January 20                                    Job 14 - 17

CHIN-CHIN TURNS GRAVEL

MEMORISE: ‘An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning: but the end therefore shall not be blessed.’ (Prov 20:21)
READ: Proverbs 20:14-17

‘Bread of deceit is sweet to a man: but afterwards, his mouth shall be filled with gravel’ (Prov 20:17). Anything acquired fraudulently or diabolically may appear to be a bonus initially, but not for long. People are more concerned with acquiring riches and property than the means by which they acquire them. Often they say the end justices the means. This is a reversal of the truth. The end does not always justify the mean: rather in several cases, it is the means that either justifies or condemns the end. A man whose end or goal is to become rich is not justified if he arrives at the goal through armed robbery, use of a fellow human for rituals or by any other fraudulent means.

In times past, honour was accorded those who were worthy. Society today is fast losing its values. In the past, a man was accorded honour if by dint of hard work he succeeded in becoming a professional, or in achieving a feat worthy of note. Today, the focus and yardstick for measuring success have changed. Society today approves a thief who has arrived at his millions through questionable means, as having succeeded. What a shame!

God, on the other hand, never changes. His standards remain the same. Proverbs 20:21 says: ‘An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; by acquiring false wealth from Satan. And it will come cursed. They will live to regret their actions. Are you one of those who amass wealth through bribes, cheating, looting of the Government’s treasury, prostitution or ritual murders? Or do you use others to climb up to higher positions? Do not rejoice or celebrate your seeming success, false wealth or ephemeral victory. Your joy will soon become sorrow. That certificate you forged or acquired through fraudulent means, with which you have gotten to where you are now, will soon have its natural course. It will bring sorrow unless you repent and make the necessary restitution. Seek only the blessings that come from God. They may be little. They may come in trickles but they carry peace with them. That is the true blessing.

ACTION POINT
List everything you have fraudulently amassed;
through counseling and prayer, take the necessary steps for restitution.