God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello

I’m writing this the day after Super Bowl 2020.

Our dinner was complete as the half time show began and we started to watch the dance performances. A few minutes into the show I got up from my chair sad.  I couldn’t help but feel the huge gap between what I was viewing and the way the Lord desires us to live.

When we don’t know the Lord we have no shame. We dance and move and strive for applause from people we don’t know and don’t even care about- never thinking what God would say about the things we do.

When we come near the Lord by going to church and studying the Bible, we are convicted of our behavior and filled with shame from aspects of our past- years we lived not knowing Him.  A good example of  feeling shame after hearing God’s word, is found in Genesis.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden they were naked and unashamed. The Serpent lured them to do something that the Lord had instructed Adam not to do. After their act of eating the fruit, they then heard the Word of God- in their case  He spoke directly to them. At that moment- after hearing the voice of God- they were convicted of their sin and were ashamed- so they hid.

Take a look:

“Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”(Gen 3:15-17)

“Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”(Gen 2:25)

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her.”(Genesis 3:6)

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”(Gen 3:8-10)

Once we know God by reading His words, we have the choice to obey His voice or not. If we choose not to, we will lose our innocence, peace and ease in life.

God provides His followers everything we need to live a wonderful and abundant life- but with this we must continue to obey His Word.  Since we have all strayed from the path of God we all have reason to feel ashamed at our behavior. When we learn enough about the Lord to trust that His guidance is the right way to live, we will feel His peace. It’s not the peace and happiness the world brings-like the money and accolades those half time show dancers will receive. It is the peace of Christ that we feel- a sense of quiet contentment that is with us at all times. It doesn’t require “likes” or compliments from others- we simply feel content, happy and on the right path in life- all day and everyday.

Let’s promote the Lord- His kindness, forgiveness, peace and provision. It’s silly and degrading to have to dance around in skimpy costumes in order to get applause from people.  Who really cares what others think of our bodies, dance moves and the like? At the end of the day our joy comes from the Lord and it doesn’t require a refilling. The dancers will have to move on to bigger and better acts in order to impress others and receive accolades. It’s a vicious cycle having to rely on others to fill up our “tank” so to speak.

When God fills us with His Holy Spirit, it’s a one time deal. It doesn’t require obnoxious acts to get God’s attention- just simple trust and obedience. Everyone from a janitor to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company is invited to join in this life of peace and joy- you don’t need to workout several hours a day, wear hair extensions and skimpy outfits- in fact, its best if you don’t!

I hope next year, I won’t have to walk away from the television during the Super Bowl half time show- embarassed for the performers.

Lisa