Covering Up

"When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding. Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them find mercy. Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble. Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. A tyrannical ruler practices extortion, but one who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long reign. Anyone tormented by the guilt of murder will seek refuge in the grave; let no one hold them back. The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit. Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty. A faithful person will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished."

- I hate feeling guilty. Because of this, I often find myself covering up whatever I do wrong. This seems to be the natural response for most humans--even the first people that God created, Adam and Eve, tried to conceal their sins. The problem with this is that it demonstrates a lack of trust in God; we cover up because we do not believe we will be forgiven. Covering up also shows that we think we can hide our sins from God, which means we doubt His power. The Bible tells us to avoid sin by fearing God; but if we do make mistakes, we should not harden our hearts. A hardened heart will not fear God, will not confess sin, will not repent, and will not be forgiven.

Get Rich and Die Trying

"To show partiality is not good--yet a person will do wrong for a piece of bread. The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them. Whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain favor rather than one who has a flattering tongue. Whoever robs their father or mother and says, "it's not wrong," is partner to one who destroys. The greedy stir up conflict, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe. Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive."

- Our lives tend to revolve around finding security, from finding a good job to saving up for things that will bring comfort. Some look for ways to speed up the process and amass riches by dishonest means and get-rich-quick schemes. If we place our security in something other than God, it will cause us to greedily chase wealth and not care about who we step on. But a right relationship with God is characterized by generously giving to those who cannot pay us back, as the righteous will always trust in the LORD and not in their own abilities.