Heralds Digest

  “Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD; And dishonest scales are not good.” Proverbs‬ ‭20:23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Addressing fairness from a personal perspective is always easy, until the subject matter is honestly treated from the perspective of others. For example, a seller of goods and services that uses diverse weights (i.e., different standards of measuring quantity or quality of sold goods or service offerings) can justify fairness on personal assessment of the balance of market forces, economic challenges, etc. Whereas, a different consideration from the perspective of buyers, who shouldered the consequences, like damage, destruction, and possibly death, is entertained. Invariably, even though fairness is naturally considered an instrument in the hands of kings (or all principalities in position of authority), divine perspective on all matters in life provides the best inspiration of fairness. And with conflict of interest among parties at home, workplaces, and all social ci...

  “Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary; Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.” Proverbs‬ ‭19:25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ It is simply an abuse of grace for the redeemed of the Lord to rebuff every opportunity towards truly becoming an instrument in His hands for righteousness. Even while many scoff on righteousness as finalized at the first work of grace, the reality is that the pursuit of righteousness merely starts with the experience of being born again. This is the very first step of faith that guarantees salvation from sin and unrighteousness. Notwithstanding, practical righteousness continues from this first step with concrete training, consistent correction, and constant rebukes along the way. These terrain marks the rough roads on which real redemption in life, career, and the family business are built. Unfortunately, pilgrims with the hyper-grace mentality do often transgress from the path of real redemption by refusing clear instructions in righte...

  “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Friendliness is simply the cultivation of symbiotic fellowship, where all parties involved have equal rights of both belongings and becoming. In another words, fruitful fellowship suggests a good mixture of sacrifice and self-serving. Otherwise, the strings of natural friends begin to grow weak and eventually break away. And while many unfriendly fellowship thrives in promoting the self-serving belongings, the scriptures tells of a type with an absolute sacrifice belonging. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary provided the perfect model of a friend who sticks closer than a brother. For example, a battered partner in a marriage relationship cannot receive the grace to be friendly without a good relationship with Jesus. Therefore, we all need the grace of a perfect friend who stick close to all perfect fiends in order to understand h...

  “The words of a talebearer are like (wounds, KJV) tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Isolated translation of the description given to talebearer’s words as wounds by KJV, compared to tasty trifles by NKJV, appears contradictory. Literally, the use of tasty trifles suggests a greedy swallow of delicious wafers by the mouth; but with a disappointing lack of satisfaction after the swallow by the stomach. Whereas, the use of wounds suggests the after-effects  of the greedy swallow to all parties involved (speaker, hearers, and third parties). Notwithstanding, the uniform impact of the greed and self-centredness in tale bearing is the temporal and motivational massaging of the body. It is believed that those who are carried away by greed, deception and the tale bearing through wicked vices are equally greedy in their own perception of the opportunities in life. But unlike tasty trifles, truthful words are found from the touchy te...

  “Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17:24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Almost in all cultures and social strata, the provision of hard and direct instructions is considered a rude command. And by speaking in parables, salient truths are often clearly communicated. Unfortunately, wicked vices are more smartly communicated through the use of body language than aligning to the way of truth. Therefore, it is generally believed that wisdom is comely or in the sight of him who has understanding. Unless with babies or someone with peculiar mental challenge, the inability to develop soft senses from people’s cold gesture, swift reluctance, unnecessary demand for clarity, and a subtle denial of obvious facts is considered a clear pattern of foolishness. Notwithstanding, the pursuit of spirit senses in life is always safer than practicing the use of soft senses, especially when the use of the latter is promoting strife, envy,...

  “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, If it is found in the way of righteousness.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ While some may readily attach the growth of silver-haired head to age, it is more a reflection of dedication to service and a diligent engagement to life’s activities. The stress of service makes dedicated people and workers grow fast; while most end-of-service award and recognition ceremonies are designed to provide the reasonable compensation. Unfortunately, many awardees from this world’s service award ceremonies can attest to the game of dishonesty, eye-service, and compromises that emboldened the system of corruption in our services today. And for lovers of righteousness, the growth rate for the silver-haired head may even be faster; due to additional pressure against compromise. Even while our corrupt world choose to malign a commitment to righteousness in service delivery, the worthwhile works of all steadfast believers in the way of righteousness have an u...

  “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs‬ ‭16:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Apart from the rainfalls, whose downpour is channeled for blessing and refreshments, almost all of God’s creatures are well supported against the free fall. It is important to note that Galileo’s law of gravity operates within the environment where the full favour of natural support is forcefully removed. Likewise, even as free moral-agent creature of God, man’s ways, thoughts, and decisions in life will engage the free fall mode without divine guidance. Pride is an expression of the state of the heart of man, and does not necessarily has something to do with the status of either affluence or penury. The onset of pride is simply the outset of the heart’s delisting of an alternative opinion or divine intervention, possibly inspired by external participation. And whenever personal rise in dominant extension (pride) is noticed, system supports are often withdrawn for the activation of a fr...