Proverbs 12:7
Wicked men are overthrown and are no more,
but the house of the righteous stands firm.
What's the opposite of overthrown? Is it thrown? I'm not sure, but to be overthrown means that at some point you were in power. To fall from a great height, you have to have reached a great height first.
This verse doesn't say, "The wicked will be low and continue to be low for all time." It says they will be overthrown. It essentially says they will prosper. They will live large and stand high. For a while. But eventually they will be no more. The challenge is that we might never see the outcome.
God rarely seems to define timeframes the same way we would. So right now you might be watching someone else on a great height. You might be wondering when they will be overthrown. You might never see their "no more" in your lifetime. But that's not what matters. The second half of the verse should be our focus. Building a house that is righteous. Standing firm. I think that's where we need to live in this small passage, in our own house.
Do you ever watch other people instead of building your own house?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
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11 comments:
every day.....when i'm sure if i focused only on my own "house".....i'd certainly be doing life better for my family.....
our house is wading through the middle school popularity /power play thing right now.
and it's so hard to relate that the hurtful people will not prosper forever.
thanks for adding relevance and scripture to the dialog, jon.
your last line is a great question, no matter what your age.
I can honestly say I sometimes have a real problem with this. Thanks Jon - there are some things going on in my world right now that this certainly speaks to.
This is a reoccurring struggle for me, but Psalm 73 speaks about the same thing and always helps me to regain my focus.
"But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge, I will tell of all your deeds." (Psalm 73:28)
well done. this helped un-jumble some stuff in my brain.
guilty as charged. Dang. One more reminder to mind my own business.
underthrown???
Great post!
Just found this blog, and this post opened my eyes. My brother-in-law seems ("seems" being the key word here) to live a magical life compared to my husband. My husband has always been the nice guy and the hard worker, while his brother is that proverbial bad boy who all the girls chase, who people fall all over to get his attention, despite the fact that he can be an absolute jerk and doesn't give anyone, including his family, the time of day if he has no use for them. They are in the same industry, an industry that thrives more on the lifestyle my BIL lives, and despite the fact that much of his success is due to training my husband provided (because he's a softie), my BIL doesn't acknowledge us unless he needs something. I've caught myself almost waiting for his downfall at times, and being disappointed to see it not happening. I would read verses like "the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the righteous" and find myself thinking more about when his (the wicked) wealth would come our way (the righteous, of course) than being concerned for the state of his heart, or the state of my own house. Hmmm. That might be because the Bible doesn't say that the wealth of the wicked is laid up for the SELF-righteous or that the house of the SELF-righteous stands firm.
wow. that question resonated loudly in my heart. am i watching others instead of building my house?
if only you knew how deep that digs into what im dealing with...
thanks for sharing this.
wow. that question resonated loudly in my heart. am i watching others instead of building my house?
if only you knew how deep that digs into what im dealing with...
thanks for sharing this.
As I focus on my "house" instead of "my" house, I see a prodigal adult child struggling with depression/eating disorder, losing site of her walk with Christ. As I read this verse, I am reminded to focus on Him, His righteousness, His sovereign perfect plan in His perfect timeline, and reminded to focus on "my" house, my heart, my walk with Him.
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