Proverbs 16 & 17

***Proverbs 16***
Verse 2 "People may think all their ways are pure, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

Michelle and I are finally moved in... it has been a long weekend! We have met our neighbors and are excited about living next to them, they seem like really nice people. Actually, they told us they are really nice... he said "I'm a really nice person, let me know if you need anything." I had to laugh at that... but they do seem like good people.

What does it mean to be a good person? I think we all have our own definition of what that means. What I might think is good, others may not like at all. For example, suicide bombers think that they are doing the will of God... but you and I think that they are horrible people. I understand that is an extreme example, but there are many Christians on tv that make me cringe when I see what they are doing and saying... yet they think they are doing what God would have them do. As if God would want anyone's funeral to be protested!

So how do we define good? I think the answer is in verse 7... "When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them."

Nobody can argue with or dislike someone when they are doing what God truly desires... no one can look love in the face and see an enemy. But then again we did crucify Jesus.

***Proverbs 17***
Verse 6 "Parents are the pride of their children" The older I get the more I appreciate my parents... I have Hall of Fame parents. They were always there for us, always supporting us, and gave us every opportunity under the sun. It's not as though we were wealthy growing up, we didn't want for anything but nothing ever came easy... but they did all they could to give us a good life, a good foundation.

The older I get, the more mature I become (and Lord knows there is still a lot maturing to be done) the more pride I have in them. The reason I am so proud of them is that they have a good story to tell. Their lives are that of good people, doing their best to raise their kids to be good people, helping their neighbors whenever they could and being there for their extended family 24 hours a day. They weren't motivated by wealth, they were, and are motivated by love.

I realize that I am blessed, that not everyone has the kind of parents that I did. Not everyone is proud of their parents. Some parents are bad parents, bad people that do bad things. As a result, some people do not wish to refer to God as father, because they had a bad experience with their father. We shouldn't let our human understanding of father define our divine understanding. God is good all the time. God is worthy of our pride.... all the time.