Le Proverb – The book of Proverbs is an “atlas”, a roadmap on how to life a godly life. The Bible is simply Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Proverbs gives us some solid instructions on living godly lives. When we read God’s Word regularly and apply it to our daily lives, it leads us along the path God Himself would choose for us. When we read the verses that are noted for this site entry, they cover a gamut of ideas: Wisdom, decision making, trust, discipline, controlling our mouths, and raising children. The range of topics is wide-sweeping and not easily captured within the limitations of this writing however I think it important to realize the book of Proverbs is full of Wisdom – POWER for our entire life!
Wisdom - Solomon calls “a know it all” a fool. We all know these types of folks. They have a strong, unwavering opinion about everything. They are stubborn, refuse to learn new concepts and often resent discipline. Hmm, do some of these terms describe us? ;>) It is stunning at the amount of information at our fingertips! Using a search engine brings more data to the screen than we knew existed! Knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord, to honor and respect God, to live in awe of his power, and to obey his Word. “To fear the Lord” does not mean to cower down and be afraid to approach Him!
Decisions - Why is it that we often try to rely on our abilities when making decisions? Often we don’t feel we can trust anyone. Often, we ourselves are that ‘know it all’. ;>) Why should God be in the decision process? Because God knows what is best for us. While God gave us abilities to reason, we must not be wise in our own eyes. Pray about it! Search God’s Word for guidance! Listen for God’s leading! Seek God in all that you do. Are decisions hard for you to make? Here’s a tough question: Where do your priorities lie? Do you acknowledge God in some areas of your life but exclude Him from others? Ask God to examine your heart and see if “there is anything there that offends Him”. Tough actions are necessary when we want God lead us ; tough because we have to get honest with Him!
Discipline - What does this mean? Does it mean that every time you sin you should be expecting an “act of God” to fall on you? Do you feel like you “got away with something” if there is no ‘consequence’ involved? It is often impossible to know that God has disciplined us until we look back on it later. Discipline often is simply a ‘guilty conscience’. God uses different ways to bring us back to Him! Discipline sounds negative to many people because some disciplinarians are not loving people. God, however, doesn’t correct us because He wants to. He is simply concerned about our growth.
Knowing when to be quiet - There are several benefits of keeping our mouths closed: (1) when we have nothing worthwhile to say; (2) when we need to listen and learn; (3) silence gives us something in common with those who are wiser. My Dad used to tell me that “silence is the best substitute for brains”. My Dad was a wise man. ;>)
Children - Can we train all of our children the same way? That would be a disaster! We need to pray that God will help us discern the different paths for each child. Our children do not have the same traits and characters therefore our parenting should reflect this. “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a life time.” The same goes for our kids. We cannot and should not make all their decisions for them. This hurts them later in their lives. The ‘fish’ wisdom should be altered for our children: “Make a decision for a kid, and they don’t learn, teach a kid how to make godly decisions, and you can be assured they will be prepared for life.”
Mental awareness - Ever notice how ‘smart’ folks tend to emulate ‘dumb’ folks? I don’t mean this bad but if you look at adults, teens and children, the natural tendency is to be like those around us. Unfortunately, our flesh will pull us towards the ways of others if we are not careful. Recovering drug addicts should not hang out with druggies. Recovering alcoholics should not hang out in bars. Recovering sex addicts should not hang out in strip clubs. Recovering gamblers should not go to casinos for dinner. Get my drift? Our mental awareness is sharpened by being around godly people. I do not mean that we should form holy huddles and not have any interaction with the secular worlds. I mean, guard yourself. When there is a ‘meeting of the mind’ with others, make sure the ‘others’ are those who will not adversely impact your thoughts, actions, language, and habits.
These are just a few areas covered in the many proverbs in the Bible. Go check out the many other proverbs that provide our roadmap for leading a godly life!
