The Proverbs :: A Guidebook for MenSample

Most of us were raised in a culture that celebrates following the rules. We’re told to color inside the lines, follow the leader, and mind our “pleases” and “thank yous.”

Being polite is beneficial. Being obedient is a trait worth ascribing to. But if we’re not careful, somewhere along the journey of growing into manhood, we begin to twist the well-intended idea of obedience into one of reciprocation. That idea is, “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”

We see this transformation creep into many areas of our lives. Perhaps nowhere do we see it more than in our walk with God. We can start to live our lives for God. We follow His rules. We obey His Proverbs, trying to be good people, doing what is “right,” and avoiding things that aren’t. But if we’re honest, sometimes this way of life can turn into more of currying favor, playing by the rules so that we feel like we deserve the reward, the blessing of God.

This is what the Proverbs writer explores when he says, “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”

This isn’t a new concept. It’s found all across the Scriptures. In Psalm 51, David wrote, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus, quoting Isaiah, says: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

God isn’t primarily concerned with if you can follow the rules. He isn’t up in Heaven waiting to award gold stars for perfect attendance or the highest sales records. God desires a relationship with you. He knows that when you are in right relationship, the Holy Spirit in you moves to live out the goodness and grace of God in motion. You seek righteousness and justice, not because you have to, but because you get to. You want to. That’s the difference.

God doesn’t want rote sacrifices offered to appease or, worse, coerce His presence. He wants hearts deeply in love with Him, hands committed to His work, and lives open for His leading and His purposes. This is the relationship that refreshes your soul.

If you choose this path, we see later in Proverbs 21 a picture of what awaits you: “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” The reward is in the living.

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God, I want to embrace a life of surrender, not just a life of sacrifice. I don’t want my relationship with You to become routine or ordinary. I want Your love and mercy to motivate my heart toward righteousness and justice. Move my heart and hands towards what is most acceptable to You today.