We all are put here on earth for a purpose. Do you believe that statement? Or do you believe that you were dumped here to go through some sort of existence until your life ended?
Everything God created was created for a purpose. Is there anything more annoying than mosquitoes? What purpose do they serve? Many animals, mainly bats rely on them greatly for food. Some species of bats can eat over 500 of them an hour. One could argue then why not take out mosquitoes and bats. Bats as well serve just as important of a role if not more so than mosquitoes. Some even help to pollinate plants just as bees and some birds do.
Aside from bats, many aquatic species that also rely on them for a food source because mosquitoes are laid, hatched and semi-raised in water. As tiny, as they might be they also pollinate some plants.
Is there anything more disgusting than cockroaches? Cockroaches, also, are part of a food chain and serve as food for small animal. They are scavengers- pretty much that mean they clean-up around them and help to 'recycle' and reduce the organic trash that us humans produce.
What about mice? Mice are VERY important to the environment. We call mice "pests," but you have to understand that that is a relative term. They are only "pests" for humans. Mice serve as a major food source for many animals, such as birds of prey. If mice were taken from an ecosystem with such predatory animals like birds of prey, then other animals, such as snakes, would suffer, since birds of prey also have a tendency to eat snakes. Certain snake species might even go extinct! Mice, which are very fast reproducers, keep balance in the ecosystem by being a food source. Mice also keep in balance natural grains that may grow in an area by eating them. These grain grasses have the potential to literally grow out of control if the mice were removed. So as you can see all of creation has purpose including man.
The first purpose God gives for putting man on earth was to rule over and dominate all other animals. He also put man on earth to flourish and increase in numbers. In other words, to have babies. I know some folks who took that one to heart. But God wanted man to increase in numbers for a purpose.
Everything God created He did it for you. He created the earth for you. He created the mountain paths you love to climb for you. He created the waterfalls that you enjoy for you. He created the skies that you soar in for you. He created the oceans and the lakes that you enjoy for you. However, He did this for his pleasure.
Why do we have children? It is because of the joy they can bring into our lives. There are few things as rewarding as seeing the happiness of your child when they are given something they enjoy. Their happiness overflows into you.
Our Heavenly Father feels the same way. He created man for the purpose to bring him pleasure. Colossians 1:16 states “for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” We have the sole purpose of bringing him pleasure. Just as we expect our children to bring us pleasure, God also expects the same.
He created to do good deeds in his name. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Long ago in the Garden of Eden He planned for man to do good things. He wanted us to increase in numbers so that the chances of doing good would also increase. There was a purpose to his desire. Unfortunately, man has increased in numbers and turned to war, hatred, and strife rather than the good works God intended.
A fellow stopped at a gas station and, after filling the tank on his car, he paid the bill and bought a soft drink. He stood by his car to drink his cola and he watched a couple of men working along the roadside.
One man would dig a hole two or three feet deep and then move on. The other man came along behind and filled in the hole. While one was digging a new hole, the other was about 25 feet behind filling in the old. The men worked right past the fellow with the soft drink and went on down the road. "I can’t stand this," said the man tossing the can in a trash container and heading down the road toward the men.
“Hold on,” he said to the men. "Can you tell me what’s going on here with this digging?"
"Well, we work for the government,” one of the men said.
"But one of you is digging a hole and the other fills it up. You’re not accomplishing anything. Aren’t you wasting the tax-payers’ money?"
"You don’t understand, mister," one of the men said, leaning on his shovel and wiping his brow. “Every person on the government’s payroll has a purpose. Now normally there’s three of us--me, Sam and Jesse. I dig the hole, Sam sticks in the tree and Jesse here puts the dirt back.
But Sam called in sick today. That’s no excuse for me and Jesse not fulfilling our purpose, now is it?”
Just like our government friends have a purpose so does the Book of Proverbs.
The purpose of Proverbs
Proverbs 1:1-4 “These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and
successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.
You might remember from last week that we said wisdom was a skill. That the Book of Proverbs was a manual to assist us in living a successful life. Proverbs teaches us about discipline which includes self-control. Proverbs teaches us how to live a disciplined life but we must apply the teaching.
Once we have mastered self-control we then know what to do that is acting within the standard of God, acting from the just mind of God, and behaving in a moral manner befitting God.
Proverbs has two audiences, the simple and the young. Proverbs gives understanding to those who are naïve and easily deceived. The book also gives knowledge and the ability to judge right from wrong to the young. We could fall under both categories but all are in one of them.
Ephron Taylor had gained natural attention for rags-to-riches story of growing up dirt poor in Mississippi. After gaining popularity, he traveled to different churches telling them he was a financial advisor who made his million in his 20s. He promised he could do the same for his fellow Christians.
In 2009, he spoke at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia, a mega-church of over 25,000. Pastor Eddie Long introduced Taylor by telling them “Everything he says is based on the word of God.”
Taylor informed the members that he was on a “Building Wealth Tour” and could show them how to get wealth using Biblical principles. He agreed to private meetings with those interested. He also presented the same program at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Texas.
