“Further Sayings of the Wise
These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment
is not good. Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him; but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips.
Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will repay the man according to his work.”
I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.”
“These also are sayings of the wise: To show partiality in judgment is not good. Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”— peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him; but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.” Skewed trials are nothing new; they existed in Bible times as well. May God bless all impartial judges!
“An honest answer given is like a kiss on the lips. We deceive ourselves if we think that what we say has no effect on our bodies. Lie and your body knows it and will pounish you accordingly.
“Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.” Priorities are of paramount importance. In an agricultural economy, if you ignore your farm, you won’t have any money with which to build a house. Substance is much more important than form. My father and brother farmed successfully for years while buying good used farm implements. Some other farmers mortgaged their farms to buy new equipment, only to lose everything when land values suddenly dropped. Keep your priorities straight and succeed.
“Do not testify against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.” God hates false witness; in fact, He forbade it in the Ten Commandments. In recent years, there have been highly publicized cases in which innocent people have been wrongly imprisoned, only to be released when new DNA evidence has verified their innocence. In some cases, those giving wrong witness have found themselves being prosecuted.
“I went past the field of a slacker and by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment. Thorns had grown up everywhere, thistles had covered the ground, and the stone wall was broken down. I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit.” The band The Eagles had a song in the 1970’s that said, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future.” To quote Martin Luther, “This is most certainly true!” Neglect your work for a few minutes, hours, or days, and you will find yourself way behind, struggling to catch up.
Our work in Ghana is sponsored totally by donations, and most of our donors are on modest incomes. Each month I must send financial reports along with scanned copies of receipts to verify expenditures and I must label these receipts with the amounts in dollars. Our exchange rates fluctuate, making this a challenging exercise. Normally, I try to have everything sent out within the first few days of a new month; however, I just sent out the report this morning after compiling and report 94 receipts. I didn’t mean to be this late; however, a combination of work load plus tropical heat caused me to struggle with the labelling part of the exercise.
Why mention our efforts at fund raising? Many people might assume that we are on some kind of salary from a mission group. WRONG! Both groups we work with are faith-based and we depend on donations. Our hospital cares for very poor people and many of them cannot possibly pay large medical bills. If we do not help these people while they are in the hospital, they may return to the village to starve. Many of our families exist on a financial knife edge. (If you want to help, message me on Facebook at Jean A. Young.)
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to live lives pleasing to You. In the mighty and precious Name
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