May 11

May 11 - Today from Proverbs 11 we look at verse 11
"Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed."

I will begin with a general thought of contrast; the upright genuinely places the needs of others first, the wicked place their own desires first. Sometimes the actions of an upright person and a wicked person may look very much alike, but it is the motive that will determine whether the action will bear any fruit.
Now I would like to share a 'life experience' with you. As I read this verse this morning, this observation came immediately to my mind.
Armenia is a tiny 'professing' Christian nation, surrounded by hostile Muslim nations. Although religion is much more of a cultural issue than a faith issue with the majority of the populaces in that region, there is clear hostility across the borders. The little land-locked nation of Armenia has been effectively cut off from world commerce for decades now. They have suffered from a modern malady know as 'brain drain'. This is when the educated and the people of means use their recourses to flee their homeland and resettle in places where they can provide for their families and prosper in life. Many of the 'elite' from Armenia have settled in the USA and Canada and are doing very well. This leaves the remaining populace of their nation diminished pretty much to the poor and the uneducated, and makes it even more difficult to find and train leaders who could help turn their miserable situation around. Armenia has no oil or other valuable market commodities that would entice Western intervention to help break the blockades and assist the people to develop an economy. It is a sad situation. It is the kind of situation that beckons relief organizations to come and assist.
While serving with such an organization, I visited Armenia in about 1995. We encouraged churches of our region to put together food parcels, each packed with very specific goods. We gathered hundreds of such parcels, weighing about 40-45 pounds each, and packed them into a shipping container and sent it on ahead to Armenia. I traveled with a small follow-up team as we went to help distribute the parcels and make a field report. I was shocked at the broad poverty level of the tiny nation. Electricity was limited to about two hours a day, and the people never knew which two hours. Family members took turns standing watch 24/7 so that when the electricity did come on, they could pump water, charge batteries and cook food. It was often in the wee hours of the morning. There was no economy. We stayed in the capital city of Yerevan. There you would find it to be very common to see three generations living together in very small flats. The entire family would rise in the morning, and after setting the designated 'electricity watch' for the day, each able member of the family would go out into the city and surrounding areas to look for any kind of work they could find. They would perform any labor for a few cents when and where they could. They would re-gather in the evening and pool whatever money they may have made to go and buy whatever food they could to feed the family that evening. Hand to mouth, every day. Some days the hands were empty, and so were the mouths.
You can imagine living such a life and then one day there is a knock at your door. The people standing there are holding a large carton, and inform you it is God's provision for your family. You invite them in and open the carton and there find a vast array of foodstuff; canned vegetables, cooking oil, flour, sugar, rice, powdered milk, candy, vitamins, and in addition there are bars of soap, tooth brushes and tooth paste, and other goods for the household. It is probably enough to subsidize the expanded family’s staples for up to a month or more. You would think the family would bolt the door behind the guests as they leave and begin to carefully hide all of the goods. But just the opposite happened! Time after time we would see the senior members of the family go to other flats in the high-rise complex and invite their neighbors over. They would then carefully begin to divide the goods with their neighbors. I don't know how these folks were in their personal relationship to Christ, but I can tell you, they were 'upright people'. When they were blessed, their little portion of the city was exalted. In the midst of unimaginable poverty and toil, they placed the needs of their neighbors above their own desires. They were rich in ways that we seldom understand.
God told Abraham, "I will bless you . . . and you will be a blessing." (Gen. 12:2). There is a great principle for us here. When we are blessed, it is for the purpose of being a blessing. We are to serve as a channel of God's grace and provision. God gave His Son everything. His Son did not go and hide the blessing away. He died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin that we might enter into that blessing. Wisdom seeks to address the needs of others. In the process we are blessed. It is a lesson we need to learn daily. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever looses his life for me will save it. What good is it for man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" -Jesus (Luke 9:23-25)