It was later discovered that what he was offering was a Ponzi scheme where he would pay small dividends to investors from large investments given by new investors. When he was caught, he had swindled $11 million dollars from church members. People had lost their life savings with no chance of recovery. They were naïve and easily deceived. They were simple.
The results of Proverbs
Proverbs 1:5-6 “Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.”
There is a result to everything. Some time ago, "Reader’s Digest" told the story about a company who mailed out some special advertising business post cards with a mustard seed glued to it with the following caption that went something like this: "If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in our product, you are guaranteed to get excellent results and be totally satisfied." -- Signed, The Management
A few months later one recipient of this promotional piece wrote back to the company and said, "You will be very interested to know that I planted the mustard you sent on your advertising card and it has grown into a very healthy bush producing wonderful tomatoes!
We will get results in our lives that are dependent on what we have sown. We can declare that something is “wisdom” but the results prove that it was actually foolishness. Proverbs declares that if we are wise, that is if we have become skilled in living, then we will heed these proverbs and grow even more skilled. We will take these sayings of wisdom and apply them to our lives.
They are given to us as a compass. Everyday that we live is uncharted territory. We have before us an unknown path to travel. We are explorers in the since that we do not know what lies on the other side of a mountain that we face. We do not know how far the other shore is. We do not know how deep the valley or the river that we find ourselves is. The Book of Proverbs has been given to us to help navigate life.
We are given three things in Proverbs. One is proverbs, which are the words of the wise. They are usually rather straightforward.
We are given parables, which are allusive sayings. They take some consideration and meditation to fully understand their meaning. They may require research and discussion with others to fully grasp their wisdom.
We are given riddles, which are hard questions and hidden things. They will challenge us the most. When seeking the wisdom of riddles we need the intervention of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of revelation.
Daniel 2:28 tells us “there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets”. It is God’s desire to reveal himself and his wisdom to us. Remember, we are created to bring him pleasure. Just as we desire to share our wisdom and ourselves with our children, God does also.
The foundation of Proverbs
Proverbs 1:7 “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
The word ‘fear’ has two meanings that can be applied in this verse. One is a feeling of awe and reverence. At the Grand Canyon, a glass walkway extends 70 feet, the equivalent of one quarter of a football field, over the Colorado River. When standing at the farthest point you are 4,000 feet above the river. That is 4 times higher than the tallest building in the United States. It is completely safe. But I would imagine there would be a fearful awe of the magnitude of the scenery. In fact, it would probably be breath taking.
Such is the awe we should have for God. While man created a way to enjoy the beauty of the Grand Canyon, God created the Grand Canyon. Every beautiful sunrise and sunset is created by him. The flowers we enjoy are his beauty. Just glancing at the sky at night and seeing the endless universe should astound us and lead to worshipping God.
The other meaning for fear is terror. Let me share with you the newest tourist attraction. It is called “Verruckt”, which is the German word for terror. It is a waterslide that just opened in Kansas City. It is the tallest waterslide in the United States. It is 17 stories tall with a 5-story hill in the middle that you will clear based only on momentum.
It takes a while to climb the 264 steps necessary to reach the top. But traveling at 65 miles per, you go down much quicker. Before you climb the stairs, however, you must listen to a two-page warning about the hazards of the ride, one of which is the possibility of death.
If you are like me, you probably think, “There is no way they would allow a ride to exist if you could die on it. They just say that to add to the excitement.” No! They say that so you can’t sue them when a loved one dies. In other words, you have been warned.
We should also have that fear of God. Jesus said in
Matthew 10:28 “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
People have lost the fear of God. They live their lives as if their lives were their own to live. The Bible says all of us were bought with a price, the blood of Jesus. Even some Christians have lost that fear. They act more like agnostic believers then Christ followers. This awe and terror of God is the very foundation of wisdom. With out it we cannot possibly develop the skill of living that we need.
The strength of Proverbs
Proverbs 3:7-8 “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.”
A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The pilot added, “I should have one of he parachutes because I have a wife and three small children.” So he took one and jumped.
The computer whiz said, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped.
The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.”
The boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!
When we get impressed with our way of doing things, we are setting ourselves for disaster. How many decisions do we make without even consulting God? Usually when we don’t, it’s because we already know we are wrong. Instead, we need to have an awe and terror of God that will turn us away from choices that are disagreeable with God.
Look again at verse 8 “Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” The Hebrew word for body actually translates as umbilical cord. It is the fear of the Lord that nourishes our spiritual man. It is through this cord, this connection, that we receive spiritual health. The word ‘strength’ translates as drink. Just as a baby in the womb receives liquid nourishment from its mother, so we receive the ‘living water’ from God, which strengthens our spiritual body.
When John wrote his letter to Gaius, we began by saying, “Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” (3John 1:2) John understood the connection between the strength in our spirit and the physical health in our body. The lack of the fear of the Lord can stifle our spiritual growth and affect our physical health.
It is the fear of the Lord that we build upon to gain wisdom. It is the fear of the Lord that leads to learn the skill of living.
