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Our Disturbing World
Divide the human race into twenty parts. Nineteen of them are composed of those who work with their hands,... In the remaining twentieth part, how few men do we find who read! And among those who do read there are twenty who read novels for every one who studies philosophy. The number of those who think is exceedingly small, and they are not aiming to disturb the world. - Voltaire
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A String on Your Finger – Proverbs 7
“Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” – Proverbs 7:2-3 If you’re a fan of the Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, you might remember the scene where George Bailey’s beleaguered Uncle Billy is shown with several strings tied around his fingers. The idea is that each string is there to remind him of something important. This image has also appeared in many other places in popular culture including children’s cartoons. We don’t see it so much now that we’ve moved into the age of sticky notes and phone reminders.…
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Who we are trumps what we do
Strategy vs Culture In the business world, there has been much discussion over what is more important, strategy or culture. Simple put, strategy is what you do. It is the steps you take toward your success, your goals and the list of things you must do to achieve them. Culture is how you do the things you do. It is a statement of your values. You could summarize by saying that strategy is what you do and culture is who you are. Culture Beats Strategy Businesses that go the distance have clear definitions of who they are in terms of how they conduct customer service and the type of workplace…
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Don’t let yourself be trapped – Proverbs 5
“The iniquities of a wicked man entrap him; the cords of his sin entangle him.” – Proverbs 5:22 The whole fifth chapter of Proverbs is a warning against entanglement in sexual sin. We all know of men who have had their entire life’s work in ministry invalidated by being caught in that particular trap. I would assume it’s no picnic for the women involved either. Even if you don’t have your face on the cover of magazines, or your byline in a famous publication, or a worldwide gospel ministry, the tragedy of this particular brand of sin takes a terrible toll. Marriages, relationships and family ties are shattered. In many…
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Make a Level Path – Proverbs 4
“Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.” – Proverbs 4:26 A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of tearing the retinas in both of my eyes. They didn’t both tear at once. The second one tore about two weeks after the first. The tears themselves weren’t painful, just bizarre. A large black ribbon of blood suddenly floated into my field of vision. I was driving when the first one went and it was a truly strange experience to no longer be able to see properly in one eye. After a rather futile examination in the local Emergency Room – they just…
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Are you a know-it-all? – Proverbs 3
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5 Some people act like they know all there is to know. Quick to speak out in any group, with a condescending attitude designed to make everyone around them feel stupid, they are pleased to pontificate upon any petty provocation. It’s hard to imagine, but sometimes we can be this way around God. We protest his decisions. We roar against the setbacks we experience. We cry and complain over every little thing that doesn’t go our way. As if we could do better at running the universe. Better than God? Who do we…
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Do the Right Thing – Proverbs 2
“Follow in the ways of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.” – Proverbs 2:20 What we do matters. Actions make a difference. This verse in Proverbs 2 admonishes us to do the right thing, no matter what. So how do we know what is right? God isn’t shy about leaving us instructions. We have a whole book full of them that just might be right at your elbow as you are reading this. The apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may…
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The Rich Get Richer – Proverbs 1
“Let the wise listen and gain instruction, and the discerning acquire wise counsel by understanding the proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” – Proverbs 1:5-6 What kind of person places a high value on wisdom? What kind of person is willing to read and study to gain understanding? Someone who is wise already, of course! Jesus put it this way: “Pay attention, therefore, to how you listen. Whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” – Luke 8:18 A key characteristic of intelligent people is that they understand that there is…
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The Value of Virtue – Proverbs 31
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. – Proverbs 31:10 (BSB) Proverbs 31 consists mostly of a description of the ideal virtuous woman. The bottom line is that she is precious beyond the value of rubies. How much does our culture value virtue these days? There is a range. Some folks place a higher value on what most of us would consider traditional virtues. Others seem to have redefined the concept of virtue altogether and even, in some cases, turned it completely on its head. We seem to have lost any notion of consensus on the matter. If goodness is arbitrary, a…
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Let Enough Be Enough – Proverbs 30
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion. Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God. – Proverbs 30:8b-9 Our society is heavily tainted by the idea that more is better and newer is more valuable than older. It keeps us trapped, forever replacing the old and buying new. We are crippling ourselves with debt and destroying our relationships just to have the latest and greatest gizmo or gadget. Our appetite for newness have become so inflated we have lost the ability to discern…
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Emotional Regulation – Proverbs 29
“A fool vents all his anger, but a wise man holds it back.” – Proverbs 29:11 (BSB) We humans are all emotional creatures, some more than others. We can’t help but respond emotionally to certain stimuli. That’s not a bad thing. Some things are supposed to make us happy. Falling in love. A beautiful sunset. Some things are supposed to make us sad. We grieve when our loved ones die because we value their presence and we know we will miss them. Some things make us angry, and rightly so. Even God gets angry in the face of injustice. The key is to respond to events around us with the…
