Keep the Law

Seems like a little thing and easy to understand, yes. But as I read this morning, there is a bit more to it than just keeping the law.

“⁷The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding,

but a companion of gluttons shames his father.”

“⁴Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

but those who keep the law strive against them.”

— Proverbs 28:7 & 4 (ESV)

I know, the above verses are in reverse order, first verse seven then verse four. I was led to this passage through verse seven, but I see verse four as an extension in my study and learning. You see, we are to keep the law to be thought of well by our father and family, and in doing so, we are showing the wicked that there is this better way.

I know that in the short there seems to be very slow movement forward and there is a tendency to seek a more speedy gain. I struggle with seeing all of the, what appears to be, prosperity of those around me. It seems as though it comes easily and in great amount for others when I am seemingly struggling to make ends meet. There is a real drive to go outside the law to get to what others have and experience that seeming prosperity for myself. But, I am not seeing all that there is. I may not see that those who “fell into prosperity” may actually have been struggling and working hard for the past 20 years and this is the reward for their faithfulness. I have to remember that.

It is in the law that we find understanding and fight against evil. We are in with the LORD and He will provide when the time is right. Ours is to simply obey and follow His guidance through this world. We are to keep the law and that is where we will find the prosperity that keeps us free. Yes, we may feel the struggle that comes with being without, but were we meant to have that now or even at all if it keeps us from the Father. You see, it is in the LORD that we find peace and it is manifest through our keeping of the law.

What is your viewpoint on the law? Do you believe that we have to break it to get the prosperity we want and that it is okay to do so? What if we found our prosperity in the LORD and that is manifest from our keeping of the law?