Title: The Right Passion
Contents
♡♥♡ Right passion / Proverbs 19:1-3
*** Introduction
If you look at the animal world, you see a lot of strange things. Among them, there are cases where they lose their original purpose and adapt to a new environment.
Called the ‘gentleman of the Antarctic’, ‘penguins’ use their wings to swim. Chickens have wings, but they cannot fly and live only on land. Moles lived only underground and lost their eyes. Monkeys raised by human hands after losing their mother while nursing are sent to nature, but they do not adapt to the free nature and live by begging or stealing from humans.
Not long ago, a story about a strange 'Pelican' was aired. There was a bullying pelican who couldn't get along with the pelican herd. This pelican had been with people for some time, and when he saw his own reflection in a mirror he happened to see, he always looked for it. Even putting a female pelican on it didn't interest me at all. And I liked to play with people. Conservators made numerous attempts to return the pelican to their pack, but eventually returned to the human world to play with.
Although we humans also have talents and gifts that God has given us from the beginning, there are many cases where we do not live according to their purpose and become accustomed to the wrong things. This is because after Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the image of God. Human beings, who have lost the image of God, have lived for the purpose of their own desires while adapting to the world's customs. It is the same as using diamonds, a precious gem, to play ball stones.
The text contrasts a foolish person with a wise person. There is a comparison between a person who is poor and sincere who does not give up his tenacity and a stubborn person who is stupid and does not give up his stubbornness. The text teaches them to find a better way of life through them. In particular, it talks about what the right passion for the Christian life is like.
1. Believers must have the right passion for life.
A Christian must be zealous, both in life in the world and in faith in God. We need to be more zealous as we are preparing for a glorious future. In Romans 12:11, it is said, “Do not be lazy in diligence, be zealous and serve the Lord.” In 1 Peter 4:8, “Above all, love one another zealously, because love covers a multitude of sins.” You must be zealous in all your life. But that zeal must be right.
In verse 2, it says, “A wish without knowledge is not good, and a person who has hasty feet is wrong.” “Wish without knowledge” means “brainless zeal or wrong advice,” and “hurried feet” means “to make hasty judgments and conduct in a violent chaos without the guidance or direction of correct knowledge.” . In other words, we must clearly set the goal we need to move forward in the light of God's will, and make sincere and sincere efforts.
I see many saints who are zealous but are zealous without proper knowledge. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said that there will be persecution of those who have false zeal in serving God. This is John 16:2. “Not only do people leave you. When the time is come, everyone who kills you will think, 'This is the service of God.'” This is the false zeal of those who do not know the will of God.
It is clear that a Christian must be passionate about everything. But even if there is zeal, it must be the right passion. If you work hard and do something wrong, you are not forgiven or praised for your hard work. Enthusiasm must also have a clear purpose, and must be done in the right way. The apostle Paul points out that the Israelites had a false zeal: Romans 10:2-3.
“I testify that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. They did not know the righteousness of God, and tried to establish their own, and did not submit to the righteousness of God.”
In the past, before learning electronics, I had to take apart a broken radio. I disassembled it, but I need some skill to fix it. Later, I couldn't even cook it the way it was supposed to, so I ended up throwing it away. After learning the technique later, I thought, 'It's so simple... ' There was a time when I smiled bitterly to myself in folly.
We are God's people. Therefore, we must be zealous according to the will of God. To do this, you must know God, know the purpose of your life, and have a clear purpose for working.
2. Saints must have sincere passion.
Verse 1 says, “Better is a poor man who walks in integrity than a man with perverted lips and a fool.” This word means, ‘Even if you are led down the path of poverty, you must follow the perfect path without blemish.’ Even if Christians have the right passion, they cannot expect great works without sincerity. ‘Sincerity’ here means ‘completeness without blemish’. What, then, is the way to perfection?
Let's look at Ephesians 4:11-12. “He gave them either as apostles, or as prophets, or as evangelists, or as pastors or teachers, to equip the saints for the work of service, to build up the body of Christ.” In other words, God has given gifts to the saints so that they may attain perfection. Therefore, in any circumstance, you must serve diligently according to the gifts that have been given to you.
Let's look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be perfected for every good work,” he said. In 1 John 2:5, it says, “Whoever keeps his word, yea, the love of God has been perfected in him, and by this we know that we are in him.” Here, it is said that ‘the word of God’ makes the saints perfect, and that by keeping the word of God, God’s love is perfected in us. As I said before, even if you know God and have clear purposes and methods, it is of no use unless you obey God's Word.
Let's summarize the words.
Everything given to a Christian is given by God, so there must be a clear passion for life in the world and faith toward God. But that passion must have a clear purpose and method based on the knowledge of God. One more addition to this is unblemished passion. Full zeal is to follow the gift given to you, and it comes from obeying the Word of God. Even if it leads to poor and difficult circumstances, to follow this path is to fear the Lord, and life and satisfying grace are given. Let's look at verse 23.
“The fear of the Lord leads to life. The one who fears is content and does not face calamity.”
Let's all have this passion. I pray that you will be able to enjoy the eternal life and satisfaction of life that God has given you.