Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 436 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Sensible People Control Their Temper – Proverbs 19:1-14
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 436 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 1st half of chapter 19.
We are broadcasting from our studio at ‘Home2’ in Charlotte, NC. We do have a busy workload this week filled with client work and podcast related projects. I find myself anxious about the work to be done, especially when my schedule and workload is not necessarily under my control. Since I tend to be structured and like a disciplined workflow I have to continually remind myself that if the work is important enough, that it will be accomplished in its own time. Although at times it is difficult, I try to emulate what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi 4:5-7 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
It is good to gain additional wisdom for life to handle those obstacles and detours that we all run into on a daily basis. For now, it’s time to break camp and head out on our trail in search of those golden nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. One sign of a mature and wise person is that they are also sensible and have self-control as verse 11 of this chapter tells us:
Sensible People Control Their Temper
Let’s start our trek with verse 1:
1 Better to be poor and honest
than to be dishonest and a fool.
Wealth holds such a sway over our world. While obtaining abundant resources can allow us to have a greater impact in our world for good, if it is obtained dishonestly then it is not worth having. It would be better, to be honest. Otherwise, you are just a rich fool.
2 Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
haste makes mistakes.
We all know people who get excited over just about anything, but when you dig beneath the surface, you realize that the excitement many times is short lived and comes because of lack of knowledge. When we get excited without thinking through all of the consequences, we will tend to make mistakes. It is much better to logically think through our choices so that we can make choices that are wise. Then they are worth being enthusiastic about.
3 People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord.
Some people always have drama or crises in their lives and as a result of continually making unwise choices. Their lives are in shambles, and then they are angry at God for the outcome. We need to take personal responsibility for every choice that we make. We all would do well to gain wisdom and make choices that are wise.
4 Wealth makes many “friends”;
poverty drives them all away.
Friends that you make, because you have wealth, are fair weather friends at best. If your wealth is gone, so are those friends.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
nor will a liar escape.
Although our justice system is not always fair, in the end, a false witness will be found out. There are consequences for our falsehood and lies. Make it a practice of always telling the truth. It is so liberating.
6 Many seek favors from a ruler;
everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!
Regardless of who you are or how confident you are about yourself, we all like to gain favor with those that we perceive to be better in some manner than we are. We also tend to want to gain favor with those who we can benefit from. Let us be careful about these traps.
7 The relatives of the poor despise them;
how much more will their friends avoid them!
Though the poor plead with them,
their friends are gone.
This is sad, but true. If you are poor, or have fallen on rough times, it seems like even you family members will stay away. It is even more evident with those who you consider being friends. Even when you beg for assistance when you are poor, you soon realize that your former friends are nowhere to be found when you need them most.
8 To acquire wisdom is to love yourself;
people who cherish understanding will prosper.
With our perverted concept of true love in our modern world, we have a hard time even loving ourselves. We need to love ourselves unconditionally. One way is through obtaining wisdom, insight, and understanding. When we do this, we will have the proper love for ourselves which will, in turn, allow us to prosper.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will be destroyed.
This verse is almost identical to verse five and yet is expands on the gravity of being a false witness and liar. Clearly, if we make a habit of lying, our lives will end up in ruins.
10 It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule over princes!
There are standards for what is fair and right that we all understand. When we see a foolish person having abundant resources, it is an injustice. In the same manner, as if a servant would usurp authority over their boss.
11 Sensible people control their temper;
they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
Once again, the mark of a wise person is that they can and will have great self-control. They will not allow their tempers to flare, and they will think before they speak. When a higher level of wisdom is obtained, they will gain respect from others by being mature enough to overlook the weaknesses of others.
12 The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
When a king, ruler or boss becomes angry, they have the authority to bring great punishment to those who they lead. On the flip side of this, they can also refresh those whom they lead when they show favor to them.
13 A foolish child is a calamity to a father;
a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.
When a child, regardless of their age, makes foolish decisions it is a real blow to their father. As a father, we always desire for our children to make wise decisions. Another sad situation is being in a marriage with the wife (or husband) is always quarreling or arguing. It is such an annoyance that it is like the constant dripping of a faucet or leaky roof. It wears a person down to be in that environment.
14 Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,
but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.
Regardless of how wealthy a father may become, materials possessions will not satisfy the children when they are older. It is God alone that will provide a spouse that is loving and understanding. I feel truly blessed that God has provided such a wife for me with Paula. She is very understanding and a real blessing.
The nuggets of wisdom that we gathered verses 1-14 of Proverbs 19 provide more tasty morsels of wisdom, insight, and understanding. Regardless of your faith walk, if the precepts in Proverbs are followed, your life will be rich and satisfying. Take them and plant them in your heart so that you will reap a harvest of goodness. 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 ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’
That will finish our trek for today. Just 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.
The journal for today’s Trek is available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor and most of all your friend as I serve you in through this 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 Tomorrow!