December 10

Dec 10 – Today from Proverbs 10 we look at verse 27
"The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short."

To fear the Lord means to have a profound awe and respect for Him. Fearfullness is a little different. That would be as if we had lived our lives never respecting Him, dying, and then coming face to face with Him. Because of Jesus, we can look forward with joy in meeting Him as we live in respect for and awe of Him today. But how does that add length to life?
The obvious is that it adds eternal length to life. "Whoever believes in Him (Jesus), shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). The life of the wicked ends on the day they draw their last breath in time. In their ignorance and total disregard for the value of life, some boast that they ‘would rather party in hell then serve in heaven.’ They have no idea what it will be like to exist in the absence of grace - there will be no parties. Man was created for the express purpose of communing with God in a loving relationship. Although sin cruelly distorted that purpose, it never changed it. I cannot imagine what it would be like to exist in eternity without ever finding any fulfillment, only torment. If we really think about it, we should not wish such an existence on any man. How grateful I am that Jesus found me and restored me.
But, is there also a practical aspect to this proverb? I think so. The fear of the Lord calls for discipline of the flesh (the sensual life). If we were to let our senses have their way, we would rather quickly kill ourselves. In many ways we are. We overeat and stress our hearts as well as our joints. We eat the 'good-tasting' foods and clog our arteries with cholesterol. We enjoy a good uninhibited buzz and drink too much alcohol, slowly destroying our vital organs. We enjoy even more intense buzzes and take drugs that fry our brains. We light nicotine infested weeds and suck the acrid smoke into our lungs, which only serves to cut off valuable oxygen supplies to the body and greatly increases the chance of cancer and heart disease. We engage in casual sexual activities that introduce and proliferate horrific diseases. We fly on adrenaline rushes and take life-threatening risks to get them. We lust for money and the power and the pleasures it can buy and we work when we should be resting or relating. . . and this is only a partial list. How strange this thing called sin, it has the illusion of intensifying life and all the while it is taking life.
To fear the Lord is to become a disciple of the Lord. He created life, and He best knows how to sustain it - even this temporal life in the flesh. Discipline. Moderation. Self control. He gives grace for all who will submit to His offer.
Two children go out trick-or-treating on Halloween. They both come home with a large bag of candy. One child indulges his flesh and has an incredibly intense sugar feast that night and all of the next day. The other child chooses only one or two pieces and enjoys them. On the third day the first child has an empty bag, an upset stomach and some strange emotional symptoms from an overload of sugar in his system. The second child has a bag full of candy and many days to look forward to enjoying it. The analogy breaks down, but it makes a point. Discipline and moderation will add length of days. Uncontrolled indulgence will cut days short. Finding grace to moderate and discipline is a benefit of fearing God.