I Am What I Am . . .

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"The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways." - Prov. 14:14 (ESV)

   Popeye was one of my favorite characters as a child, although I still will NOT eat spinach. Even as a child I got the message that if I ate my veggies I would grow up big and strong like him, rather than like Wimpy who ate cheeseburgers continually.  Popeye had a great catchphrase, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Pretty good philosophy from a sailor with freakishly-large forearms and no biceps. It also sheds light on this verse of Scripture in Proverbs. 
   I confess that it took me several times reading this verse, and six different translations, before I got what Solomon was saying. We know that a backslider is full of their own ways. Backsliders are those who walk away from the LORD into their own interests. The problem is Solomon wrote that the good man is filled with ways, just as the backslider is. Both the backslider and the good man is filled with the fruit of their way? Wait, did I miss something?
   The best way to understand this verse is sola scriptura, latin terminology that means using Scripture to understand Scripture. Paul addressed the issue using different words but with the same basic meaning, "...whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Gal. 6:8, NASB) Solomon was telling us that what we are is revealed by what we do. If we choose to live a life obedient to the LORD, we will enjoy the fruit or benefits of that choice. However, if we choose to ignore the things of God and live unto ourselves, we will likewise "enjoy" the fruit of that choice.  Even as disciples we still have free-will, the LORD does not take that away because we receive salvation. We still must daily choose to serve the LORD. You cannot make me a backslider or a good man; likewise, I cannot make you either. We choose what we are. Again, we reap what we sow.
   The lesson is this: if I do not like what I am, who I am, or where I am going, I am the best one to alter the course. The Word of God will guide me and the Holy Spirit will affect change within me, but it is still my choice. I am what I am, but I do not have to be what I am.  My choices are a result of who I am; your choices are a result of who you are. If we do not like what we see, then it is time to for you and I to make a change. 
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