Proverbs 30:7-14

Well, good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all the wisdom literature. We're at Proverbs chapter 30, verses 7 through 14 this morning. Let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's Word.
Let's pray. Father we thank you so much for this day and we thank you for your word. We pray that as we read your word that you would bless us and care for us. That you would be our teacher and that you would let our eyes be fixed on Jesus Christ and it's his name we pray. Amen. Proverbs chapter 30 verses 7 through 14.
Two things I request of you. Deprive me not before I die. Remove falsehood and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food allotted to me. Lest I be fool and deny you and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
Now this is interesting, isn't it? In verses seven through nine. What's his prayer? His prayer is, one, that God would remove lies from his mouth, that he would be one who would be upright in heart and speak the truth. This is far more courageous than a lot of people give credit for.
Maybe you know that in your own heart. Maybe you know that in your own life as somebody has, or you've been in a situation that's been challenging before, and you know that telling the truth could cost you your reputation. It costs you your job. It costs you your family. It could cost you money. but we must be those who plead to God. God, please don't let me have lying lips.
The second one is more about wealth and finances and money, and this one hits home too. You know, God, don't make me rich. Why? Because if God makes him rich, lest I be fool and deny you and say, who is the Lord? So he's saying he knows that the temptation is there, that the weeds are there, that the deceitfulness of wealth and the cares of this life could choke out our love for the Lord. And so he's saying, God, please don't make me rich, but please don't also make me poor. Why? Because if I'm poor, I may steal and profane the name of my God.
So this teach me contentment. Don't make me rich, don't make me poor. But why both of them are for the motivation of bringing God glory. How we use our finances is specifically meant for bringing God glory. Verse 10, do not malign a servant to his master lest he curse you and you be found guilty. I have it written in my notes as I was studying this proverb a while ago.
Don't go snitching on your boss or don't go talking bad about your boss to other employees. Why? Because it's only going to create a hostile work environment. I'm not saying that that means you need to stick around a place that might not be treating you well or something like that. You live in a free society. You're not a slave. You can go get a job somewhere else. creating a hostile or a toxic workplace, whether you're the employee or the employer, only creates more toxicity and hurts it. What are you doing to increase the culture of the place in which you work? Are you building other people up with your words or are they going to come back and bite you in the butt?
Verse 11 through 14. There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. what's going on back then and it seems like it's going on especially today. There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet it is not washed from its filthiness. There is a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes and their children's eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from the earth and the needy from among us. It's a pretty harsh commentary on a generation, an age of people who curse their mother and their father, who don't keep the fifth commandment but indeed are instead going to just speak harshly, speak cruelly to their parents, not take care of their parents.
There are people who are built up in pride, thinking, oh, we do clean things, we do right things, we do moral things. In all reality, they've never cleaned themselves of their filthiness. This is what I see in our society all around today. People casting off God's law and acting like they're the ones who are morally right and pure and good and just, and in all reality, they're washed in their own filth. And it's harsh to say that, but that's what the scriptures are saying, right? They act like they're pure in their own eyes or puffed up with pride in their own hearts, but in all reality, in front of God's eyes, they stink like someone who is rolling around with the dogs and pigs. I fear that many in our society today who are very nice, are very tolerant, are very kind people, who act like they have moral superiority are indeed those who, before God's throne, without Jesus Christ, are going to be judged for that.
But here's the thing. I'm not above it. Neither are you. We're those who self-justify ourselves all the time. One of the ways in which Christians lie all the time is acting like we've got it all together and we don't stink. But the reality of the gospel is that I have sin.
I need to be cleansed from my uncleanness. I need to have Jesus Christ wash me. If it was just by me and my works, God would turn his face from me and never want to see me again because I smell of the filth. I look of the sin of this world. My heart is polluted and I need the spirit to cleanse me. Christians shouldn't be filled with pride here, but we should be honest with ourselves that this is God speaking to us. We need to be cleansed. We need to care for the poor. We need to be those who are not prideful in our own heart.
But am I rooting out sin in my own life? Am I dealing with the anger in my own soul? Am I dealing with the covetousness in my own heart? Am I speaking truth? Or am I just being covetous of the world like everyone else around me? Let me ask you, have you cried out to Christ to forgive you? Are you asking God to cleanse you? Are you being renewed in your mind? Are you being washed in the blood of Christ?
Let's pray. Father, we pray that we would honor you, our Father. Lord, we need you to cleanse us. We need you to forgive us. Lord, we pray that you would wash us in the blood of Christ. You would forgive us for our sins. We pray that we would follow after you and bring you glory. We pray that you would purge our hearts of unclean and impure thoughts and that you would let us love the truth and love you and love our neighbors.
Do this work, God, we pray. It's only you who can do it. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may you walk in the peace of Jesus Christ. May you be honest about your shortcomings and failures. and may you show mercy to others as Christ has shown mercy to you. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.