Foolishness Archives - Faith Lutheran Church, Wesley Chapel

Kurt Steinbrueck March 25, 2021

Blog Foolishness, love your neighbor, Righteous Works

Not Just For You

“The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.” – Proverbs 10:21

Have you ever been helped by listening to what someone else was planning to do?

Church was over and Jack was waiting in line to get some coffee. The sermon had been about spending time reading the Bible every day. Jack had always struggled with this. He wanted to read the Bible, but he just never seemed to have time or, when he did, he didn’t think of it.

There were a few people who were standing nearby and they were talking about the sermon. One of the people said,

“I couldn’t agree more. I have grown so much from reading the Bible every morning. The funny thing is, I’ve known it was important for a long time but never did it. It wasn’t until I decided to dedicate 2 minutes a day while eating breakfast to reading the Bible, that I started to do it. I figured I have two minutes. I can do anything for two minutes.

I know two minutes doesn’t sound like much, but it got me doing it. What I’ve found is that many days, I go longer than 2 minutes. Some days I may read for 15 or even 30 minutes, but I still make my goal just two minutes a day, and if I read more, great!”

Jack thought to himself. “Two minutes. I can do two minutes.” and Jack had just found a path to reading the Bible every day.

It can be great to find an advisor when you aren’t sure what to do. Sometimes, though, the advisor we find isn’t even intending to advise us. Sometimes we don’t even realize we needed an advisor.

In our story, the person talking near Jack wasn’t trying to give advice, they were just telling their experience. They certainly weren’t trying to advise Jack, yet Jack grew from overhearing the conversation.

“The lips of the righteous nourish many”

The righteous and obedient and wise things we do have no impact on our salvation, but they are beneficial to us. However, that’s not the whole story. People are always watching and listening.

Sometimes we advise and are able to see people benefit from our righteous words and deeds. Sometimes, though, we have no idea someone benefited. That person just overheard us or saw us doing something or heard a story about us. It’s amazing how often God works in ways we don’t even notice.

Heavenly Father,

May my words and deeds be righteous in Your sight and the sight of others that they may nourish those around me. Also, surround me with wise and righteous people, that I may be nourished by them.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

April Fools and Other Foolish Things

April Fools and Other Foolishness

“The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.” – Proverbs 10:21

What’s the best April Fools joke you’ve seen?

April Fools can be a lot of fun when we keep the pranks to being harmless and not hurtful. Sometimes, though the pranks can move from being playful fun to being hurtful and humiliating.

What about the rest of year?

No, I’m not pushing for pranks for the whole year (though that might be interesting), I’m talking about how we interact with others through the rest of the year. Those interactions can be uplifting or hurtful, too.

Proverbs 10:21 encourages us to consider what we say to people. Are we being wise, helpful, and uplifting or are they misleading people or hurting them?

What are some of the ways we can be foolish with our lips?

Gossip
Insults
Accusing without knowing
Sharing misleading or false things
What else can you think of?

It can be easy to slip into one of these and even feel righteous about it. Maybe we share something about someone else to a third party because you’re discussing spiritual things, but that person really didn’t need to know. Maybe you feel like you need to correct someone with Scripture, but you haven’t taken the time to find out what’s really going on and that correction isn’t needed. Or maybe the correction is needed but should be done gently and in private.

Let’s Build Each Other Up
The Scriptures in many places encourage us to build each other up.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

When we encourage each other, share helpful true instruction, teach the Word of God, and show kindness with our words, we build each other up rather than tearing each other down. It’s what we would want others to do for us and what we can do for others. It unifies and strengthens relationships and glorifies God.

How can you build someone up, today?

Do you need to apologize to someone for having torn them down?

Heavenly Father,

May the words from my mouth honor You and build up my neighbor. Help me to seek to defend others and protect them, rather than gossip or insult. Ground me in Your truth and help me to share that truth with others.

Amen.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Foolishness

Not Just For You

Not Just For You

April Fools and Other Foolish Things

April Fools and Other Foolishness

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL