Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 406 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
How Much Better to Get Wisdom Than Gold – Proverbs 16:1-16
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 406 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 first half of chapter 16.
We are broadcasting from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The day this episode is released, Paula and I will be heading to Atlanta and then on to Scottsdale, Arizona to work for a few days with our partners on our construction project in Mesa. Even with the ability to do most of the financial work remotely for our Arizona project, it is always great to be onsite for a few days to catch up on the project details and plan for the next few months.
It does require a lot of wisdom, insight, and understanding to handle the details of the various companies that we work with, and there is no better source of wisdom for business and life than in the book of Proverbs. On our trek for today, we will dig into verses 1-16 of Chapter 16. The title for today’s trek is taken from verse 16, and it is…
How Much Better to Get Wisdom Than Gold
Let’s start in with verse 1.
1 We can make our own plans,
but the Lord gives the right answer.
You do need to be responsible and plan, but you also need to consider God’s precepts in all the plans that you make. God gives you the guidelines in His Word to make the correct plans if you are willing to study and apply those guidelines to your life.
2 People may be pure in their own eyes,
but the Lord examines their motives.
We as humans have been given free will and have the capability to rationalize and justify just about any type of behavior, good or bad. The more you know, understand, and apply God’s Word to your life, the closer your motives will be in line with God’s principles. God knows your motives, even when it is difficult to discern them for yourself.
3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
and your plans will succeed.
When you truly commit your plans and action steps to God, they will succeed. The caveat that many of us miss is that these plans and actions have to be in line with God’s precepts found in His Word. Too many times we want God to help us succeed when our plans do not follow those precepts. You must know His Word to understand His principles.
4 The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
even the wicked for a day of disaster.
It is hard for us to understand why a just and holy God would seemingly make something that is wicked. To understand it properly, you have to understand that God created everyone with a free will. We can choose to follow His Word, or not. Those who choose not to are choosing to be made into that which is wicked. The opposite is also true. If you choose to follow His Word, you are made right and just through His Son.
5 The Lord detests the proud;
they will surely be punished.
Pride is one of the most grievous sins because when you are proud, you lose your dependency on God and desire to usurp what belongs to God. Because of this, if you do not humble yourself, then you will suffer the consequence of your pride.
6 Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin.
By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.
This verse is two-fold. God’s love and faithfulness to you completely annul your sin, as if you do not have any. In the same way, when you unconditionally love others and are faithful to them, then you will overlook sin in their lives and be much more forgiving. Along with this thought, if you respect and love God, you will do all that you can to avoid acts that are contrary to His Word.
7 When people’s lives please the Lord,
even their enemies are at peace with them.
One of the sure signs of a wise and understanding person who lives according to God’s principles is that they will not be contentious with others. They will not be pompous or self-righteous but live in such a manner that even those who don’t like them will be respectful of them.
8 Better to have little, with godliness,
than to be rich and dishonest.
While we all desire to have wealth, money and possessions are not what makes us truly wealthy. There is nothing wrong with having wealth, but it is much better to have less and follow God’s principles than to violate those principles in order to gain money and possessions.
9 We can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.
This verse is very similar to the first verse of this chapter. You do need to be responsible and plan, but you also need to consider God’s precepts in all the plans that you make. When you do this, then God will ultimately guide you in the situation and circumstances that He desires for your lives.
10 The king speaks with divine wisdom;
he must never judge unfairly.
A Godly leader will gain his wisdom from God. His advisers will also be wise people, providing the leader with sage advice. When doing so, all decisions will be fair, right, and just.
11 The Lord demands accurate scales and balances;
he sets the standards for fairness.
God is just in all ways. In business and in life, you need to make sure that all of your transactions and interactions with others are fair and balanced. God’s standards for fairness are true and always accurate
12 A king detests wrongdoing,
for his rule is built on justice.
A good and Godly leader should abhor actions within the workplace, church, or family that are not good. Integrity woven with justice should be the priority of a leader.
13 The king is pleased with words from righteous lips;
he loves those who speak honestly.
A good leader desires to have individuals and advisers around him/her that speak what is right and true, regardless if it is not what they necessarily want to hear. As a leader, to have people around you that are willing to speak the truth in love is of a great benefit.
14 The anger of the king is a deadly threat;
the wise will try to appease it.
While few of us live in a monarchical society where we have to be concerned with death for lack of compliance, we should be respectful of those in leadership positions in our work and other situations. We should always do our best and be wise and prudent in our interactions with leaders.
15 When the king smiles, there is life;
his favor refreshes like a spring rain.
There is an innate desire in all of us to please others, especially those in positions of authority over us. You should strive to do your best for those who you are responsible to and ultimately perform in such a way as if you were doing the tasks directly for God because ultimately you are. When we do please those who are in authority, it is refreshing to them and to us.
16 How much better to get wisdom than gold,
and good judgment than silver!
We all, including myself, would love to have more money and resources. The older I get, the more I realize that money and material possessions are of little importance once you have your basic needs covered. How much more valuable are the close relationships with family and friends? We gain what is truly valuable in life by increasing our wisdom and good judgment. When we have that, then we will desire little else in life.
The nuggets of wisdom that we gather every Wisdom Wednesday provide the stepping stones that we need on our daily trek to grow emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Making plans based on God’s guidelines while keeping the proper perspective on what is really important and will allow us to grow wiser each day.
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 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 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. I would also appreciate it if you would rate and review us on iTunes or Google Play so that others will find out about Wisdom-Trek and join us.
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 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 on Monday!