Papa Joe Mac's Commentary:
Le Proverb – The book of Proverbs is an “atlas”, a roadmap on how to life a godly life. The Bible is simply Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Proverbs gives us some solid instructions on living godly lives. When we read God’s Word regularly and apply it to our daily lives, it leads us along the path God Himself would choose for us. When we read the verses that are noted for this site entry, they cover a gamut of ideas: Wisdom, decision making, trust, discipline, controlling our mouths, and raising children. The range of topics is wide-sweeping and not easily captured within the limitations of this writing however I think it important to realize the book of Proverbs is full of Wisdom – POWER for our entire life!
Wisdom - Solomon calls “a know it all” a fool. We all know these types of folks. They have a strong, unwavering opinion about everything. They are stubborn, refuse to learn new concepts and often resent discipline. Hmm, do some of these terms describe us? ;>) It is stunning at the amount of information at our fingertips! Using a search engine brings more data to the screen than we knew existed! Knowledge is plentiful, but wisdom is scarce. Wisdom means far more than simply knowing a lot. The foundation of knowledge is to fear the Lord, to honor and respect God, to live in awe of his power, and to obey his Word. “To fear the Lord” does not mean to cower down and be afraid to approach Him!
Decisions - Why is it that we often try to rely on our abilities when making decisions? Often we don’t feel we can trust anyone. Often, we ourselves are that ‘know it all’. ;>) Why should God be in the decision process? Because God knows what is best for us. While God gave us abilities to reason, we must not be wise in our own eyes. Pray about it! Search God’s Word for guidance! Listen for God’s leading! Seek God in all that you do. Are decisions hard for you to make? Here’s a tough question: Where do your priorities lie? Do you acknowledge God in some areas of your life but exclude Him from others? Ask God to examine your heart and see if “there is anything there that offends Him”. Tough actions are necessary when we want God lead us ; tough because we have to get honest with Him!
Discipline - What does this mean? Does it mean that every time you sin you should be expecting an “act of God” to fall on you? Do you feel like you “got away with something” if there is no ‘consequence’ involved? It is often impossible to know that God has disciplined us until we look back on it later. Discipline often is simply a ‘guilty conscience’. God uses different ways to bring us back to Him! Discipline sounds negative to many people because some disciplinarians are not loving people. God, however, doesn’t correct us because He wants to. He is simply concerned about our growth.
Knowing when to be quiet - There are several benefits of keeping our mouths closed: (1) when we have nothing worthwhile to say; (2) when we need to listen and learn; (3) silence gives us something in common with those who are wiser. My Dad used to tell me that “silence is the best substitute for brains”. My Dad was a wise man. ;>)
Children - Can we train all of our children the same way? That would be a disaster! We need to pray that God will help us discern the different paths for each child. Our children do not have the same traits and characters therefore our parenting should reflect this. “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a life time.” The same goes for our kids. We cannot and should not make all their decisions for them. This hurts them later in their lives. The ‘fish’ wisdom should be altered for our children: “Make a decision for a kid, and they don’t learn, teach a kid how to make godly decisions, and you can be assured they will be prepared for life.”
Mental awareness - Ever notice how ‘smart’ folks tend to emulate ‘dumb’ folks? I don’t mean this bad but if you look at adults, teens and children, the natural tendency is to be like those around us. Unfortunately, our flesh will pull us towards the ways of others if we are not careful. Recovering drug addicts should not hang out with druggies. Recovering alcoholics should not hang out in bars. Recovering sex addicts should not hang out in strip clubs. Recovering gamblers should not go to casinos for dinner. Get my drift? Our mental awareness is sharpened by being around godly people. I do not mean that we should form holy huddles and not have any interaction with the secular worlds. I mean, guard yourself. When there is a ‘meeting of the mind’ with others, make sure the ‘others’ are those who will not adversely impact your thoughts, actions, language, and habits.
These are just a few areas covered in the many proverbs in the Bible. Go check out the many other proverbs that provide our roadmap for leading a godly life!