Reading your Bible for Today August 16

August 16: Proverbs 14:33-35

KJV Key Verse: Proverbs 14:34
34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

Devotion:
How many people do you know who are always saying how good they are or how they can do anything? That is one sure fire way of getting someone else annoyed with you – tell them about how good you think you are at something or how you are much better than them! Being able to help people without shoving your knowledge (or the fact you know something they don't) down their throats is a great asset to have. It is not only going to help you feel better, but it will help the other person feel better as well. Being overly open about how good you are is going to do nothing more than discourage others!

Boasting about your own qualities is not the only way you can make others dislike you! Working at being a better person will only go towards allowing others to see you care and how you want to make a difference. Having a whole nation which is working towards the same goal would probably be the ideal place to go and live, so long as you joined in and started to work in the same manner. Having a whole nation of people who rub others up the wrong way would probably be the worst place to go and live!

Having a few people doing the right thing in a nation of wrong-doers does not seem to make a big difference (apart from the people who come into direct contact with those people). But having a few people doing the wrong thing will soon give a nation a bad name. We don't have to look too far in society to see there are nations now that have been labelled alongside the terrorist organisations as dangerous people. It only takes a little bit of sin to grow into a major problem!

If we are the ones who are going to step forward and be counted as the people who are trying to make a difference, then we can expect to see others look upon us in a different way. If we are willing to take God's name out in front of us, then we can expect to make a difference. If we are bold enough to make sure God comes first in our lives, then He will make sure we can make a big difference where it counts!

Points to Ponder:
What do you think your friends think about you?

What do you think God thinks about you?