Today’s Blog: Can We Flip A Few Tables?
TODAY’S PROVERB: My fruit is better than refined gold, my harvest better than choice silver. Proverbs 8:19, TLV
What does our wisdom “harvest?” Up until recently, I thought all wisdom belonged to GOD — you know, the Creator of the Universe? It turns out there’s a counterfeit to His wisdom. And, it can look on the surface a lot like true wisdom. Especially when Scripture is used.
How does one distinguish between the authentic and the artificial? By its fruit — what wisdom harvests.
I love what Yeshua’s half-brother Jacob (James) has to say about true wisdom:
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, not hypocritical. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in shalom [peace] by those who make shalom.”
YESHUA’S HALF-BROTHER JACOB (JAMES), JAMES 3:17-18, TLV [EMPHASIS MINE]
Table-Flipping?
A few days ago, going against the very wisdom I’ve written about, I responded to someone’s post about the riots and destruction since Mr. Floyd’s murder. The person posted a graphic of Jesus flipping tables in the outer-courts of the Temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21:12-13). The graphic was meant to justify the rights of angry people to destroy property — because Jesus did it, after all.
My response was simply that Jesus didn’t steal any of the doves or money. I’m embarrassed to say, that response was lame. People’s comebacks were pretty rude. Had I prayed before typing that first key, I wouldn’t have typed the first key.
Still, it is a valid question. What about Yeshua flipping tables? And, making a whip and beating people? Our meek and mild Jesus?
Was He setting an example for us? Behavior for us to emulate? In my opinion, no.
Let’s Remember
We sometimes forget, Yeshua was wholly man, but He was also wholly GOD. Last time I checked, we’re not. There are certain advantages to being the Son of GOD. Number one being He had a direct link to His Father and would never do anything without His Abba’s approval.
Number two, there are certain rights that only GOD has — three big ones are judgment, condemnation, and revenge. (John 3:18-21, Romans 12:19) We have no entitlement to these rights — because we can’t handle them.
Everything that Yeshua instructed us to live and do was about peace, compassion, turning the other cheek, forgiveness (Matthew 5). Injustices? We are to protect the weak and stand up for them (Proverbs 21:15), but we are not to take revenge. Revenge belongs to the Creator of the Universe who sees the beginning and the end and inside everyone’s hearts.
If we sow violence, anger, and revenge, it will not reap a harvest of peace, love, or justice.
Right now there are spiritual forces behind the unrest around us (Ephesians 6:12). These forces have blinded some souls with a counterfeit wisdom that will only reap a harvest of sorrow and pain. They may believe they have the right to take revenge, but their actions will dirty their souls with sin.
We can learn from the unrest around us. In the midst are we still at peace? Are we still pursuing purity, gentleness, a teachable heart, mercy, grace, truth, and honor? Then our harvest will be the delicious fruit of GOD’s wisdom. Fruit we can share with a hungry world.
May our harvest be plentiful and good, my friends.
Proverbs 8:19 Tree of Life Version – TLV, #tlvbible, #tlvproverbs
