I love Proverbs. Sometimes when I read it, though, it is hard to believe how very long ago scripture was written. Because, wow. It is so applicable today.
“The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him. When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” - Proverbs 11:1-3 (NIV)
One of the things I love the most about my Terry is his humility. Sure, he is silly and jokes with us about how handsome he is, or when I say I love him so much he might reply, “I know you do. How could you not?” But he is teasing in those moments. He does most everything with a quiet humility, never seeking fanfare or attention. (Although I am his biggest fan!)
When I look at Terry, Michala and my closest friends, they are all humble. And with their humility comes wisdom. The integrity of each of these people in my mind is what guides their path, and is the reason I turn to them for wise counsel.
When I look at the world around us, I see how the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (Their deceitfulness. Their doublemess, so to speak. Two faced is a great description of duplicity).
Some of the people we see who are so evil, seem to get away with it. Their lies and corruption seem to be second nature to them.
Hear me out, though. God sees it all. When pride comes, then comes disgrace. In other words, when people get too big for their britches, there is usually a lesson learned. Sadly, not always.
I cannot help but pray for more humility to pierce through all of us. With more humility, I will have more wisdom and my integrity will be what guides me. If I have more humility, wisdom and integrity, I know I have to spend more time in prayer, praying for the people who desperately need the presence of God in their lives.
Our school superintendents, school board members, city council members, our mayors, our governors, our members of Congress and our President all desperately need our prayers. They need humility in order to have wisdom. They need wisdom and integrity to guide their decision making in order to keep us all safe, and Lord willing, healthier than what we currently are. I always pray for God to put men and women to be wise counsel in the paths of our leaders to help guide them.
I need to also pray when those people with humility, wisdom, integrity are placed there ... that they get to stay.