Daily Devotional For Wednesday, June 3, 2026
Good morning Southside! Hope all is well with you. Our Proverb for today is Proverbs 9:10:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (NASB).
This verse reminds us that if the fear of the Lord is wisdom, then fear of man is folly. We live in a culture where we seek approval and self-approval. We look to see whose smile will satisfy us and praise us. Since God approves us up front due to His grace, then shouldn't that be enough? Since we are approved by God today, then that means we are approved for tomorrow.
God will correct and discipline us if we get out of His will. When we are filled with His wisdom, then we want to please the Lord (see Col. 1:9-10). Most people are always performing, wanting applause and praise by others. But even this is fake and false. What if your closest friends discovered the really real you? We live by our manmade religious rules and rituals. For many today, their god is approval. Living a lie drains us and empties us.
Fear of the Lord should mean to us that God’s approval is the only approval we need and should seek. In the Gospels, they put Jesus front and center on the stage, not us. Fear of the Lord should make us satisfied in Christ, bold and valiant and fearless as a lion, like the Lion of Judah. Probably when Paul was in prison, it is possible that other “preachers” of that day were glad. With Paul out of the way, they could shine and have some recognition.
Envy destroys relationships. Proverbs 14:30 says, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (NASB). Christian author Joseph Epstein in his book about envy writes this: “Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all. It not only decays the soul; it decays the body” (Source: Joseph Epstein, Envy: The Seven Deadly Sins). How does this relate to our man Proverb above? Fearing the Lord brings contentment and joy. We do not sit and compare, which leads to envy. We trust that the Lord will take care of us.
Proverbs 9 opens with a choice of between two doors: the door to the house of wisdom and the door to the house of folly. We get to choose which door we will go through in life. If we choose the door of envy rather than wisdom, we are the ones who will suffer. The Lord does want our hearts to be weighed down with the stress that comes from envy, especially what it does to the one who is envious. Envy does rot both the soul and the body. God’s wisdom on the other hand gives life, joy and refreshing strength to both body and soul.
If we truly accept the Lord’s forgiveness for our sins and accept that we now have His approval, then it is a truth that sets us free. Former atheist and Christian apologist once wrote these words to a friend of his:
“You write much about your own sins. Beware … lest humility should pass over into anxiety or sadness. It is bidden us to ‘rejoice and always rejoice.’ Jesus has cancelled the handwriting which was against us. Lift up our hearts!” (Source: Quoted by Walter Hooper, The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, Vol. III, p. 152).
Old Testament scholar R.C. Ortlund writes this:
“Knowing that Jesus covers your sin when you deserve to be exposed, but He accepts you and rejoices over you—that stunning new awareness will lift your heart and take you further with Him than you have ever dreamed of going. His love creates your wise choice, moment by moment. Look up to Him by faith, see His love for you right now, and receive it. Then, whatever might be your next step of obedience, that bold new step that maybe you have been putting off, you will take it. You will be able to choose, and you will choose wisely, to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Source: Raymond C. Ortlund, Preaching The Word — Wisdom That Works, p. 130).
This is a great reason not to be envious and choose God’s wisdom only. There is no need to be envious to seek approval or the praise of others. We have the Lord’s approval and we do not need any other person’s approval. Today, unfortunately consumerism and entertainment has taken over even the church. There are churches that have a “rock band” style worship with lights, laser and smoke. People “shop around” for a church they like. It’s all about me – that is envy folks. We want the words of Jesus without following in the way of Jesus.
What is lacking in the modern church today is the fear of the Lord. People use anthropomorphic terms — human characteristics – to refer to God. He is nothing like us and we are just the opposite of Him. We soften the blow and water down Scripture so we do not offend someone. Folks, the Gospel and Jesus were offensive because both stressed a theology of exclusiveness. There is no other Savior, or Messiah or way to God except through Jesus. There is no other religious book that is the only book to follow and obey but the Bible. Jesus redefined what is truth and that is offensive folks. We get envious of another church and their success because we judge success by numbers.
If that is the case, everyone is a failure including Jesus. On Palm Sunday thousands were praising Him as, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” and five days later those same people five days later were shouting, “Crucify Him. Crucify Him!” All His disciples abandoned and deserted Him. If we were to apply modern day success rules to the life of Jesus, we would have to say, “He was a failure.”
Why are people envious? One reason is that they are fickle. Thousands of people came to Jesus – not mainly to hear Him preach or teach – but to be healed or fed or a demon cast out. People used Jesus and yes He knew they were. Jesus said this in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (NLT). Jesus didn’t say because “thousands are chosen.” He said “few are chosen.” Why? Because they had the fear of the Lord in them. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” He confronts and challenges us with our envy, our consumerism, our desire to be entertained and our desire to want a church designed around our wants.
Reflection Assignment: What level of the fear of the Lord would the Lord say you have and why? Do you ever think, “I wish my church was like this church!”? How committed are you to not only the words of Jesus but the way of Jesus? Are you envious when others get “the approval of others” or is the Lord’s approval of you enough?
Scripture To Meditate On: James 1:22-25, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. (23) For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. (24) You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. (25) But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I want to be a doer of Your word, not just a hearer or student of it. I want to have such a fear of You that it motivates, inspires and encourages me to seek only Your approval, not envy the approval from others. Lord, You are a great God and I do not want to be so envious that I become fickle. I want to be a person of faith. Please help me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly