"The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility." PR 15:33
So few words, so simple, and yet so profound. They are so easily read. Even a child can understand them, yet they are so difficult to apply. They are like the directions on a bottle of iodine kept in the medicine cabinet. They remain available in the event of a crisis, but without application, the healing power will never be experienced.
During the summer of 1976, I was playing alot of softball. It was a requirement for membership at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Not really true, but almost. I had developed an injury on my right leg, from sliding into bases, trying to stretch a hit into more than what it was. The result was an abrasion that became infected, from being reopened, time and again, week after week. It was on fire.
One Monday night, after playing three games, I was in so much pain, I could not stand it any longer, and was ready for some relief. I was dating Dana at the time, and when I took her home, she ordered me into her house, and told me she would take care of what ailed me. Sounded promising. I was wrong.
Dana told me to put my right foot into the bathtub, and to hold onto the sink. It was a small bathroom. She took two bottles out of the medicine cabinet. One was clear peroxide and the other was red iodine. She gave me a choice. I chose the clear one. I had some previous experience with iodine, and I knew what to expect. I thought, "How bad could peroxide be?" I soon found out. She poured it into the open wound, and when the shock of pain hit my brain, I almost ripped the sink out of the wall. It was a come to Jesus moment, and I'm not ashamed to say, I squealed like a little girl. Before I could catch my breath, she poured in the iodine. When I came to, she assured me that now it would heal. She was right, but I haven't put my foot in a bathtub in 36 years. Can't be too careful.
Pride is the poison. You can't get rid of it, by swallowing it. You have to treat it. Humility is the cure. Conventional Wisdom says blame someone else for what ails you. God's Word says, follow His directions, if you want to heal your soul. Fearing God means applying His word. Wisdom results, from doing so, on a regular basis. Fear warns you that the cure might kill you. Faith knows better. Stop scaring yourself, by talking to yourself. False Expectations Aren't Real. F.E.A.R. (Get the picture?) Put your faith in God's Word. Follow the directions.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!