The Follow Up Talk

I am going to skip ahead of the many other things I wanted to write about to share what I read in  Proverbs 22 . This chapter became a pinnacle piece of Proverbs because it contains what I believe is an overarching goal of this book:  To give us certainty in the truth we are believing and to respond wisely to those that come our way with questions about our truth. Proverbs 22:17-21  says: 17 Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? Thank God for the wisdom he gave Solomon. The world is benefiting from the truths a...

The chapters I've read and reflected on for the past couple of days had good advice that stood out to me here and there. I noticed an overriding theme that wisdom comes through controlling our hearts, reactions, and in checking how we relate with other people. Below is a list of verses that were key for me. Proverbs 16 gives good instruction on having wisdom over your emotions and spirit. 16:2 : This verse tells us that the Lord weighs our spirit. It's not enough to do the right things. God wants our motivations to be pure and righteous too. 16:20 : Here we see that using wisdom to handle the issues we face will bring about good results. We also learn that trusting in God, will bring us happiness. 16:32 : Here is encouragement to temper our anger. Don't let it fly off the handle. God tells us that controlling our angry emotions and spirit makes us strong. Proverbs 17 gives good instruction on having wisdom in how we treat each other. 17:15 : We should treat each...

I recently started the book of Proverbs. The author, King Solomon, seems to use a logical, teaching style that brings you to a firm conclusion. That's probably one of the reasons I enjoy Proverbs along with Solomon's other book, Ecclesiastes. Solomon is known for being one of the wisest kings in history, so it's not surprising that he starts off Proverbs by discussing wisdom. At work, we did a get-to-know-you activity where we shared our likes, dislikes, and a superpower we'd love to have. I chose wisdom - pretty tame compared to the powers of invisibility and flight, but pretty important to me. I'm sure my colleagues thought my choice was pretty weird, but I like to think I am so "cool" that they didn't bother questioning the "weirdness". Unlike my choice of superpower, all the other choices were things that could never be achieved. Unless science comes up with some pretty cool discoveries, we will never be invisible or fly without some so...