Reading your Bible for Today April 23

April 23: Proverbs 21:17

KJV Key Verse: Proverbs 21:17
17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

Devotion:
One thing we all like to do is to enjoy ourselves. Normally we can always find a way of taking a situation and finding something good out of it to make it more pleasurable. But just how far we go with that is up for discussion today. God has given us a planet which we can live on, a wonderful place for us to thrive within. He has given us all manner of things we can use for our enjoyment... And He wants us to be happy and enjoy life... But we can, and do, take things too far.

When we start to value the pleasures in life more than the giver of those pleasures, we have lost sight of where we are going. When we start to love the wine and the luxuries in life more than the supplier of the same, we have lost sight of our Creator. God has given us everything we have, but He does expect us to acknowledge exactly where it all does come from!

If you were to enjoy living at home and started to take all the things which your parents give you for granted, you would come to a point in your life where you simply expected things to be done for you. That is the point where you have over-stepped the mark and have now lost sight of what your parents mean to you. If you happen to be at that sort of position in life and it comes time to leave home and set up your own, you would suddenly become aware of the things you are missing when you find you have to do it all for yourself!

God wants us to be happy in Him. He wants us to be able to enjoy the things He does give us. But when we start taking those things in excess, we are abusing the gifts which He is giving us. We lose sight of His love and look towards greed and covert those things, holding them up instead of God...

Points to Ponder:
What is your favourite food or drink?

Have you thanked God for that food?