Trust His take on a matter

Follows is a renewed perspective on a famous passage of scripture:

Proverbs 3:5,6 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. (AMP)

Let's try to unpack this from a clean slate (as if we never heard this scripture before), so we can absorb it.

The context of "Trust in the Lord", given the rest of the passage, alludes to the fact that God has something to say about everything.  And so, when faced with a situation that requires you to make a choice (a decision) with respect to your interpretation, your thoughts, perspective and consequent actions, understand what God has to say on the matter (which will normally be counter-intuitive and different to your natural inclination), believe Him and obey Him.

This is where the directive comes in, because when what He says does not make sense and you cannot fathom what the outcome will be obeying Him or especially when listening to Him does not look like it's going to fix anything... He simply is saying: "Just trust me here (embracing what I'm saying completely, which is like letting go and just falling off a building--scary).  Just trust what I'm saying here.  Don't go with your natural understanding of the situation and with your inclinations (and I know it's tempting).  Just trust me here, though, and I will fix things.  Actually in every situation come hear what I'm saying about it and just trust me.  I'll fix it."

Easier said than done, but this is what He is saying.  We must not ignore the wisdom of the advice.

Be wary of your thought life

Proverbs 23:7 alludes to the fact that as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.  Jesus cemented this point with his sermon that said if a man thinks lustfully towards a woman, he already commits adultery.  Also if a man is angry with his brother, he already commits murder.

There was a site I came across discussing this point (http://bit.ly/8XH8Hq) and some of the reader comments unpacked the argument nicely.

One comment says that the difference between dwelling on an action and doing it is opportunity.  Opportunity without desire is harmless.  Desire without opportunity, however, is trouble waiting to happen.  This supports what Jesus was saying (above).

Another commentator said that "you don't have to murder to be a murderer, but you have to be a murderer to murder".  Again this speaks to the attitude of the heart.

The argument can be captured by the saying: "You are a product of your thoughts".  What this means is that all I am now is a result of my thinking.  If what I am currently is not who I want to be (including character, status, what I own), the good news is that what I aspire to be is solved by my thinking.  There is a certain thought life that will take me to a desired end (vision), thus if I align my thinking with the required thinking, I will get there.

The case against Debt

Many of us (who are in debt) would like to get out of debt and go to the Word of God (rightfully so) to figure out what to do. What is not established, though, with the above scenario is the motive. You see, one of the aspects of being holy means to be pure in motive... so it is important to check the motive.

So what does the Bible (which is the exhaustive manual to life in the Kingdom) have to say about debt itself, not to mention how to get out.

Romans 13:8 says "Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor [who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one's fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]." AMP

Now, the first part of this verse lays it down very heavy. It may not seem like it at first glance but after careful consideration it is strong and explicit.

You see, many of us may agree and say things like "I agree", "I want to buy everything cash", meaning furniture, groceries, etc. "I don't want to have loans outstanding", meaning RCA, student loans, overdraft, etc. But here is where the penny dropped for me... what about the house (bond) and car (on installments)??? To that we respond, "that is different... most people can't afford to buy a house and car cash!"

The thing is... I can't find anything in the Word to justify that response. Romans 13:8, however, clearly seems to cover house and car as well! But then you may object by saying "but how could I ever afford a house and car cash?" I say if you question that, then you must question Sarah giving birth to Isaac at her age, or the Israelites crossing through the Red Sea, or Elijah being fed by birds, or Jesus walking on water ...

The point here is that ALL debt is not natural to a Kingdom citizen. The "how": that is possible is another journey in the Word but before the how, the "why" must be settled clearly in every citizen's mind. The way of the world says that you must get financing for big things, but not so in the Kingdom. The scripture says that a citizen of the Kingdom should currently not owe ANY man ANYTHING and going forward should stay out of that position (of debt). If this is not so, a positive tension should now exist to achieve this position... the motive is pure (from the Word).

There are many modern men of God who understand this characteristic of being a Kingdom citizen and are debt-free. Some of them put up church buildings that cost millions without financing from the banks. What a model! (refer to end of article for some ancient examples as well).

This truth must be the foundation upon which the pursuit of debt-freedom must be built. If you are a citizen, debt is not optional... it is illegal and that must be crystal clear. This truth must first resonate within a Citizen before freedom from debt is even possible. The following verse further cements this truth:

Psalm 37:21 The wicked borrow and pay not again [for they may be unable], but the [uncompromisingly] righteous deal kindly and give [for they are able]. AMP

So the wicked borrow money and remain in that debt... but the uncompromisingly (those that include house and car) righteous (those in right standing with the King and the constitution of the Kingdom) are not only NOT in debt, they are able to take care of all their needs and give! Wow, wow, wow!

As I said above, how this is possible, the keys of the Kingdom that unlock this is a different journey but this Kingdom Life is sounding very exciting even at this point!

Below are some ancient examples of Godly men who obviously ruled finances:

Abraham, father of the nation of Israel, was extremely rich.

Gen 13:2 "Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold." AMP

Joseph was able to relocate his ENTIRE family (70 members) during a severe famine ("recession") and PROVIDE FOR ALL THEIR NEEDS!

Gen 45:11 "And there I will sustain and provide for you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not come to poverty and want, for there are yet five [more] years of [the scarcity, hunger, and starvation of] famine." AMP

Solomon was granted wisdom, and "so much more".

2 Chron 1:12 "Wisdom and knowledge are granted you. And I will give you riches, possessions, honor, and glory, such as none of the kings had before you, and none after you shall have their equal." AMP

Job, was the top tycoon in the East (before & after his trials).

Job 1:3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very great body of servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the East. AMP

How to "Your Kingdom Come"

I'm onto a concept of influencing my environment with the Kingdom of God. The following algorithm emerged for starting the process:

1. Define the boundaries of an environment.
2. Highlight a characteristic of the Kingdom.
3. Identify a specific opportunity in the environment to apply the characteristic.
4. Create a catch phrase to do the Kingdom thing whenever the opportunity arises.
   
5. Commit & practice, practice, practice.

Putting the algorithm to work:

1. My house.
2. God is a God of order (1 Corinth 14:33, 40; Jer 31:35-36).
3. Cleaning house -> specifically -> putting dirt into the bin immediately.
4. "God is a God of order: Dirt belongs in the bin"
5. Get buy-in from everybody in the family to practice. Practice at every opportunity. Remind each other all the time.

Before you know it, dirt will never be found lying around. There may be other things that have to be worked on in the home, but dirt won't be one of them.