How
deeply we are impacted by the relationship we have with God can be seen in how
we conduct our life. We believers are encouraged to maintain constancy in our
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So, in Colossians 2:6-7, Paul said, “Therefore as you have
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in
Him and established in your faith, just as you were
instructed, and overflowing with
gratitude.” There is a co-relation between our relationship with the Lord and
how we will conduct our life. We develop virtues when we walk in close
connection with God. The closer we stay connected to Him, the more obvious will
be the virtues. And when our relationship with Him is disrupted and we give in
to our propensity, vices will also be developed.
Covetousness is one
vice that will become obvious when relationship with God is not intact. What we
acquire through diligence and a carefully worked out plan last longer than what
we obtain hurriedly. People who are diligent plan their work carefully, then
put in the required effort to attain their plan. People who are covetous tend
to be hasty. Their plans are usually ill-conceived. So, Proverbs 21:5 says, “The
plans of the diligent lead surely
to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” What a person hurriedly attain
will not last. When they scheme to get what they want quickly, they are courting
disaster.
Duplicity is another
vice of a person with disrupted relationship with God. He attains through
deceit and dishonesty. Proverbs 21:6 tells us so. It is already bad to acquire
one’s wealth through striving but it is worst to get it through deceit. It is like
moving from what is not advisable to what is forbidden. Wealth that one
acquires through deceit will have no durability. It is likened to vapor that is
fleeting. We all have seen vapor and misty steam rising from the spout of a
boiling kettle. They rise only to disappear quickly. That’s how durable wealth
obtained via deceit will be. To go after wealth through deceit is pursing
death.
Nastiness is another
vice that a person with a disrupted relationship with God will have. Verses 7-8
show us how that person’s actions will regress from bad to worse. From
hastiness, he moves to deceit then to nasty activities. Seized by viciousness, such a person will not
observe human decency. Unbeknown to him, he becomes ensnared by his own
violence. What he dishes to others will boomerang and return to haunt him. This
person is so bent on his aggression that he becomes devoid of will power to do
what is right and just. He becomes oblivious to divine retribution. So numbed
by his own insensitivity to wrongful behaviour that he cannot do what is just,
right and fair. On the other hand, an upright person whose relationship with
God is intact will act differently. He will follow his God-centred,
Word-directed and spirit-guided conscience and end up acting rightly and
justly.
Contentious spirit
is another vice that a person with a disrupted relationship with God will
develop. In Proverbs 21:9 we are told, “It is better to live in a corner of a
roof than in a house shared
with a contentious woman.” It is fair to say that this verse is not here to denigrate
women. It is here to show how a contentious spirit can destroy peace in any
setting. A home should be a place where one can find peace and rest. When it is
riddled with a spirit of contention, it becomes a place of torment. The sweet
fellowship to be provided in a home can be destroyed by disquiet, dissent and discord
because of a contentious spirit. Therefore, maintain a close walk with God and keep
a close relationship with Him.
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