Better to be Poor with Integrity Than to Get Rich Through Crooked Ways

There’s nothing wrong with being rich. The Bible tends to consider poverty a curse if you’re lazy. Proverbs 30:7-9 has the famous line, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” Though, there are times when it’s better to be poor with integrity than to get rich through crooked ways. Sometimes, somebody can get poor due to injustice having some contagious disease (which was probably the case of the beggar Lazarus since he was covered with sores), lepers would beg because nobody would hire them for work or they were too weak to work. Some come poor because of injustice like unlawful seizures such as what Ahab did to Naboth. If Naboth had surviving descendants, they would’ve probably become poor for some time thanks to that act of injustice.

How Often Am I Disturbed by False Accusations?

Right now, it seems life gets worse and worse. The Christian life will get more complicated as time goes by. I’ve had some accusations thrown at me. I even had run a hate blog where I kept attacking people who falsely accused me. I had false accusations like I’m a religious terrorist (for preaching John 14:6), I’m a homosexual because I refuse to engage in vices, I’m a coward because I refuse to enter into unnecessary fist fights, I’m stupid, etc. I can imagine how often I’ve already broken God’s law by imagining carnal sex (lust is adultery), murderous thoughts (and God’s standard for murder is broken), and thinking about engaging in those sins.

Because Sentence Against EVIL Isn’t Executed Speedily

As I’m about to continue with Ecclesiastes–I felt Ecclesiastes 8’s most interesting verse is Ecclesiastes 8:11. There’s the command to follow and submit to authority. There’s the command to know no evil thing and be wise of heart. Now, I feel that one verse talking about this blog entry is a warning for us all. It says that if a sentence against evil isn’t sent speedily–people are bound to do evil.

God Never Works Needless Miracles

I was trying to find another idea to blog. Fortunately, Charles H. Spurgeon’s evening devotional for September 17 talks about God not working needless miracles. I remembered last year’s Odette and hyper-faith nearly caused me to go to the emergency room. Some anti-vaxxers are also having hyper-faith aside from conspiracy theories. I even felt that more often than not–we feel God should work miracles all the time. It reminded me of why God could’ve caused a miracle here but stopped there. The children of Israel were led on a long path. God could’ve cleared the shortcut but He chose not to do it. As the late Vernon McGee says, don’t expect a miracle every minute!

When Wicked People Live Long While Righteous People Live Short

It’s often said that Proverbs 10:27 couldn’t be true because many wicked people live long lives. The same King Solomon who wrote Proverbs 10:27 also wrote Ecclesiastes 7:15 which says the following:

In my vain life I have seen everything. There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing. (ESV) 

When Sorrow is Better Than Laughter

Proverbs 17:22 has King Solomon say laughter or mirth is good medicine. Does he contradict himself later in Ecclesiastes 7:3? It’s pretty much a case-to-case basis. Remember that Proverbs 26:4-5 tells us when to answer and when not to answer a fool. Sometimes, we need to stay silent. Sometimes, we need to answer a fool in such a way it shows him his foolishness. This may also be the case as to why Solomon said that sorrow is better than laughter.

Are Jesuit Conspiracy Theories Also Used to Cover-Up Wolves in Sheep Clothing in Baptist Circles?

Maybe, one of the biggest memories that any young believer may have had was Chick Publications. Some people may have picked up a Chick Tract such as This Was Your Life and got saved. Unfortunately, what came with it was the story of the late Alberto R. Rivera Sr. I believed the story for more than 10 years. I conveniently ignored the signs that Rivera was indeed a fake. Some of my alternatives were (1) a Christian minister got misled by fake information, (2) the Jesuits mastered some wonderful scheme (and that’s how the Alberto series’ comic books do it), and (3) there must be a well-cloaked Jesuit coadjutor or infiltrator somewhere.