Proverbs 29:25–26 (NIV)
Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.
It's not what you know, it's who you know.
We've all heard it and many of us have said it. Relationships make the world go round.
Today's text pushes that adage a bit further by suggesting,
"It's not who you know, it’s Who you know."
Many seek an audience with a ruler…
- We work our proverbial contact list…
- If we could just get in front of so and so…
- If we could just make our pitch to the CEO…
- If the billion-dollar foundation would just entertain our proposal.
- Getting an audience with an important person seems like a silver-bullet solution to solve our problems, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.
There are our connections, and then there is our Connection. Today's proverb seems to indicate that the latter is far more important to a favourable outcome than the former.
Do we put our trust in our connections or in our Connection?
In our businesses, our ministries, our decision making do we trust in God to provide. Yes, God makes provision through people, but he often chooses people who trust in him more than they trust in their wealth.
Fear of man will prove to be a snare
To the extent that we place our trust in people for our security and provision, we will inevitably succumb to what today's text calls "the fear of man."
We are beholden to the one in whom we are dependent. In other words, we will do whatever is necessary to please and appease this person in order to secure their provision. We will avoid doing anything that might offend them. This is how the "fear of man" works. This is not a relationship of love, but one of slavery. Sooner or later, this proves to be a snare.
Alternatively, if we place our whole trust in God, we are able to overflow in gratitude toward those persons through whom God provides.
Because we are not "beholden" to them, we are free to love them.
but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.
In the end, wisdom teaches us that life does not consist in our connections to people but in our connection to God.
PRAYER
Abba Father, I fear you alone and that because you alone love me. Keep me in your holy love that I might not fear people, but instead love them. Let my love show itself through unwavering trust in you. I pray in the name of Jesus, amen.
PROMPTS
- Where do you see the fear of man assert itself in your world of relationships?
- Do you tend to live more in the fear of men and women or the fear of God?
How do you know? - How might I become more about my connection with God than trying to exploit my connections with other people?
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