Ambition or Fear-of-God

Ambition is a good motivator for hard work and success. But, if in order to succeed you’ll compromise your beliefs and principles and your life will degenerates after reaching success, what is the use of that ambition?

Fear-of-God is a better motivator:

• It increases your sense of responsibility to God, to yourself and to others.
• Allows you to choose healthier goals.
• It helps you to have faith and courage to accomplish difficult tasks knowing that God is with you in your project.
• Protects you from the dangers of your own success.

Fear-of-God is not being afraid of God, or feeling terror or panic because even though God is almighty, all knowing, infinite and holy, He is not chaotic. He defines himself and His will clearly. He is faithful and never changes. He is trustworthy and He treats us as children and friends not as enemies or strangers. Fear-of-God is more like when you value and respect the authority of God with all your heart allowing your life to be transformed by Him.

It’s only human to want to make a buck,

   but it’s better to be poor than a liar.

23 Fear-of-God is life itself,

   a full life, and serene—no nasty surprises.

24 Some people dig a fork into the pie

   but are too lazy to raise it to their mouth.

25 Punish the insolent—make an example of them.

   Who knows? Somebody might learn a good lesson.

(Prov.19:22-25 MSG)

Prayer: Thanks for the Fear-of-God which helped me to stay on track in my life. Fill me with Your life, protect me from the extremes of laziness and selfish ambition. Your ways are always the better ways.

Correct your actions in time.

Don’t laugh or congratulate a child or adult's bad behavior, because you will be teaching them wrongly. Our actions have consequences. Good actions lead to good consequences and bad actions to bad consequences. You can learn it from God, the Bible, or other people; or you will have to suffer in yourself the consequences of your own mistakes. Hopefully you will end up learning your lesson one way or the other.

You can keep thinking and making plans but God’s purpose will always prevail. You should accept the fact that He knows better and submit your life and plans to Him, the sooner the better. He wants you to enjoy plenty of life. Don’t let anything jeopardize God’s plan for you. Align yourself according to God’s purpose.

Discipline your children while you still have the chance;

   indulging them destroys them.

19 Let angry people endure the backlash of their own anger;

   if you try to make it better, you’ll only make it worse.

20 Take good counsel and accept correction—

   that’s the way to live wisely and well.

21 We humans keep brainstorming options and plans,

   but God’s purpose prevails.

(Prov.19:18-21 MSG)

Prayer: I want to help my children and other people to learn from You. Protect me from my own mistakes. Help me to learn wisdom, to accept correction and to submit to Your purpose. Your purpose will prevail. You know what’s best for me.

Marriage and laziness

Marriage, as any relationship between people, needs care, diligence, mercy, forgiveness, attentiveness, etc.. Without love it is difficult to persist on these virtues. Some people think of love as something magical that just happens to you (Wake up!). Of course, you have all the love you need in God as a source ready to use, but, you have to practice it willingly, and sacrificially at times. Marriage is the one relationship that is most personal, near to yourself, it will affect you the most, and it usually lasts longer. You need to cultivate it more than other relationships. 

Laziness will destroy you and any relationship in your life. There is time in life to relax and enjoy. But you cannot be relaxed all the time. There are times for hard work, unavoidable responsibilities, even non enjoyable duties. You need to be determined to go forward and accomplish your obligations in life and even go beyond that and exercise mercy to the needy. God will love that and you will become satisfied too.

A parent is worn to a frazzle by a stupid child;

   a nagging spouse is a leaky faucet.

14 House and land are handed down from parents,

   but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.

15 Life collapses on loafers;

   lazybones go hungry.

16 Keep the rules and keep your life;

   careless living kills.

17 Mercy to the needy is a loan to God,

   and God pays back those loans in full.

(Prov.19:13-17 MSG)

Prayer: Thank You God for all the relationships you gave me, but specially for a marriage that enriches my life. Help me not to be selfish in my relationships. I want to exercise love as You do. Help me to be attentive, considered, caring, and merciful. Help me to be a hardworking person and to fulfill my obligations with diligence and love.

A wise heart has to be grown

At today’s Scripture we find some characteristics of a person with a wise heart:

• His mind is clear. Is not a blockhead. Is smart.
• Knows how to hold his tongue. Doesn’t tell lies or spread rumors.
• Forgives and forgets.
• Inspires with his good-natured temper.

Being smart is being able to make good decisions in life. And this cannot be attributed or blamed to nature and nurture only. It is true that you will be better prepared to make good decisions if you were guided properly, but, finally you will have to make your own choices. God provided the Bible to help you to grow. The better decisions you make today, the better prepared will you be to make better decisions in the future. In other words you are building your wise heart by doing the right thing over and over again. And whenever you err, pick yourself up and aim again. Obey God today and you will be able to obey better tomorrow. Your wise heart doesn’t appear magically, it has to be grown.  

Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;

   keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.

9 The person who tells lies gets caught;

   the person who spreads rumors is ruined.

10 Blockheads shouldn’t live on easy street

   any more than workers should give orders to their boss.

11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue;

   their grandeur is to forgive and forget.

12 Mean-tempered leaders are like mad dogs;

   the good-natured are like fresh morning dew.

(Prov.19:8-12 MSG)

Prayer: Help me to grow a wise heart.  I want to keep a clear head, hold my tongue, be able to forgive and forget, be smart, and good-natured. But I know that I cannot do it all by myself. I need to rely on You to be able to grow and to be more like You. Help me God. Instill in me these qualities. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, today and always, so i will be able to honor You in the way I live.

