Day Twenty-Eight
Proverbs 28:7 (Dissected and Defined):
Whoso keepeth (protects) the law (boundaries) is a wise son: but he that is a companion (friend) of riotous (ungrounded) men shameth his father.
Daily Devo Paraphrase: Imagine the following scene: Your basketball team is down by one. The game is in the final seconds. The crowd is wild. Your adrenaline is high, and your eyes are glued to the game. Your mind is quickly formulating a plan on how to get that ball inbounds, down the court, and through the net, all in a matter of a few seconds.
You scan the court, your offense is in position, and the referee is ready to whistle. Wait! Who’s that over there on the sidelines? Curious onlookers stretch their necks to see what’s going on. You wonder aloud, “Is that one of my teammates?” What!? A player is standing outside the court boundaries—crying! You race over to see if he is injured. As you arrive, you hear his whine, “I don’t like these boundaries! I want to play over here!” You proclaim, “Are you crazy? Get back in bounds!” Can you imagine the embarrassment? How silly to play the game of basketball with players who reject the boundaries. If one violates a boundary, they can be penalized; but to reject the boundaries is to bring the game to an abrupt stop.
A true player will develop his skills to become the best “within the set boundaries” of the court and refuse to engage teammates who reject the boundaries of the court. Similarly, “a wise son” (or, a Spirit-filled Christian) will submit tothe set of boundaries that God has placed around him. A wise son, rather than whining about the boundaries, will guard that boundary. He learns to live freely within them, and rejects others who try to influence him to play outside his coach’s boundaries.
Likewise, in life, the player who resists, rejects, or refuses to remain within the boundaries of his Coach will find himself getting yanked out of the “game of life.” Some say in the game of life that “life is good, play hard.” But Coach says, “life is hard, play good.”
