Proverbs 5
Chapter 5 of Proverbs is predominately about keeping the sanctity of marriage and not running after sex, as our mood desires. However, the idea of not running after what we want, regardless of how it might hurt our families and ultimately ourselves can be applied to all facets of our lives. Unfortunately, this time of year, we often give ourselves carte blanche to go after our desires, without thinking about others. This happens not only in the lives of Unbelievers, but also in the lives of Believers, under the guise of Christmas giving.
Christmas is an emotional holiday in which as parents and grandparents, we want to give the children in our lives a happy Christmas which includes lots of presents. How many of us have gone after the Bling, that is the thing our children want most, even though it is out of our budget? After all, the look on our children’s faces when they open up that one gift they have been wanting is timeless. We tell ourselves that their joy is worth the credit card debt. But is it really? Our children play with this toy for really, a short time, and then it is discarded in the pile of other forgotten toys. What is the result? We are in debt over a few minutes of excitement and our children have only learned that things lead to happiness, but that happiness is fleeting. After they are enthralled with that one gift they so desired, The Bling, the shiny, has rubbed off and they then start searching for the next Bling.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to come across as a scrooge, but we really need to plan for and keep Christmas in our budget, and not put it on credit. Along with the gifts, we need to teach our children about God’s plan of salvation that came in the form of a little baby. In fact, God showed us how to have balance between the Bling and the Truth.
Jesus wasn’t born in the castle of a king, as He should have been, but rather in a simple barn – no bling there. God’s birth announcement of His Son, didn’t go out to royalty. Those invited to see Jesus’ birth were shepherds sitting in a pasture watching their sheep. Now watch – this is where God showed the ultimate true Bling. He sent a choir of angels to those quiet, unassuming shepherds to sing the birth announcement. Think about this – a choir of angels, whose robes were brilliant, shiny, unearthly in appearance. And the announcement sung by a choir with music so beautiful we can’t even imagine. They put any elaborate opera and even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to shame. No note was out of tune, the voices blended perfectly, their crescendos and decrescendos were executed perfectly. Nothing we have experienced by the best performers here on earth can come close. True Bling! This Bling wasn’t able to be discarded, it was something these shepherds would remember for the rest of their lives. This memory, not only of the choir, but of actually going and seeing the holy child announced, would be the Bling that would ever color them for all eternity.
Proverbs 5:1-2 give God’s instructions for the use of Bling in our lives.
My son, be attentive to my wisdom [godly wisdom learned by costly experience],
Incline your ear to my understanding; That you may exercise discrimination and discretion (good judgment), And your lips may reserve knowledge and answer wisely [to temptation]. (Amplified Version)
God isn’t telling us the The Bling is bad, but that we need to know how and when to use it. Going into debt at Christmas is not wise. Giving our children what they ask for all the time isn’t wise either. Tempering the Bling with the simpleness of God’s plan for our lives is the wisest thing we can do for our children
This Christmas Season, let’s be discerning in the Bling we give, making very sure that we give our children the knowledge of the Truth of how God loves us so much. The greatest gift any parent and grandparent could give the children in their lives is the gift of the knowledge of God’s greatest gift of His Son and plan for our reconciliation to Him. The truth is, when we share God’s truth with others, we are being the true Bling in the lives of others. It is our way of giving a gift to our Father. Our lives are the gift He finds the most precious. Let’s teach our children how to search for the True gift, rather than just the next Bling.
