“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 94 “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live” (Prov. 15:27). The point of greed is to benefit your own house, but it frequently does not work out that way. The …
Many Counselors
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 93 “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established” (Prov. 15:22). Taking this together with other proverbs about business, we know that counsel is not simply a quantitative thing. In a multitude of counselors …
The Pursuit of Hospitality
Hospitality, where it is still practiced in the church, is largely an unstudied virtue. The demands of modernity and the frenetic pace of life around us dictate that we neglect our responsibility to have our brothers and sisters into our homes. Nevertheless, the Bible is very plain in requiring us to be disciplined in our …
Sanctified Satire
With regard to our broader ministry, one of the things we are asked most frequently concerns the propriety of satire. How is satire consistent with the biblical requirements to consider others better than yourselves, to bear one another’s burdens, to love one another, and so on? The answer to these questions is to be found …
Thin Soup Preferred
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 92 “Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith” (Prov. 15:16). We have already seen earlier in this chapter (v. 6) that the revenues of the wicked bring trouble with them. Here in …
Bitterness
Bitterness is something which tempts us to be distracted, and this keeps us from looking where God’s Word requires us to look. And because bitterness has deceived many, it is our responsibility to pray that the God of heaven would teach us to be wise about this great evil. And when they came to Marah, …
He Adds No Trouble to It
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 91 “In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble” (Prov. 15:6). Blessings are blessings and curses are not. This is simple enough to understand when we are only dealing with …
Pride
Every sin that can be committed is traceable back to pride. Boil all the sinful meat off, and what you have left are the bones of pride. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For …
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Envy
Envy is a difficult sin for us to address in the modern era because in many cases we have sought to make it into a virtue. Jesus told about the workers hired at different times of the day to make a spiritual point directed at envy(Matt. 20:1-16); we take the side of the workers who …
Gluttony
As we address the subject of gluttony, we must begin with an important qualificataion. This short essay is not about that second helping of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. At the same time, the issues here remain important ones. Gluttony does not refer to a desire to eat and drink, but rather to an inordinate desire. …