Proverbs — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

In this series it is my intention to talk about the basics when it comes to our Christian faith. In recent years it has become more clear to me that we need to regularly come back to the truths on which our faith is based. This has become even more evident in our current situation with so much information coming from every direction to the point where we find confusion and frustration becoming a regular part of our lives. I find myself asking: what has happened to my peace, my hope, and my joy? Why am I feeling so discouraged and angry?

I’d like to look at four areas I believe are contributing to our slide away from the basics of our Christian faith: Too Much Information, Too Many Things to Do, Too Much Isolation, and Too Little Time Spent with God. This week we are going to narrow in on TMI.

Too Much Information - Before this current age of the IPhone most of our information was delivered via the television or the newspaper. News stories were typically reported after something happened and television kept information buffered in a blanket of what was appropriate to show or talk about. Obviously, over time things became much more open and sensationalized, but there were still parameters surrounding what sort of information was appropriate for the public to view or read. Crime reporting, accidents and tragedies didn’t talk about or show every sordid detail. The truth was presented, but with respect and concern for the victims and the audience.

Today we are spoon fed every detail about every crime. We are given “truth” that is slanted to whatever reality the media, or the social influencer deems important. News is no longer reported, but dramatized in order to sway the public’s opinion in one direction or another. Profanity is rampant. Death is celebrated, and perversion is an alternative lifestyle. Nothing goes unsaid, and hate speech is everywhere. To find light and real facts they have to be dug for like looking for buried treasure.

What does the Bible have to say about all of this? Let’s take a look.

“1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will give heed to the blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy;
No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
7 He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.
8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.”

— Psalm 101:1-8 (NASB 1995)

This psalm was written by David, a man who was familiar with both sides of treachery, and deceit, but through his sin, and his repentance God remained faithful to him and continued to bless his rule as King of Israel.

If we truly look at the information that is coming at us we begin to see so much of it is worthless, perverse, slanderous, prideful, deceitful and false. Unfortunately, many times we take it in as gospel truth. If it’s on social media it must be true; if it is a video recorded at the time it must be real. If the mainstream news is reporting it I must believe it. As Christ followers we are commanded to bring everything back to the truth of God’s word.

The book of Proverbs was written by King Solomon. In it he is writing to his son to encourage him to follow the commands and teachings of God; to pursue godly wisdom; and to not lean on his own understanding.

“1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
2 For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you.
3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your body
And refreshment to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
10 So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,
12 For whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.”

— Proverbs 3:1-12 (NASB 1995)

This proverb tells us that if we keep God’s commands and pursue His wisdom we will have peace. It also encourages us to hang on to both kindness and truth as with them we will find favor with God and with our fellow human beings. Verses 5 - 8 remind us that we are to trust God, not our own understanding. We are to acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight. Our own thoughts and ideas, or the thoughts and ideas of others are not to be the wisdom we lean into, but we are to lean in to His wisdom. We are to fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

Whatever information we are allowing into our homes and into our hearts is going to have an impact on how we think, how we view others and how we view God. If you are struggling with fear and anxiety, anger or despair, perhaps it is time to take a social media break or at least start really looking at what accounts, news and influencers we are listening to.

Ask yourself these questions:

After I read this or watch this do I feel uplifted or dragged down?

Is this information confirming what I know to be true, or is it causing me to question?

Is watching this account regularly making me feel angry or hostile towards a people group, or towards individuals of a certain faith, skin color or persuasion? Or is it helping me to see every person as someone deserving of God’s love and salvation?

Our lives are meant to be God’s lights in a dark world. To allow outside information to affect that light is to allow our light to be hidden under a basket.

“14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

— Matthew 5:14-16 (NASB 1995)

Next time you turn on the news, or open up social media be sure to think about what ideas, views and thoughts are being talked about. It is not wrong to hear opposing views or to question our beliefs, but we must always bring them back to God’s truth in His word.

Next time we will look at how being too busy can affect our lives and cause our basic beliefs to get waylaid.

We live in a society of planners. Architects design and plan buildings. Engineers design and plan roads and parking lots. Fashion designers plan for the next season always thinking ahead to the next color palette or trend. Even those of us, who would not call ourselves true planners make dentist and doctor appointments, write up grocery lists and plan get togethers with friends.

