Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 317 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Wise People Treasure Knowledge – Proverbs [10:14]-17

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 317 of our trek. Yesterday and for the next few days, we are going to remain in camp around the campfire as we continue digging for the nuggets of wisdom that are found in the book of Proverbs. So far we have explored the first 13 verses of Chapter 10, and we will continue to cover a few verses each day. This section of Proverbs compares and contrasts bite size nuggets of wisdom that apply to everyday life. I know that you will enjoy it as we learn together.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are a multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are broadcasting this podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. On Sunday, we were able to worship at our local church in Charlotte, which will be the only weekend this month that we will be Charlotte for church. After church we drove to Buddy and Chelimo’s home. They wanted to remove some of their rose bushes around their house, and we desired to have some new bushes to plant along the sides of our home where the original bushes had died. It was great to be able to invest part of the day with them and our grandson Kip. We transplanted 8 rose bushes, so hopefully they will take root and grow.

I love growing roses, and we use to have many rose bushes at The Big House. But, the deer love them also, so we have not had success keeping them alive there. This past weekend was primarily focused on activities outside of our core workload, but one that helped us to focus on what is really important within our living legacy.

As we remain at camp today sitting around the campfire sharing stories about life experiences, let us consider the thought of transplanting, like we did with the roses on Sunday. We become what we think about most, which is based on the type of information we allow into our minds. In order to change and improve, we must change what we think about. This requires that we remove the old thoughts and transplant good and godly knowledge into our minds. This is one of our objectives as we consider these nuggets of wisdom in Proverbs. Let their wisdom be transplanted in your minds, replacing those thoughts which are not good. That brings us to our starting point for today which is…

Wise People Treasure Knowledge – Proverbs [10:14]-17

Let’s start right in digging for those wisdom nuggets in verse 14:

¹⁴Wise people treasure knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool invites disaster.

If you desire to be a wise person, then you must be willing to learn, to study, and to expand your knowledge. You must seek for it as if it were a treasure. One thing that I have learned through the years is that you cannot learn when your mouth is open, unless it is to ask a question. In contrast to this is someone who is always talking, expounding on their so called “wisdom” but is actually babbling as it is referred to in this verse. This person has a foolish concept of themselves. Since he is talking, he is unable to learn. Therefore, he will not make wise decisions in his life. This will ultimately lead to disaster and hardship.

¹⁵The wealth of the rich is their fortress;
the poverty of the poor is their destruction.

In this world, there are advantages to having wealth. There is no other way to look at it. God never condemns a person for being wealthy. He just cautions us not to allow wealth take His place in our lives. Financial success provides us with many more options in life. The analogy of a fortress here has significance. A fortress was used as a means of protection from outsiders who would like to harm a town or group of people. If we are able to accumulate wealth, we should use it to help and protect those that are in need. It will not only be a fortress for us but can also provide a place of safety to those who are in poverty. Without that assistance, those who are poor will be taken advantage of and run into destruction.

¹⁶The earnings of the godly enhance their lives,
but evil people squander their money on sin.

This verse dovetails nicely into the previous one.  If we are wise financially then our lives, and the lives of those we impact, will be enhanced.  As a wise person who is good and godly, the financial decisions that we make are based on the precepts in God’s Word.  We can invest our resources into the lives of those that we impact.   In contrast to this, if we are not wise with our financial decisions, it will be evident because our resources will be squandered on those activities that are not pleasing to God, nor in line with His precepts.

 ¹⁷People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life,
but those who ignore correction will go astray.

Let me ask you this question. Do you like to be disciplined? I know I struggle with the concept of it, and you probably do also. It may be that our connotation of discipline is skewed today. To be disciplined is to become a disciple of another, who is a master. It is the basic premise of learning, of being eager and willing to improve, even when your shortcomings are pointed out. It gives you a plan and a way to improve because you know what the standard is for achievement. When you are willing to accept discipline, then you are gaining wisdom which puts you on the trail to becoming better. In contrast to this is the person who refuses to be disciplined, or corrected. This person will end up on his own trail, which will not lead to a successful life. This person will find himself wandering without direction or a plan for his life.

I know that we are slowly taking our time at camp, but there are times where we need to reflect and ponder these concepts so they are transplanted into our minds. This will allow for real and lasting change. There are so many morsels of wisdom found in the book of Proverbs. Let them permeate your thoughts and impact your life so that your living legacy will shine through for everyone to see.

We will continue with a few more nuggets of wisdom from Chapter 10 tomorrow, so encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!