GIVING SUBTILTY TO THE SIMPLE

“The proverbs of Solomon … to give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion” (Proverbs 1:1-4)

It is a fact that God has made men and women to have differing abilities. Paul said “measuring ourselves with ourselves is not wise”. Of course the world does it all the time; and so those of us who by virtue of our natural birth find ourselves “lesser mortals”, or in plain language, having limited abilities, sometimes consider ourselves dim. We can find ourselves dwelling on our inabilities and feeling inferior. This is the wrong way to look at things. God requires what we can give. We can all give Him praise; we can all be thankful; we can all trust; we can all love Him. We can all have faith in Him. We can all give ourselves to His service however small we might consider ourselves: let Him be the Judge of that. Just remember that of all the countless millions who think themselves something, and what is their estimation in God’s sight? “As a drop in the bucket, and … as the small dust of the balance … as nothing … less than nothing, and vanity” (Isaiah 40:15,17). Do you fear God? Do you tremble at his word? Do you have faith in Him? – Then you have His word that He will acknowledge you. You see how foolish it is to worry about not being eloquent, or not having much in the way of this world’s qualifications. You may appear of little account, when measured by the standards of the current age.

“The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Psalm 18:7).

You can be rich in faith. In the day of Christ that is all that will matter. You are capable of it. The wise and mighty are capable of it but don’t do it. You are simple and low, but with what abilities you have you can serve the Living God. If you endure in faithfulness; in the day of Christ you will be a King-Priest. The mighty and wise of this world will be dust and ashes under the soles of your feet. God has made you as you are; we are all just so much clay moulded by the potter. You have the ability to trust God; you can serve Him, love Him and praise Him. You can be rich in faith. You can do all these things. These are the things that matter. All God wants is for you to give yourself, to be a living sacrifice – it is our reasonable service, but make sure you give it. Don’t count it as worthless that little you think you have – give it with all your might. Remember the women who cast in her “mites” – it was her all. Precious in the sight of God, above all the wealthy who only cast in of their abundance. Clever brethren might appear to do a lot of service, in writing, speaking and preaching, but what if it is only of the abundance of their abilities? To whom God gives much, much is expected. Give your “mites”, and trust Him.

Remember, comparing ourselves with ourselves is not wise. We either think ourselves better than others or worse than others. We are counselled to take Christ as our example and measure. You see you are in good company after all, for all have “missed the mark”.

“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (Jas 2:5)

Martin Pilbeam