Jerry Jenkins, is the author of a myriad of books including the Left Behind Series and numerous biographies on people ranging from Hank Aaron, to Luis Pulau to Walter Payton. He even assisted Billy Graham with his autobiography, Just As I Am. Jerry also owns and runs The Jerry Jenkins Writer's Guild, of which I am in my second year of membership. I remember one of the first webinars I took from Jerry, where he talked about the difference between two types of writers; the panster and the outliner. Like Jerry himself and another big name author, Stephen King, I am a panster. I write my blog and my fiction by the seat of my pants. Where as an outliner has a plan or an outline they follow as they write. Neither one is better than the other, they are just different. There is also a hybrid of writers who combine the elements of both styles of writing. They come up with a loose outline, but fill in details by the seat of their pants.

When we talk about making plans versus living by the seat of our pants, we can see that there are good points and bad points to both ways of approaching life. Planners, usually, get more done, but they are often so rigid in their schedules that they have forgotten how to enjoy the moment. Those who live by the seat of their pants are usually more relaxed and easy going, but often have projects piling up, because they neglect to develop a plan on how to get them finished.

We as Christ followers can often be guilty of both, planning too much and not planning enough. When I was a young mom, trying to figure out marriage, family life and eventually home schooling, I was often impatient and frustrated because I looked at life as a list of things I had to accomplish. This mentality become more pronounced as I home schooled our daughters from kindergarten through high school. I became a list person, which is a planner, if you didn't know! I think it is amusing that I could be a panster as a writer but in every day life, I was a planner. I loved to get a new planner every year as I looked forward to a new year of home schooling. I still love planners, but I'm not quite as rigid in how I used them.

What does God say in His word about having plans? Let's take a look.

“Commit your works to the Lord And your plans will be established.”

— Proverbs 16:3 (NASB)

“The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”

— Proverbs 16:9 (NASB)

“Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.”

— Proverbs 19:21 (NASB)

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.”

— Proverbs 21:5 (NASB)

Obviously, God inspired King Solomon, the author of Proverbs to pen these many verses about planning. It is normal and it is good to have a plan, whether you are talking about retirement or about next week's meals, planning can be beneficial in saving us time, money and frustration.

Unfortunately, many of us have made plans that didn't work out. We have been disappointed by failed relationships, ruined vacations and the chaos of life that constantly seems to want to get in the way of our well thought out plans. The beauty of being a panster, when it comes to real life is a drastic reduction in stress and pain brought about by waylaid plans.

A mindset that has recently come about in my own life, is that of divine appointments.

“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”

— Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)

If I really believe that God is sovereign, and I really believe that He is good, then I must also believe that every bump in the road and every plan that doesn't come to fruition, He already knows about and has a purpose for. How often have you had a plan for your day off and the day draws to a close and you didn't accomplish anything that you had planned? I see those hands our there! In addition to that, how many of you got frustrated because what you had planned got sabotaged by life....a child stays home from school sick, your mother needed your help with the garden, your teenagers and your spouse call saying that won't be home to eat that delicious meal you slaved to prepare....this is the reality of life. The question then becomes, am I supposed to stop planning? Do I just let life fly and go with the flow, like some sort of 1960's flower child, content to sit in the sun and listen to the music?

Like so many things we talk about, I think the key here is, balance. I think it is important to have plans, but we also need to allow God to do that thing that He does best...orchestrate our lives. Recognize that those speed bumps that come into life are allowed by Him. Everything that comes your way, even the little annoyance and inconveniences, have passed through Him. This is even more pertinent when we are talking about divine appointments. These are those interruptions to our plans that revolve around people.

Sunday, my Grandson came down with a nasty virus. I am the primary care person when he is out of school, as my daughter, a single mom, has to work a full time job. He comes to my house, when he is home from school. Sunday, I had plans for Monday. I was going to get ahead on my blog, do some writing and try to tackle the laundry. It wasn't going to happen. In fact, here it is Wednesday and the poor guy is still running a low grade temp, so once again, he is home from school. You know what? It's okay. Did my plans get ruined? Not ruined, just adjusted. When I look at life as a series of divine appointments, not only do I have an easier time adjusting to the bumps, but I also keep my focus on the author and finisher of my faith.

Whether you are a planner or a panster, allowing God to direct your life, day in and day out, gives you the capacity to be less frustrated and more in tune with exactly what He wants you to do. Next time you have a plan and it gets interrupted, ask yourself, could this be one of His divine appointments, then let Him meet you right there.