Proverbs 16:7-9—”By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”
Let’s do this exercise together – think about a day which contains the routine that you follow most often, perhaps a weekday. Next, draw up two columns on a sheet of paper. First, list out your typical activities on that day, for example: wake up early as per a routine, cleanup activities, breakfast, go to school/work/college, tasks in work/school/college, have lunch/break, sports/your time, TV, etc. Then, alongside each activity with a clear conscience, mark who your every activity pleases: God or man (eg: wake up early as per a routine – God, wake up when we are want – man). Total the scores and don’t reveal your scores to anyone but know that we all waiver on this point.
In our flesh we are people pleasers and thus try to get our daily wants/needs accomplished. It takes fear of the Lord, our love for Him (love) and our love to please Him (faithfulness), to help us change from our flesh-ward and evil-ward ways and to do what pleases God first and above all else. If we spend time with God and do our best through Jesus to depart from our flesh and evil ways and stick to pleasing God, our Father will make the other people (those who have enemity or begrudge us) to come and shake our hands to have peace with us. We don’t have to worry about pleasing people and need not run after them to make them happy. When God is pleased with you and your ways, He will make you feel that a thorny path is a path of roses with Him by your side. It is therefore better to be true to God’s ways and honestly have little than to own plenty using devious or ill-gotten ways.
By mercy and truth of God in Christ Jesus, the sins of us believers are taken away, and the power of sin is broken. If we make God’s glory our goal and stay governed by His will, God our Father will direct our steps by his Spirit and grace. ‘A man’s heart deviseth his way; But Jehovah directeth his steps.’
