Tuesday... There are so many buts.

Tuesday... There are so many buts. There really are.

Look at what Proverbs 14:4 (AMP) says, "Where there are no oxen, the stable is clean, but much revenue [because of good crops] comes by strength of the ox."

This proverb gets my attention each month when I read it. Yes the stable would be clean but and there are so many buts in our lives. We are driven by our priorities. If your priority is to have everything clean then there are a lot of other things you won't have. Like children, or dogs or a mate or friends. And you might say that you can have both and up to a point that is true. But if all of my time and effort is to keep the stable clean then what about getting food for the oxen or taking them out to work in the field and then bringing them back from the field. They will be so dirty.

Now if everything I have is clean all of the time then how do I make a living? How am I productive in being used by God in the priorities He has for me? 

Verse 4 in The Message says, "No cattle, no crops; a good harvest requires a strong ox for the plow." We need to make sure that our priorities will make a difference in doing what is really important. 

Verse 6 (NLT) says, "A mocker seeks wisdom and never finds it, but knowledge comes easily to those with understanding." Someone loves to mock but they're never going to find wisdom and knowledge. A mocker doesn't understand what they are really doing. They are pushing people away and not letting them get close and show them what enjoying life is really all about. 

The Amplified Bible says, "A scoffer seeks wisdom and finds none [for his ears are closed to wisdom]." Have you ever met someone like that? And then the but, "But knowledge is easy for one who understands [because he is willing to learn]."

"The Message says it this way, "Cynics look high and low for wisdom - the open-mined find it right on their doorstep!" 

Here is another one. Verses 12-13 (MSG) says, "There's a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again - it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all their laughter will end in heartbreak." 

And then verse 14 (AMP), "The backslider in heart will have his fill with his own [rotten] ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his ways [the godly thought and action which his heart pursues and in which he delights]."

Let's make sure we are on the right side of but. And a good place to start is in Proverbs. But you might say, I don't have time. But you will if you want to know what is best for you and your life. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning