Anglican devotional
The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 10 November 2023 – Maintain A Good Relationship With God And Men
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TOPIC: Maintain A Good Relationship With God And Men
READ: Ecclesiastes 5 (NKJV)
Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil.
Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God [is] in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.
For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice [is known] by [his] many words.
When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For [He has] no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed —
Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger [of God] that it [was] an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?
For in the multitude of dreams and many words [there is] also vanity. But fear God.
If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them.
Moreover the profit of the land is for all; [even] the king is served from the field.
He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also [is] vanity.
When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see [them] with their eyes?
The sleep of a laboring man [is] sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.
There is a severe evil [which] I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.
But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, [there is] nothing in his hand.
As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.
And this also [is] a severe evil — Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?
All his days he also eats in darkness, And [he has] much sorrow and sickness and anger.
Here is what I have seen: [It is] good and fitting [for one] to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it [is] his heritage.
As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor — this [is] the gift of God.
For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps [him] busy with the joy of his heart.
THE MESSAGE:
The passage of our meditation opens with expressions that emphasise our vertical relationship with God. The text counsels us to be careful not to take God for granted in our relationship with Him. We are instructed to maintain a reverent fear of God and be ready to listen to Him; this is what God desires from us. The text emphasises the awesome greatness of God and warns us over careless expressions that may sometimes draw God’s anger on us (verses 1-7).
In the same vein, the text touches on our horizontal interaction with our fellow humans, stating that our interpersonal relationship affects the common good (verses 8&9). It concludes by opening our eyes to the importance of making the best use of our time on earth. This includes enjoying our lives in contentment of whatever God has provided for us (verse 18). The use of ‘enjoyment’ and ‘joy’ shows that part of God’s desire for us is to fill us with joy in whatever He has given us. This means we must constan tly seek to do His will as this will always fill our hearts with His joy, no matter the circumstances we might find ourselves.
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