Day 20 - Proverbs 20

WCC

WATERFORD COMMUNITY CHURCH - 11:00am SUNDAY WORSHIP

by: Kim Rushing

01/31/2022

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The past five or so months have been difficult for sports fans.  First, the college basketball conference tournaments were cancelled, then March Madness fell victim to the pandemic.  The NBA and NHL seasons were suspended.  Major league baseball was postponed.  All this left viewers with nothing to watch - and nothing to argue about.  (My brother resorted to watching marble racing, and I'm being serious.)  Finally, golf reappeared, and little by little other sports have come on board, howbeit with some unusual aspects included.

Now if you are not a sports fan, it was no big loss.  But could you please show a little sympathy to those of us who are, and oblige us (or at least me) by participating in this little activity?  

By looking at these final scores, can you identify what sport was being played?

          A.  28-21

          B.  6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

          C.  269, 271, 272, 274

          D.  92-87

          E.  25-15, 25-21, 25-19

          F.  270.75, 269.55, 266.93, 257.84

Scoring is important in sports - it lets us know who won.  But it is less important in life; sometimes it is even dangerous.  Because winning is measured differently.

Solomon talks about it this way:

20:22

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"
Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

In other words, he's saying don't try to even the score!

There are many occasions in life where people do us wrong, and where the temptation is to take matters into our own hands. 

  • Sometimes we set out to get revenge - and make the other person pay.
  • Sometimes we tell others, so they will think less of the person.
  • Sometimes we hold on to the offense so that we can use it against the perpetrator at another time. 
  • Sometimes we excuse our own bad behavior by judging it to be more benign than the other person's. 
  • Sometimes we choose to simply feel proud about our superior behavior.

But all of these are examples of what we call "scoreboarding."  We want to level the score - better yet, we want to win!

Read Proverbs 20

When we are wronged by others, God sees it and he knows.  He's also just.  And he is perfectly capable of righting that wrong and of settling the score - His way.  He knows the most effective and appropriate way of doing so.  But when we take matters into our own hands, God may take off His hands - and that's just not going to work out as well.  So when offenses come - and they will - just give them up to God.  He will take care of them, and you!

Today's wisdom:

Let God settle the score.

(And the answers to the quiz:  A.  football  B.  tennis  C.  golf  D.  basketball  
E.  volleyball  F.  figure skating)

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The past five or so months have been difficult for sports fans.  First, the college basketball conference tournaments were cancelled, then March Madness fell victim to the pandemic.  The NBA and NHL seasons were suspended.  Major league baseball was postponed.  All this left viewers with nothing to watch - and nothing to argue about.  (My brother resorted to watching marble racing, and I'm being serious.)  Finally, golf reappeared, and little by little other sports have come on board, howbeit with some unusual aspects included.

Now if you are not a sports fan, it was no big loss.  But could you please show a little sympathy to those of us who are, and oblige us (or at least me) by participating in this little activity?  

By looking at these final scores, can you identify what sport was being played?

          A.  28-21

          B.  6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

          C.  269, 271, 272, 274

          D.  92-87

          E.  25-15, 25-21, 25-19

          F.  270.75, 269.55, 266.93, 257.84

Scoring is important in sports - it lets us know who won.  But it is less important in life; sometimes it is even dangerous.  Because winning is measured differently.

Solomon talks about it this way:

20:22

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"
Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

In other words, he's saying don't try to even the score!

There are many occasions in life where people do us wrong, and where the temptation is to take matters into our own hands. 

  • Sometimes we set out to get revenge - and make the other person pay.
  • Sometimes we tell others, so they will think less of the person.
  • Sometimes we hold on to the offense so that we can use it against the perpetrator at another time. 
  • Sometimes we excuse our own bad behavior by judging it to be more benign than the other person's. 
  • Sometimes we choose to simply feel proud about our superior behavior.

But all of these are examples of what we call "scoreboarding."  We want to level the score - better yet, we want to win!

Read Proverbs 20

When we are wronged by others, God sees it and he knows.  He's also just.  And he is perfectly capable of righting that wrong and of settling the score - His way.  He knows the most effective and appropriate way of doing so.  But when we take matters into our own hands, God may take off His hands - and that's just not going to work out as well.  So when offenses come - and they will - just give them up to God.  He will take care of them, and you!

Today's wisdom:

Let God settle the score.

(And the answers to the quiz:  A.  football  B.  tennis  C.  golf  D.  basketball  
E.  volleyball  F.  figure skating)

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