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Friday!
Proverbs!
When you sit down to dine with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you...
Proverbs 23:1 CSB
Well I don't sit down with the Queen very often, but I think this proverb is a warning about people with power. 
The word here for "what" is "asher", a word that can mean "who" as well. Who has the person with power got sitting next to you, what's going on, what's their agenda?
People abuse their power in every sphere of life. Church, family, work, the places we study, where we go to have fun or do things we enjoy, because sin permeates everything. 
This is a warning, to be aware that people have agendas. 
And it's a warning to me too. There's areas in my world where I have power, how am I using it?  I also know that my own heart can be deceptive about motive and that's where community is so important, to check, to check in, to ask the tough questions of motive. 
I need to check my own heart, that as a follower of Jesus, I'm following someone who gave up his power, and chose to serve. 
Someone who's agenda is love. To love God, and to love people.
Proverbs invites us to open our eyes to power structures in our world, and invites us to consider our own hearts.
#proverbs
#wisdom
#somethingtochewon

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