Lame Legs

Recently I’ve had some dealings with a person who would say one thing and then would do another. Have you ever met a person like that? This person would quote the most amazing scriptures but unfortunately, their life does not match up.

I began to notice an interesting thing – people who were engaged in conversation with this person started keeping quiet whenever they spoke, not to listen, but rather to just let them finish so that a new conversation could begin that would, hopefully, be less hypocritical!

Proverbs 26:7 speaks of exactly that:

“A proverb in the mouth of a fool

is like lame legs that hang limp.”

Woah!

Lame legs…

Limp legs…

That sounds terrible! Conversations with that person were “lame and limp” because people could see no action from the scriptures they quoted. I realised, that I could carry on looking at that person with disapproval or I could ask myself: What does it mean for me?

The word of God is a “sharp sword, dividing between soul and spirit, bone and marrow” (Hebrews 4:12) 

The Bible is the Word of God. It is supposed to bring life, healing, joy, wonder, wisdom – not debilitation… 

This verse caused me to pause and ask myself: Am I a fool? Am I living what I read in Scripture? Am I practicing what I preach and believe? Does Scripture have meaning for me? Am I imparting life into conversations? Am I changing people’s perspectives when I speak the word of God?

I want to run the race that God has planned for me, I want to have those feet that carry Good News to people, I want to walk in His ways – I don’t want to have “lame, limp legs”.

My prayer is that these Proverbs that I’m reading and learning from become carriers of life to others, so that I am not foolish in my conversations. As Christians it is our highest calling to introduce people to God, to share the gospel of peace.

How are we going to do that?

• By walking our talk.
• By being wise in our obedience to the Word of God.
• By showing how powerful the Bible can be when walked out in real life, running into the purposes and plans that He reveals to us in the Word.