-Which Invite Would You Choose?

Imagine you received invitations to eat out at 2 different restaurants. One invitation is to one of the finest dining establishments in your town! Great food! Great atmosphere! Fantastic service! The other invitation is to a greasy spoon kind of place that serves what everyone calls “mystery meat” because no one is quite sure what it is. The locals call it the “Road Kill Grill.” No one is sure how many times it’s nearly been shut down by the health inspector. It’s dirty & the staff is rude! Which invite are you probably going to choose?

-The Wise & Foolish Decisions We Make!

While the choice, between the 2 restaurants, seems rather obvious, we tend not to choose well between wisdom & foolishness! That contrast between the “wise” decisions & the “foolish” ones— along with the consequences of your decision— is really what the Old Testament book of Proverbs is all about! Someone said:  “A proverb is a timeless truth in the form of a simple illustration that exposes a fundamental reality of life.” They’re timeless truths because they’ve been inspired by an All-Wise eternal God who has built them into the very fabric of His creation! So, they’re timeless!

-Wisdom Crosses All Generational Lines!

That means they cross all generational lines—they’re just as true for you Baby Boomers as they are for the Generation X’ers and the Millennials of our world! And, the “wise” among us will read them, take heed & adjust their life accordingly; while, the “fool” rejects the counsel & experiences a pain-filled life! The Book of Proverbs contains themes! Multiple themes about every area of life— the family, marriage, parenting, children; as well as business & work & retirement! There are Proverbs about sex, your thought life, your speech, your conduct in private & your conduct in public! There are Proverbs about how to deal with a loud mouth & gossip; and, how to handle conflict & strife.

-There Is God’s Way & The Foolish Way!

And, for every theme or subject mentioned, there are “foolish” ways to respond and there is the “wise” way to respond. The foolish response is always to learn the hard way; while, the wise respond by reading God’s word & acting in obedience and consort with it! There is God’s way & the foolish way! Those are the only 2 options! Here’s what a wise person told me long ago:  “Experience is a great teacher; and, a fool will learn no other way.” You might say that the wise assimilate God’s word & corrects their course of life! The fool keeps doing the same thing—living life in defiance & disobedience to God’s word—and, they keep expecting different & better results!

-Living Life Proactively!

But it won’t happen! The wise live their lives proactively! They read from the Scriptures, what God— the Creator & Master Designer— has written, as laws, into His Creation; and, they make course corrections BEFORE they step on life’s landmines & blow up their domain! Over the next few posts, I plan to consider some of the themes in the book of Proverbs! And, I hope you’ll consider them with me! Let me just finish up today with one Proverbs theme & hopefully you’ll come back next week for more! Wisdom teaches us to be cautious choosing our friends! This is a really big deal! Your friends will either build you up or tear you down! For example: “Don’t make friends with an angry man & don’t’ be a companion of a hot-tempered man or you will learn his ways” (Prov 22:24-25). Choose friends poorly & you’ll suffer harm!