. for an old guy, I think I’m doing pretty good with the clutter.  You know how often when you would go into an apartment where someone my age is living it would be totally cluttered with little knickknacks and memorabilia.  Old people tend to collect things that bring memories.  That in itself, I still salute and celebrate.  I enjoy looking at things and thinking about who gave them to me and the warm fellowship that they provided.

But this can get overdone.  You can get your room so full of knickknacks that you don’t have room to store your socks.  In your room or apartment this is just clutter, in your spirit and your mind this can become disaster.

So?  What can we do to add spiritual remodeling to our minds, and our souls?  What can I put on my shelf instead of mugs and lotions and old books?  Perhaps a good concordance by the chair I read my Bible in is more important than the 14 volumes of the works of Wesley.  Something to think about.  More important, something to do. 

Shama on You

(Proverbs 19:27 KJV)  Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

The Hebrew word for “listening” (8085) is shama.  It is a significant word because it is used to describe possibly the most important verse revealed in the Old Testament.  It is called, strangely, the Shama.

(Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV)  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

In a world of pagan, polytheistic cultures the ancient Jews needed to be reminded of this every day.  We are again surrounded by culture that has revived the many forms of paganism and now has the power of the printing press, TV, radio and the internet.

The KJV and the NASB phrase it differently but the message is clear:  Stop listening to the slop that drives you away from God.  Instead, listen to what God is trying to tell you.  Keep in mind that the remote has an off button as well as a way to channel surf.

So?  We really are responsible for the intellectual and spiritual food we consume.  It really does make a difference what you hear. 

America's Idols

(Proverbs 29:3 KJV)  Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.

This would seem to be a rather extreme comparison.  The contrast of wisdom and fornication is jarring.  It would also seem that the two are totally incompatible. 

“Harlots” (2181) is based on the idea of adultery.  If it is used literally this is a clear, simple statement.  We live in a culture saturated by sex.  We hear of studies all the time that tell us things are not different in the church than in the world.  We nod our heads, act shocked and go on about our business.  When the church starts accepting the standards of the world it is a long way toward no longer being the church.  God has standards.  He demands that we have standards.

This term could also be used figuratively.  If it is used figuratively, it means idolatry.  This applies to us today as much as then.  We live in the illusion that because we don’t have idols of Baal in our churches and don’t throw our first born into the furnaces of Moloch that we no longer have idols.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Idols are alive and well.  The gods of those idols may have changed their costumes but they are still there.  Think about the Greek and Roman pantheons that you studied in school.  Each god is associated with a part of life.  Venus represents love and beauty, translated sex and glamor.  Bacchus represents strong drink, translate drunkenness.  I don’t remember them all but every aspect of life had a god in charge.  You gave offerings based on what you wanted.  Today we offer our lives up to Venus by being consumed with looking attractive.  We invest in creams and lotions.  We join health clubs and buy workout equipment.  We dress ourselves up to be attractive to the opposite sex.  We don’t throw our children into the fire any more but we send them off to the public schools with little thought or, even worse, put them in day care.  I understand that there are some situations where that is necessary, but to be honest I believe most of the time the real reason is that second car, the expensive vacation or even a large pledge you made to the building fund at church.

So?  Seek wisdom instead of image.  Please.  Spend more time in the Word than you do in magazines or on line.  Don’t jog until you have run the race.  Work on your priorities.