The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 3:27-32, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
28 Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ When you have it with you.
29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, while he lives securely beside you.
30 Do not contend with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.
31 Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways.
32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; but He is intimate with the upright.”

Possibly the earliest word a child learns is “No!” That is doubtlessly why the Proverbs deals so much with the negative aspects of life. As the child grows older, the negative gives way a bit to the positive. The Old Testament lays the foundation for the New Testament. Israel is the object of God’s love in the Old Testament; thus, His teaching that often commences with negative instruction, ultimately becomes positive and blossoms into Christian love.

The New Testament possesses negative instruction, too; but there the LORD is dealing with the Church. As the Church (the gathering of born-again people) learns to shrug off sin and become spiritually mature, love and grace become the focus of spiritual teaching.

Five times in the verses above, Solomon warns us saying, Do Not! Initially, he teaches us not to “withhold good things” from others when it is in our power to give it. If someone is in need and you do not possess what they need, you are under no obligation. You simply cannot provide what you do not have. If, however, you have what your neighbor needs, you are to provide it and not obligate him to wait.

We are never to devise or create harm for our neighbor. We are morally obligated to live peaceably with those who live nearby us. We are not to contend or debate with our neighbors, assuming he has caused us no harm. We are certainly not to envy those who are violent. We are to shun their ways, not respond negatively as they act toward us.

Whoever deals deviously with his neighbor is positioning himself against the LORD. For the LORD is kindly dispositioned toward those who are upright. These are principles parents are to share with their children, leading them to learn and practice the things that are pleasing to the LORD. Have you learned the LORD’s ways? Are you living by His standards? The advantage is yours when you do. Think about it.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom