Genesis 9:2 English Standard Version (ESV) The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.

God spoke this to Noah and I cannot help but think of the many men that came after Noah that thought of themselves as gods. Pharaoh is but one.

We hear that a man is the king of his castle without considering what kind of attitude we are fostering in our sons. I would have rather that my father had said to me “life owes you nothing”. A false attitude is birthed in a boy who is told he is a king. Kings do not earn anything, everything belongs to them. They just take what they want. That is a bad attitude.

There is no honor among thieves is as true a phrase as there is in life. Honor should be reserved for those who have done the right things for the right reason. We end up honoring people for their achievements while ignoring who they are in their hearts.

Hero worship should not be for those who can put a basketball through a hoop 80% of the time but rather to the man who goes to work every day and comes home to his wife and six children because work ethic is more important than meaningless skills and he has not given up because life is hard.

I will turn at this point to avoid becoming political,

What God said to Noah should not be taken as an excuse for an attitude that man deserves to be worshiped or idolized. Character should count more than skill. We should want to be like Jesus, not Michael Jordan. That is not to disparage MJ’s character, only character before skill.

It should not be a song lyric “teach your children well”, show right character to our children and teach them what is truly important. Worship God Almighty alone.

The world will be a better place for it Noah.

Psalm 101:2 English Standard Version (ESV) I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? will walk with integrity of heart within my house;

I pondered this issue about walking in silence and it seems right that as long as we have not stepped off the path, we do not need correction.

I ponder the way and as long as my thoughts do not lead me astray I have not lost my way.

Proverbs 16:7 English Standard Version (ESV) When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

I am not at war with anyone, not even myself.

We can enjoy that silent walk with the ones we love because there is no awkwardness between us. We can enjoy each other’s company without filling the air with the sound of our voices. 

Do we feel His presence when He is silent? Do we have to hear from Him to assure ourselves we are not walking alone? Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us. That was not a conditional comment. He did not say “I will stay with you as long as you don’t mess up.”

The way that is blameless doesn’t have a past, it only has a future. Pondering our past mistakes keeps us from seeing the good that is ahead of us. Those mistakes told us where temptation lies and we do not have to revisit them to know to avoid them. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 English Standard Version (ESV) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Another way of looking at this is; we don’t have to go looking for temptation.

When it shows up just look for the exit.