Young People’s Blog

“Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom” (Proverbs 23:4).

“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts” (1 Timothy 6:9).

I have heard more than one young person in my lifetime, even Christian young people, say, “I would like to have a lot of money!” Some of them have managed to get it, but it has not made them happy. Most people that have riches have spent quite a bit of time and effort to get that money, and then they have to spend even more time keeping it, managing it, and making sure that nothing happens to it. Also, when we begin to have more money, we seem to need more and more to continue to be satisfied. Our human hearts are never satisfied! Solomon (who wrote the book of Proverbs) was a very rich man, perhaps the richest man who ever lived. Yet he tells us not to work to get rich. Tomorrow we will see what he told his hearers to do instead.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted [or tested] above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

It is a real comfort to our hearts to know that God does not test us in ways that are not common to other people as well. God tests each one of His children, and uses those difficulties in our lives to teach us things we could not learn any other way. He does not allow problems in our lives just to see us suffer!

Also, this verse tells us that God will never push any one of us beyond our limits. He knows what we can bear, and He never goes beyond that. The test never goes on too long, and is never so severe that it breaks us. He is in full control, and has carefully measured it all before He allows it in our lives. What a comfort that is to us! Let us never forget it when the Lord allows a difficulty in our life!

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

This is a good verse for all of us to remember. In the verses previous to this one, the Apostle Paul mentions a number of sins into which the Israelites fell as they were passing through the desert. They are sins into which we too can fall, if we are not on guard. That is why God says that they are recorded as examples for us. But sometimes we may think, “I do not have to be concerned; that will never happen to me! I would never do that!”

Then the Lord may have to show us that we are not as strong as we thought. We are safe only when we realize our human weakness, and trust the Lord to help us. The Lord may allow us to have a fall, in order to teach us to rely more on Him. He will help us to avoid these sins, if we ask Him.

“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we can incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:25).

In this verse Paul is speaking about competing in the Olympic games, which were popular back then. Did you know that the first Olympic games were held almost 800 years before the birth of Christ? It was the same then as it is today. Those who wish to compete in the games exercise restraint in every aspect of their lives, in order to keep their bodies in very good shape. They are careful about their diet, careful about their exercise program, and careful not to injure themselves. Their goal is to win that event for which they are training.

But suppose they do win? Yes, they may get a medal, and it is nice to have. In the days of Paul, they were given a laurel wreath to wear on their head. However, it is corruptible crown; it will not last beyond this life. (A laurel wreath might last only a few days!) But you and I have the privilege of serving the Lord, and in that sense we can run a race for the Lord. His reward will be incorruptible; it will last for all eternity.

“Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me, and Thou hast afflicted Me with all Thy waves. Selah” (Psalm 88:7).

We get the account of the Lord Jesus and His sufferings on the cross in the four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but in some of the Psalms we read about His deeper feelings and emotions when He went through it all. Psalm 88 is one of those so-called “Messianic” psalms, and our verse for today shows how deeply He felt the wrath of God against sin. God the Father sent Him into the world to suffer for sin, and the Lord Jesus came willingly to do His Father’s will. But He felt it keenly when all of the judgment of God against sin fell upon Him.

Waves in the Bible are often a picture of judgment, for waves in the sea just seem to come one after the other, without a break. That is how it must have been to our Lord Jesus on the cross. All of God’s judgment had to fall upon Him; no part of that judgment could be left out. We cannot thank Him enough for taking all that judgment for us!

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest…If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15).

I knew a farmer once who told one of his workmen to go out and do some work for him, and to do it a certain way. But the workman thought he knew better, and did the work a different way. Needless to say, the farmer was not pleased.

It is the same with the Lord’s work. He has told us in His Word how He wants His work done, and it is important to serve the Lord in His way, not in our way. In a coming day, He will reward those who have served Him according to His Word, but if we have done His work our own way, it may have to be burned up. That will be sad, and as our verse says, we will feel the loss. It is good to ask the Lord what He wants us to do, and then to do the work His way, according to His Word.

“Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

As I am writing this in May, 2024, there are a number of students at various universities in the world who are setting encampments of tents on university property, trying to force the university administration to support the Palestinians in Gaza. One girl said that she had given up her course at the university, and given up going home for visits, because she felt so strongly about the situation. She is willing to put her whole life “on hold,” if only something can be done for the Palestinians.

According to our verse today, the Lord expects us to deny ourselves, and to be ready to give up anything that hinders our faithfulness to Him. No, the Lord does not expect us to live in tents, and not to do our daily work. But He wants us to be ready to live our lives for Him, as we saw yesterday. Worldly people are willing to do it, sometimes for a very questionable reason. Are we willing to give up things for the Lord?

“The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

People who are not saved often tend to think that this world belongs to them, and that they may use it in any way they wish, in order to have a good time. It is true that God has given us things in this world to use for our needs, but as Christians, we know that this world is under judgment. Soon the Lord Jesus will come to call us home, and then shortly after that, He will come back in power and glory to judge this world. Everything in this world is temporary, and will pass away.

If we truly belong to the Lord Jesus, then He has left us here to honor Him, and to live for His interests in this world. This involves giving out the gospel, encouraging other believers, and living our lives for His glory. Yes, we do need things like food, clothing, a house to live in, etc., but we are not to be using whatever we have just to please ourselves. Rather, those things have been given to us to use for the Lord’s glory.

“The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests” (Matthew 8:20).

As I look out of the window of my study today, the maple tree on our front lawn is just putting out its leaves. But if I look closely, I can see a bird’s nest on one of the branches, a nest that was built last spring. During the winter we had snowstorms, strong winds, and even freezing rain, yet that bird’s nest never came apart and fell out of the tree.

How did the bird know how to build it so well? No one taught the bird to do that; it knew how to do it by instinct. It is something that the Lord gave to that bird when He created it. Using only its beak and perhaps its feet sometimes, that bird can take bits of grass and mud, and put them together to make a strong nest in which to lay its eggs.

Some people in this world try to tell us that all this just happened by a process of evolution, but the Bible tells us God created “fowl [birds] that may fly above the earth” (Genesis 1:20). Only God could give a bird the wisdom to know how to build a nest.

“Remember your leaders who have spoken to you the word of God; and considering the issue of their conversation [conduct, or manner of life], imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and to the ages to come” (Hebrews 13:7-8 JND).

Once again, we are reminded that the Lord Jesus never changes. God has given us leaders in Christianity, and we are reminded to imitate their faith. But what did they teach us? If they were faithful leaders, they spoke about Christ. He was “the issue of their conversation;” that is, Christ was the key to their conduct and lifestyle. They followed Him, and pointed us to Him.

Even those leaders can change. They can fail and make mistakes, and perhaps those of you who were younger notice it sometimes. But God does not want us to follow even good leaders; He wants us to imitate their faith and follow the One that they followed—Christ. He is always a perfect example for us, and He never changes.