Wisdom and money

We want wisdom and money. But having only money may not be as good. Better not to have to decide between them. But if you have to make a choice, wisdom is more valuable than money. Money will not protect you from the bad consequences of your ignorance. It is amazing how money can twist your relationships in a way that will attract people that only care about your money. Money can become your focus too and attract your attention in a way that can ruin everything else. Money is not bad in itself, but it has to be your servant and not your master.

Develop relationships based on love, honesty and trust. These relationships will survive better, good and bad times.

Better to be poor and honest

   than a rich person no one can trust.

2 Ignorant zeal is worthless;

   haste makes waste.

3 People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,

   so why does God always get blamed?

4 Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies,

   but poor people are avoided like a plague.

5 Perjury won’t go unpunished.

   Would you let a liar go free?

6 Lots of people flock around a generous person;

   everyone’s a friend to the philanthropist.

7 When you’re down on your luck, even your family avoids you—

   yes, even your best friends wish you’d get lost.

If they see you coming, they look the other way—

   out of sight, out of mind.

(Prov.19:1-7 MSG)

Prayer: Let me appreciate people regardless of their wealth. Let me see in everybody the value You put in them, oh God. Don’t let money obscure my relationships. I seek Your counsel and wisdom. Without You I am lost. You are the light of my path. Guide me today and every day of my life.

Words kill or give life

An anonymous proverb says: “We own what we don’t say and are slaves of what we say”. The power of your speech is often underestimated. The right words at the right time can make a big difference in somebody’s life. This is more so if you are a parent, family member, friend or any authority figure for that person. With the same tongue, you can destroy or build, do good or bad, inspire or discourage, forgive or condemn. 

The fact that you said something very inspiring today is not protecting you from doing the opposite tomorrow. You need a constant interaction with God, depending on Him to inspire you, to stimulate good thoughts in you, to feed your inner person daily. Left alone your own nature will not necessarily do good. Make a decision to guard your mouth and be faithful to Jesus in everything you say.

Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;

   good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

21 Words kill, words give life;

   they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life—

   and even more: the favor of God!

23 The poor speak in soft supplications;

   the rich bark out answers.

24 Friends come and friends go,

   but a true friend sticks by you like family.

(Prov.18:20-24 MSG)

Prayer: I submit my words and my thinking to You, oh God. Give me the wisdom to use them to built up, to encourage, to comfort, to forgive, to free, to teach, to inspire, to do good to others. Protect me from having a destructive speech. Fill my heart with Your thinking. I want to be able to talk life out of my mouth. You are my source.

Tough decisions

Life is full of decisions, small and big, daily or frequent decisions and extremely rare decisions. Sometimes, decisions are tough to make. Specially when you don’t know the whole truth and other people may be affected by what you decide. Be patient, don’t rush without knowledge. Always remember the grace God showed us in Jesus. It is better to err being too merciful than to err by being too harsh on people. It is always good to offer grace, to give people a second chance, to help out somebody in love.

A gift gets attention;

   it buys the attention of eminent people.

17 The first speech in a court case is always convincing—

   until the cross-examination starts!

18 You may have to draw straws

   when faced with a tough decision.

19 Do a favor and win a friend forever;

   nothing can untie that bond.

(Prov.18:16-19 MSG)

Prayer: My God and my Lord, I need Your wisdom for times of decision. I don’t want to be on my own. I am very limited in my perspective of things, help me to be humble. You always know what is the best thing to do. You will guide me to the right path at the right time. I want to trust You and follow Your lead, every day of my life.

Developing a healthy spirit

To have a healthy spirit you need a learning attitude. To be teachable you need to learn to listen, to pay attention. God gave you the capacity of learning, evolving, changing, growing, conquering your weak areas, becoming a better person, mature. He sent Jesus to show you a model of person, to have a high standard for you to follow. Don’t compare yourself with somebody that don’t measure up. Jesus is the right model you need to follow. He is the visible image of an invisible God. If you want to know God, look to Jesus. If you want to know how a human being should behave, look to Jesus. He is the model you need.

Answering before listening

   is both stupid and rude.

14 A healthy spirit conquers adversity,

   but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

15 Wise men and women are always learning,

   always listening for fresh insights.

(Prov.18:13-15 MSG)

Prayer: Give me the humility to listen and to be willing to learn from others. Thanks for Jesus, thanks for revealing yourself to us. Thanks for showing us the way. Help me to be willing to change, to grow, to mature, to be more and more like You, oh God.  

The right attitudes

Without discipline you cannot go far in life. You need direction, commitment, discipline and perseverance. Most of these attitudes don’t come naturally. It requires surrendering yourself to the cause, and often, to deny yourself instant gratifications in the view of a long time goal. Trusting your riches or pride could be the pathway to a downfall. Trusting in God and being humble will give you God’s recognition, which is the most important approval you can get.

Slack habits and sloppy work

   are as bad as vandalism.

10 God’s name is a place of protection—

   good people can run there and be safe.

11 The rich think their wealth protects them;

   they imagine themselves safe behind it.

12 Pride first, then the crash,

   but humility is precursor to honor.

(Prov.18:9-12 MSG)

Prayer: Help me to discipline myself. Let me avoid careless work. I want to be careful and do with excellence whatever I do. Show me direction to help me to choose the right path, trusting in You and being humble.