Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 481 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Get the Truth and Never Sell It – Proverbs [23:17]-35
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 481 of our trek, and today is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore the 2nd half of Chapter 23.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Tomorrow in the United States we will be celebrating our Thanksgiving holiday. I would encourage you to pause and take the time to reflect with gratitude for all the blessings that you have experienced over this past year. Even if you happen to be in a difficult season of life, there is much to be thankful for.
With a heart of gratitude, let us break camp for today and head out on our trek to explore the nuggets of wisdom which are found in the second half of Proverbs 23. We are currently in the third section of Proverbs, which covers 30 sayings of the wise. We have explored thirteen so far, and today we will continue with five more. One of those sayings is…
Get the Truth and Never Sell It
Let’s start our trek with verse 17.
17 Don’t envy sinners,
but always continue to fear the Lord.
18 You will be rewarded for this;
your hope will not be disappointed.
It is so easy to look at others that seem to be prospering and desire what they have. Most often though, you only see one small aspect of their lives, and you don’t see all that they struggle with. Regardless of others, you need to make wise and prudent choices in life and continue to follow God’s precepts. When you do this, you will eventually see a harvest from your good and faithful planting. This harvest will give you hope, which will minimize your disappointments in life.
19 My child, listen and be wise:
Keep your heart on the right course.
20 Do not carouse with drunkards
or feast with gluttons,
21 for they are on their way to poverty,
and too much sleep clothes them in rags.
As Solomon instructs his children, you can learn much from his exhortation. You are to be wise by keeping your minds and hearts on that that which is helpful. That is to hike the good trails of life. If you allow yourself to be influenced by people with questionable morals and ethics, you will soon end up like them. Some of their unseemly traits are laziness, poverty, gluttony, and drunkenness.
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and don’t despise your mother when she is old.
23 Get the truth and never sell it;
also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgment.
24 The father of godly children has cause for joy.
What a pleasure to have children who are wise.[e]
25 So give your father and mother joy!
May she who gave you birth be happy.
There are few joys as great in life for parents to groom our children into mature, responsible adults. To do so, your life must represent what you desire your children to become. That means that your life will show truthfulness, integrity, wisdom, discipline and good judgment at all cost. It is then that you will be able to take pleasure that your children follow your wise example, and it will bring you much joy.
26 O my son, give me your heart.
May your eyes take delight in following my ways.
27 A prostitute is a dangerous trap;
a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well.
28 She hides and waits like a robber,
eager to make more men unfaithful.
In this passage, Solomon once again visits a familiar subject for his son. His exhortation, which we can all apply to our lives, is to follow the ways of individuals that are Godly and wise. A person whose integrity has stood the test of time. Otherwise, you will fall prey to the temptations of life that will lead you down the trail of destruction. One of the most common is to fall prey to sexual sins. It is a trap that is nearly impossible to escape from. Like a narrow well with slick internal walls. Once you fall into this trap, your life will be destroyed.
29 Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?
Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?
Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,
trying out new drinks.
31 Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
32 For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper.
33 You will see hallucinations,
and you will say crazy things.
34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea,
clinging to a swaying mast.
35 And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it.
I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.
When will I wake up
so I can look for another drink?”
Drinking alcoholic beverages has been the destruction of many masses of people. This passage describes it so well. While this is nothing in Scripture that forbids having an occasional alcoholic drink, it has been the downfall of many. Certainly, some people may have a genetic weakness to addictions, one thing to consider regardless is, if you don’t drink, you won’t get drunk and suffer the consequences that are described here. Ask yourself, “Is the pleasure of drinking worth the risk of anguish, sorrow, fighting, complaining, bruises from falling, bloodshot eyes, hallucinations, and an unbridled tongue?”
With the huge variety of non-alcoholic drinks that are available today, it would be wise to ask yourself if the rewards outweigh the potential risk. Certainly, as you make wise choices in your life, consider your choices when it comes to eating, drinking, or partaking in any other substance that could become addictive.
Today we explored five more wise sayings, which leaves us with much to consider. Next Wisdom Wednesday, we will continue on this trail of the Sayings of the Wise. These proverbs continue to provide us with more wisdom, insight, and understanding. Regardless of where you are in your faith walk, if you follow the precepts in Proverbs, your life will be rich and satisfying. Take them and plant them in your heart so that you will reap a harvest of wisdom.
Tomorrow we will hike another short trail of Wisdom Unplugged where we will discover an inspirational wisdom quote. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along with us tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy these daily doses 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 when you meet with them and invite them to come along with us each day. If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically.
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.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- 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!