Thirty Sterling Principles, Part 1

The book of Proverbs is filled with principles for living a godly and upright life. This week I came across a passage of Scripture that tells us outright that the next 30 things we are going to be told are “sterling principles:” [Proverbs 22:20-21 from The Message]

“I’m giving you thirty sterling principles –

            tested guidelines to live by.

Believe me – these are truths that work;

            and will keep you accountable to those who sent you.”

I decided to study and pray over each principle one at a time over the next 30 or so days. If God felt they needed to be singled out, I should give them the attention they deserve.

The first principle was to “not walk on the poor just because they’re poor” and to “not use your position to crush the weak.” I don’t think I do those things. I think I view the weak and poor as those needing help and direction. I prayed that God would open my eyes to the poor and see them as He sees them.

The second principle hit closer to home: “Don’t hang out with angry people; don’t keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious – don’t get infected.” There are many angry people in my life (including myself at times). My prayer was for me to not catch the disease of anger and to not get angry even with angry people in my life. Sometimes it’s not possible to “not hang out with angry people” because of life’s situation, but I can work on not being contaminated by the anger around me.

The third principle was about gambling: “Don’t gamble on the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, hocking your house against a lucky chance. The time will come when you have to pay up; you’ll be left with nothing but the shirt on your back.” Fortunately, I’m not a gambling person. I think the key here is to not gamble on what you cannot afford to lose: your house, your clothes, your food. Those things can be very hard to replace and because of the gambling, you won’t necessarily have the means to pay up. You will be left high and dry, and without the things you need most in this life. I prayed I would never fall prey to the gambling bug.

There are 27 more principles that I have yet to concentrate on. You will probably hear more about those in the coming weeks as I read and pray over them in my morning devotions.