Proverbs 29 reveals two traps that sometimes affect me:
To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet – Proverbs 29:5
I’d better have kind words for people. But if those kind words are not true words, they may allow the person to believe a lie. If you’ve seen American Idol you’ve seen the results of unwise flattery!
Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety. – Proverbs 29:25
What is the trap I face when I am afraid of people? I fall into the trap of believing that I shouldn’t or can’t do what God clearly tells me to do. Exodus 14:14 reminds me that I don’t need to be afraid of people because the Lord Himself will fight for me!
How about you? Been laying any traps lately? Been falling into any?
1 comment
Ryan Smith says:
January 29, 2009 at 7:27 am (UTC -5 )
Tom, what a great post!!!! I definitely have fallen into both of these traps but the one that CONSTANTLY overcomes me is the second. It is so hard to 1) NOT fear people and 2) put my FULL trust in the Lord.
I find that though I may not fear people at times, it is because I rely on MYSELF for safety.
A good book I would recommend to read on this is, When People are Big and God is Small, by Edward T. Welch. I have benefited from his thoughts in this book as well.