Diligence

Ants, conies, locusts, lizards—sounds like a roll call for Noah’s ark or perhaps the cast of characters in an animated feature film. Actually, these are four creatures discussed in Proverbs 30:24–28, each illustrating a quality wise people should possess. The opening statement declares, each of these four creatures is “small on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise” (v. 24).

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Generous with Grace

Before closing off our study of intolerance, two more sayings are worth our attention: The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered. (11:25) The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor,
The wicked does not understand such concern. (29:7)

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Teeth Like Swords

This is an excellent time to bring out into the open even the slightest intolerance lurking in your life and place it before the Lord. The book of Proverbs offers a compelling reason to do so by painting a picture of someone we do not want to become. There is a kind of man who curses his father and does not bless his mother.

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The Wounds of Intolerance

Is intolerance one of your daily grinds? Be honest. Do you have difficulty leaving room for opinions you don’t agree with or the conduct of those who fail to measure up? I can think of a number of ways intolerance rears its head: The healthy can be impatient with the sickly. The strong have trouble empathizing with the weak. The quick have little patience with the slow.

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The Dark Side of Tolerance

The founders of the United States formed this nation on the premise that each individual will one day stand before God and give an answer for his or her beliefs and conduct. The US was in fact the first modern state to establish an official policy of religious tolerance, which it formalized in the first amendment to the Constitution:

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Tolerance at Its Best

In the best Christian sense of the term, tolerance is an important aspect of grace. Tolerance provides “wobble room” for those who struggle to measure up. Tolerance allows growing room for young and restless children. It smiles at rather than frowns on the struggling new believer.

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The Great Physician

Envy is a disease of the soul you can ignore for a while, but eventually you must address it. Like a slow-growing cancer, envy will eventually consume you. As you grow older and encounter more of the injustices of life, you won’t be able to enjoy the advantages you have because less deserving people appear to have privileges and possessions you do not.

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The Cure for the Common Envy

Asaph struggled with envy. He had a hard time making sense of the fact that righteous people could barely make ends meet while evil people enjoyed opulent, sumptuous lifestyles. This apparent injustice bothered him so much that his faith almost failed him. This crisis of belief might have gone unnoticed—who hasn’t struggled with doubt?

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The Destructive Potential of Envy

Let’s be honest. Sometimes sin seems to have more to offer us than righteousness does. If we observe the world today, the wicked appear to have all the advantages. Haven’t you noticed? They maneuver their way through life with relative ease, they get out of trouble by lying and cheating, they can own and drive whatever, live wherever, and con whomever they wish to get whatever they want.

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The Ugly Red Monster

You may have heard the expression “green with envy” or envy referred to as “the green-eyed monster.” In the Bible, however, envy had the Hebrews seeing red. The Hebrew word translated “envy” and “jealousy” is quanah, which means “to be intensely red.” This word vividly pictures someone seething with red-faced anger as a surge of blood flushes one’s skin, signaling a rush of fierce emotion.

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