Bible Thoughts December 9, 2001
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Proverbs 16:24-NASV).
The power of speech is a great gift from God. Through this medium can come words of healing; verbalization of proper thoughts; expressions of love and concern. One's speech identifies a faithful and caring Christian; perhaps as strong as any means of recognizing if one is following the Lord in the treatment of others. A kind word from one disciple to another can create a bond of friendship that enhances the relationship one has with another(or others).
The Proverb writer said that "pleasant words are a honeycomb." If you have had the pleasurable experience of tasting the sweetness of honey, you can understand why the writer would make such a comparison. Pleasant words lift the heart, encourage the soul, and give hope to those who are lonely. Such words have a healing quality about them as they create a bond between the speaker and the listener. As the writer stated, they are "sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."
Unpleasant and unkind speech creates the opposite affect. Using derogatory expressions to describe others is a reflection upon the speaker. At times, all of us can be quilty of such behavior. Many a soul has been wounded because of the words said about them and/or to them. It would have been better to be silent than to injure a fellow disciple with words that reflect upon the character or intent of other Christians.
Speaking in an unkind manner of those who do not dress like me or do not like the same things that I like or who have different habits, et cetera, can create a hostile atmosphere and interfere with the bond that is to exist among Christians. It could be that I have some habits that are just as "repulsive" as those about whom I speak. The next time that we start to use unacceptable speech in describing another(or their lifestyle), remember what Jesus said, "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you"(Matthew 7:1-2). Each of us should "comfort one another" with our words(I Thessalonians 4:18).
The Psalmist said it, "Let the words of my
mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O
Lord, my rock and my redeemer"(Psalm 19:14).
"But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto
you"(Matthew 6:33).
As we live our lives it is easy to lose sight of the goal for which we, as Christians, strive. We tend to have many responsibilities(especially as we get older) that we have to account for. We have obligations with work, we have bills to pay, we have to take care of our families. If we budget our time we can find a moment or two for recreation. There is nothing wrong or non-Christian about any of these things; Christians are expected to fulfill their responsibilities and take care of their family. Nor does the word of God convey that taking joy in our God given life is wrong. To the contrary, of all people, Christians should be expected to enjoy life the most, because they have the most important thing imaginable: a relationship with God. That’s something that we can easily loose sight of. The most important thing in our life should be our relationship with God. We are to seek “the kingdom of God” because God is there.
It is easy to fixate on getting to Heaven itself. We cleverly comment how Christianity has the “best retirement plan imaginable,” much like other people talk about retiring to Florida, a land where it never gets cold(at least compared to how cold it gets up north). This analogy is not entirely inappropriate. The Hebrew writer does draw parallels between the heavenly reward and the promised land of the Old Testament (Hebrews 4), but it does sidestep the main point. Heaven is not just the place where you can at last relax from all of life’s troubles, where you can have a mansion made just for you, where you get to walk on the streets of gold. A fellow once commented that “it seems like the desire to get to heaven is just wanting to get the goodies at the end.” Christians have to avoid falling into that trap.
Heaven is not a treasure that we pursue and then, having obtained it, we get to go our own way and do our own thing. Heaven is the Christian’s home. Our whole desire to go there should be built upon the truth that it is the only place where we truly belong. A Christian is merely journeying through this foreign land of darkness and we are beacons of light, illuminating the way for others to find their way home as well.
Home is the house in which your parents
live, but why is it so desirable? Because of the wood it is made of,
or the bricks with which it is built? No, because that is where your
parents are. So it is with Heaven, that is where God is at, that is
where our Lord is at, and after the day of judgment that is where all
of our brothers and sisters will be.We cannot view our reward in
Heaven as an impersonal retirement plan. We cannot live our lives as
if we are trying to match an established set of requirements that we
must meet before we can qualify for our benefits. We must live our
lives understanding the Bible for what it is: a message from our
Father, telling us how to find our way home.-Scott Huston
It is a Bible Fact the home has been the foundation of society since
God brought Eve to Adam. Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh"(Genesis 2:23-24). To destroy society, one must destroy the
home.
There have been many efforts to undermine what the Bible reveals concerning the establishment and functions of the home. Various individuals and groups have set out to destroy this God-ordained relationship(for that is what it is) and have been unsuccessful. Modern threats to the home, we pray, will never be able to remove the foundation of our way of life.