GOD DELIGHTS IN OPPOSITES
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Jeremiah 9:23-24 |
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“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,” saith the Lord. KJV |
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. NIV |
Whatever man glorifies in, God will delight in the opposite. In our Scripture today we read of God warning man not to glory in his wisdom, his might or his riches, the opposites of which are loving kindness, judgment (or justice) and righteousness. It is easy for a rich man to glory in the fact that he has the finances to weather any storm that may come his way. He would have the resources to survive should calamity arise.
There is another aspect to consider: self-satisfaction. There is a great deal of pride attached to being better off than someone else and man cannot resist the temptation to let it be known that he has been wise with his money and that he wields a certain amount of power because of this.
- Communism exalts the interests of the poor against the rich.
- Capitalism exalts the interests of the rich against the poor.
- Christ exalts the interests of God against the interests of self and Satan to the temporal and eternal advantage of the rich, the poor and in between.
Mankind withdraws himself when the conversation comes around to actually getting to know God, learning to understand how He thinks and what his requirements are for us to live a life that is pleasing to Him. We can glory in understanding God and getting to know Him, because for the believer, it will be with God that we spend eternity, and for those who refuse to do this, they will find themselves in an eternity where their wisdom, wealth and power will be of no use. Blessed is the one who understands the Lord so as to delight in what He delights in.