Reflections From The Proverbs: If You ___ It, They Will Come

If You______It, They Will Come

Proverbs Chapter Three:
1. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
2. For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. NIV

We all know the fill in the blank above. From the movie "Field of Dreams" If you build it they will come. Here the fill in the blank is If you keep it they will come. The word "keep" here is the word (natsar) in the Hebrew. The meaning goes further than to store the commands in our hearts. It also means to guard, protect and maintain them. God knows how weak and feeble we are. He knows that His teachings need to be refreshed daily. He knows that there needs to be a daily renewal of relationship with Him. In the movie, if you build the stadium, the people will come. Here the message is if you keep God’s teachings and commands in your heart, prolonged life and prosperity will come.

This refers to much more than the ten commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. God has given us much teaching about who He is, about who we are to Him, about the plans He has for us. He could be telling us I want you to love everything about me. Keep me in your heart. Keep all that I am and all that I care about in your heart. Love what I love, hate what I hate, respond the way I would respond. When you live your life in this manner your life and days will be enriched.

It might be easy to think that doesn’t really pan out when we remember that most of the prophets of God were not treated so well, and neither were the disciples and early Christians. How does long life and prosperity fit together with these saints who became martyrs keeping the teachings of God in their hearts.

The words of Jesus might shed some light on this. In Matthew 6:19-21 he says: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."NIV

We need to remember that we are eternal souls living in temporary bodies. I believe that the verses above can mean that even in this life length of days and prosperity come to us from wise choices and godly living. But we must understand that this life we are living is like the cartoon snippet that precedes the main attraction. Our eternal destiny is the main attraction. This snippet of time that we are allotted sets the course for our eternity. We are given choices that determine our eternal destiny.

Precious are the teachings of God. Keep them, guard them, treasure them in your heart for they will bring life and prosperity. Maintain them with daily attention. It is interesting to note that if you are reading this, that is what you are doing. May God bless you richly as you keep His teachings in your heart.