The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Proverbs 24:15-22, “Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place;
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Or the LORD will see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him.
19 Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked;
20 For there will be no future for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king; do not associate with those who are given to change,
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that comes from both of them?”

I am aware that some of these words of Scriptural instruction do not fit every reader.
Yet, many of them do. For instance, not every person “rejoices when his enemy falls.”
Still, if he does rejoice when his enemy falls, the LORD will be displeased, and will “turn His anger away from” the enemy, and possibly toward the one who rejoices.

We believers always want to think of Jesus as never angry or displeased; still, He is like a loving parent – and they are often displeased when their children disobey. Solomon doubtlessly experienced the displeasure of both his earthly father, David, and his Heavenly Father, when he violated the instructions of the LORD given here in the Scripture.

It seems as if the LORD were saying, “Don’t laugh when a friend falls and skins his knee, or you might fall and skin your knee.” Thoughtful parents want their children to behave properly, even if it seems inappropriate that the children suffer when their friends are hurt. As spiritually magnificent as the LORD is, He nevertheless desires that we love what He loves and despise what He despises. Are you appropriating in your life what the LORD wants? I earnestly pray that you are. We’re talking about much more than “skinned knees.”

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