Good morning, Zane…at 5:30am.
Lots to do before getting on the road toward New York…hopefully departing before noon. One factor holding us off till about then is that Mama Becki is obligated to fill in for a friend at leading a water aerobics class this morning. Among other things, I’ll also need to deliver Tazzy and Smokey to a friend’s place nearby who has agreed to dog-sit while we’re away for 20 days.
Don’t forget the great routine of reading a chapter of Proverbs every day…today being Proverbs 4. I think that chapter complements the New Testament reading. Verse 23 offers some of the best advice you could ever receive for managing your private world—the real YOU inside. “So above all, guard the affections of your heart, for they affect all that you are. Pay attention to the welfare of your innermost being, for from there flows the wellspring of life” (Passion Translation).
Blessings on your day. Tua/Ray.
As we read through this section and feel Paul’s heart, it’s pretty clear that he has been hurt by the very ones he loves so dearly and desires so desperately to help. Some of the Corinthian believers were apparently misrepresenting Paul and rejecting his ministry in favor of some other more sensational pseudo-apostles who were bending the gospel message to suit themselves. So he takes some time here to defend himself and presents quite a sensational list of his own credentials (vv. 22-29). In view of the possibility that there would be some who may not believe his record, he adds one final comment for emphasis, saying, “The GOD and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING.”
Ordinarily, I am not very impressed when people use such statements. Over the years I’ve been exposed to a good deal of unmistakable dirty contents within unsanctified human hearts—not to ignore my own. I’ve witnessed too many occasions where people make such a comment such as Paul’s, not so much to defend their innocence, but as a deceitful smoke screen tactic to cover or compensate for their guilt. They will say, “GOD KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING” with a straight face that is already accustomed to lying. Or, “God is my judge.” Or, “May God strike me dead if I am not telling the truth.”
Do you know what it’s like to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and rejected by those whom you love? I do. I confess that I carry some scars of this nature to this day. In some of these cases there seems to be absolutely nothing more that I can do or say to repair the relationship and change people’s views or attitudes. I believe that whether or not I ever use such a statement as Paul uses here to defend myself before people is not nearly as important as that I be able to confidently use it in the inner chamber of my own private mind. GOD KNOWS THAT I AM NOT LYING. Sometimes the whole matter needs to rest right there. It becomes the declaration and foundation of a clear conscience before God. I wouldn’t want to trade that for anything—NOT ANYTHING!
(Read again Proverbs 1-4. It underscores the fact that personal heart-level integrity is equated with wisdom.)