A few days ago, I participated in an online meeting with various other ministry and business leaders. We meet regularly to keep each other accountable, exchange ideas, and motivate each other if we start getting into a slump.

Part way through the meeting, Bee Evans, a leader from Colorado expressed frustration with what she was working on. She was attempting to record an episode of her podcast, but she kept tripping over her words and making mistakes that forced her to re-record several times in a row. Her show is primarily about not labeling yourself in unhealthy ways, but as she made recording mistakes that day, she admitted that she kept saying to herself, "You stink!" She confessed the irony to our group and called that out into the light so she could move past it and actually get her work done.

How often have we all done the same thing? Do you label yourself in unhealthy ways? Are you trying to find your sense of sufficiency in how well you perform, how much you own, or how other people start to see you? Is there any real long-term advantage to doing that?

One of the great blessings we experience as followers of Christ is the advantage of finding our sense of sufficiency through Jesus. In Him, and through Him, we are made a new creation and we no longer need to try to find our sense of sufficiency through anything or anyone less than Jesus.

Proverbs 23 gives us a few examples of the consequences that can come when we mistakenly try to find our sufficiency through anything less than Jesus. It can actually cause us to be taken advantage of, or take advantage of others in unhealthy ways.

I. Don't let yourself be taken advantage of easily

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
    observe carefully what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
    if you are given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
    for they are deceptive food. (Proverbs 23:1-3)

During the era of time when Solomon sat on the throne in Israel, he was one of the most prominent leaders in the world. He was known for his wisdom and his wealth. He was also prone to make diplomatic agreements with other heads of state. Solomon was well aware of how they tended to operate.

In that era, it wasn't uncommon for a person of great wealth and prominence to use their riches to attempt to influence others to do their bidding. For a season, they might flatter the person they were trying to take advantage of. They might shower them with kind words and gifts, or invite them to an opulent meal. But Solomon expressed caution about these things.

Because he was a man of great wealth, things like this didn't impress Solomon in the same way someone of lesser means might be impressed. He could see beyond the opulence and perceive motives that might have been hidden from a more common observer.

Look at the strong language Solomon uses in this passage. He encourages the reader to "observe carefully" what is put before them, and "put a knife to your throat" if you're tempted to eat the opulent delicacies and then be taken advantage of.

Have you ever been taken advantage of by someone you trusted? I remember years ago when I was a teenager, my father was invited to bring our family to a nice buffet meal and "listen to a presentation." He was also told that we would be given free tickets to Disney World at the end. He agreed, and we went and enjoyed the food, but the event dragged on forever before they finally gave him the tickets they promised. The whole thing was a well-disguised, high-pressure sales pitch to attempt to convince him to buy a timeshare in Central Florida.

Deception comes at us from many angles. At times, we may experience it from other people, but it's also wise to be well aware of the fact that the devil himself loves to put an impressive spread of false promises before us in his attempts to lure us toward attempting to satisfy our souls with the things of this world, instead of finding our sense of sufficiency through Christ.

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." (Col. 2:8)

"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thes. 2:9-10)

Because your sufficiency is in Christ, don't let yourself be taken advantage of easily.

II. It is of no advantage to you to work yourself to death

4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
    be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
    for suddenly it sprouts wings,
    flying like an eagle toward heaven. (Proverbs 23:4-5)

I was recently talking to a man from Australia and he joked about a few of the differences between Americans and Australians. I enjoyed hearing his perspective. One of the things he said was, "Americans are all work. You don't know how to take a break." Is he correct?

Solomon gives us some interesting counsel in this passage. As someone who had been blessed with great wealth, he could testify that wealth wasn't as amazing as people sometimes made it out to be. It's not worth devoting your life to it, and it isn't wise to work yourself to death because the wealth you're trying to accumulate can fly away just as quickly, or even quicker than it was acquired.

A healthy life is invested in more than riches, but that isn't always the lesson we reinforce to each other. I still remember the years when I was the director of a summer camp. One of the hardest tasks I had was finding qualified staff. Many of our staff members were in high school or college and some of their parents would try to convince them not to work at camp because they could "earn more money" working somewhere else. Instead of allowing their children to experience the blessing of an entire summer immersed in a culture that would feed their faith, they taught their children to value money over growth, over experiences, and over relationships.

Solomon advises us that when we do our toil, it should be about more than just acquiring wealth. I interviewed Dan Miller, the author of "48 Days to the Work and Life you Love" the other day and he also shared that we should be wise enough to select work that aligns with God's calling on our lives. He stressed that there can be great joy in that. I think Solomon would have agreed.

I also appreciate Solomon's counsel to, "be discerning enough to desist." There's a time when it's best to say "enough." Yes, we need to earn a living. Yes, we need to feed, clothe, and shelter our families. But eventually, we need to come to the place where we accept that what we have is enough. It's impossible to satisfy the longing of our hearts through the accumulation of things that we cannot hold onto forever.

In Luke 12, Jesus also showed us that it's of no advantage to us to work ourselves to death in the vain attempt to accumulate the fleeting riches of this world. He showed us that doing so has the capacity to sap the joy out of life because we'll end up missing the point of who God has created us to be, and how He seeks to relate to us as our Father.

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!" (Luke 12:27-28)

It's of no advantage for you to work yourself to death, but it's of great advantage to you to trust Jesus who did the work on your behalf that was necessary to reconcile you to the Father.

III. Don't take advantage of those who are at your mercy

10 Do not move an ancient landmark
    or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Redeemer is strong;
    he will plead their cause against you. (Proverbs 23:10-11)

There isn't a single day of my life that I should forget the fact that I am an object of the mercy of God that has been shown to me in Jesus Christ. I deserved condemnation. I deserved to be eternally separated from the love of God, but Jesus endured my punishment. Jesus endured the righteous wrath of the Father so I could become a child of God. Now, as a recipient of God's mercy, it is his calling on my life to demonstrate mercy.

But not everyone embraces that mindset. In fact, it has often been said that you can tell a lot about a person's character by giving them power. You'll see what they're really made of by how they use the power they're given. Some will show mercy, but unfortunately, some will take advantage of those who are at their mercy.

I think Solomon is giving an example of that in this passage. He speaks of people who move ancient landmarks, most likely to illustrate how the powerful attempt to steal the land of those who can't stand up to them. He mentions those who would rob orphans because they seem defenseless.

Thankfully, no believer is ever truly defenseless. Men in powerful positions might try to take advantage of those who seem powerless, but Solomon warns those who might attempt such activity that our Redeemer is strong. The Lord Himself will fight for His children.

I don't know if you already saw this video, but several months ago, a man was walking with his little puppy near a pond when an alligator jumped out of the water, grabbed the dog in its mouth, and dragged it underwater. Immediately, the man instinctively jumped into the pond, dragged the alligator out, pulled its jaws apart just wide enough for the puppy to escape, and rescued the life of his new pet.

If a man is willing to wrestle an alligator to save a puppy, how much more is our Redeemer willing to rescue and defend His very own children. His saves us, defends us, identifies us as His own, and gives us daily reminders of the fact that we are forevermore sufficient in Christ. This world might try to take advantage of us, but our Savior remains by our side.

© John Stange, 2021