Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Proverbs+020
Proverbs 20 (ESV)
6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?
7 The righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed are his children after him!
8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment
winnows all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure;
I am clean from my sin”?
10 Unequal weights and unequal measures
are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
11 Even a child makes himself known by his acts,
by whether his conduct is pure and upright…
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man,
but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel…
23 Unequal weights are an abomination to the Lord,
and false scales are not good.
REFLECTION:
No one is completely innocent. Soon after every confession and repentance, sinful thoughts and actions will begin to quietly rise in our lives, so that we need God’s cleansing all the time. Thank God, when we pray, he grants forgiveness of sins. When you talk to God, you must always confess your sins and repent, and always rely on Him to cleanse you. “Unequal weights” and “unequal measures” refer to merchants using different scales to deceive customers. Do I have “unequal weights” for people? It is difficult for people to avoid the sin of dishonesty in everything. We think that no one will discover the most secret activities in our hearts. In fact, all our thoughts and actions are under the examination of God. We should fully understand the dangers of dishonesty. Fraud affects the deepest part of the soul and makes people unreliable and untrustworthy. In the end, he contradicted himself, split his personality, and couldn’t get along with others in peace. Don’t underestimate dishonesty in trivial matters, because just a little bit of dishonesty can poison your spiritual life. If there is any dishonesty in your life, you must come to God immediately and ask for forgiveness.
PRAYER:
Ask God to bless you so that you can be a faithful, kind, and righteous person throughout your life. Ask God to give you a strong and prudent heart, and to maintain integrity and honesty no matter how big or small things are. Ask God to purify you always so that your life will be sincere and pure like a child, and please God.
HYMN:
Purify My Heart: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkqJHUJlKVM
