Proverbs 21:3

To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

This is one of the most important principles to be found in Scripture. The entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament regulated every aspect of the life of Old Testament Israel. Of course, God wanted sacrifice. Yet, He maintains a priority of expectations—and what He really wants are justice and judgment. He wants obedience to His moral laws, but also just judgments from fathers, elders, and judges that lead in the land. Does He want us spending all of our time dialing in the fine-tuned elements of a worship service on Sunday morning, or does He want abortionists prosecuted in this land for the wanton shedding of innocent blood? In his inimical way, simple and straight-forward, James tells us what God really wants out of us: “Bridle your tongue. Visit the widow, and orphan in their affliction. And keep yourself unspotted from the world” (Jas. 1:29).

Even as the Christ of the New Testament offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins, He did it in order that justice and judgment may be done. Would our Lord therefore prefer more sacrifice from us or more obedience? Rest assured that He delights in our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving (Heb. 13:15–16), but first things first! To obey is still better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). Give Him obedience. Repent of your sins, and begin to walk in obedience. Then you should praise Him for His grace working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:8–9)! For many of us, we spend a fair amount of time studying the Word, praying, and singing in our worship. We should ask the question, “What does our heavenly Father want of us? Is He truly pleased with all this preaching, worship, and praise?” Pastors and church teachers are especially aware of the ever-present tendency to violate this principle. Directly following an exhortation on avoiding gossip, the teacher witnesses multiple instances of contention and gossip in the body. Or after explaining at length the wonderful forgiveness of Christ, he finds people dragging their feet at forgiving their brothers and sisters in the church. Simply attending church is not what God wants. He wants us attending to the preaching of the Word and follow-through.

Proverbs 21:4

An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

Now this is a surprising statement! Men often severely underestimate the corruption of their hearts and lives. They are in far worse shape than they think, and verses like this help to clarify the true depth of their problem. A person does not have to say a word or act in any way before he is condemned in the eyes of a holy God. Without a due regard for the Lord, and without attributing all his successes to God’s grace, his every thought and action condemns him. He lives a proud life! He is characterized by pride. So he plows his fields, builds his businesses, constructs gigantic skyscrapers, and organizes powerful governments without bowing a humble knee to the Lord of the earth. He employs the brain God gave him, applying it to the raw materials God provided in the earth to hone his technology, but all the while refusing to give God the recognition for His provision. Worse yet, he uses God’s resources to destroy the family and to pervert morality and justice as defined by the laws of God! So as the God of heaven looks down at man’s fields, cities, and towers, He sees a whole lot of sin.

Pride is basic to man’s economic systems in the modern empires. In fact, a recent survey of hiring managers in this country found the most important criteria these employers are looking for in prospective hires was not diligence, past experience, or even education. It was self-confidence. Of course, as Christians, we emphasize God-confidence over self-confidence. But the humanist empires would never be built without a tremendous confidence in man.

Much of the pride found in the economies of the wicked is rooted in education systems that are put in place for the purpose of preparing young people to build these proud economies. It takes proud schools to build proud economies. For many hundreds of years now, Western universities have refused to teach the fear of God in the chemistry laboratories. Seldom, if ever, would you find men within humanist classrooms struck with a trembling fear of God that drives them to their knees in worship and praise. These folks reject the very beginning of all wisdom and knowledge because of a deep-seated pride in their own intellectual achievements!

Family Discussion Questions:

1. How much time do we spend working to apply the Word in obedience, compared with the time we spend in personal devotions, family worship, and church gatherings? Are we giving God what He really wants?

2. How might we better apply the Word of God after a preaching and worship service? Instead of quickly forgetting everything that was said, might we lay out some applications whereby we can begin to follow through on what is being taught?

3. How does pride manifest itself in us? (Examples might include bragging, proud looks, proud thoughts, competition, sibling rivalries, etc.)

4. How might we avoid the pride that is such an essential element in modern university and seminary education?