Wisdom

I have decided to read through the book of Proverbs and seek out some wisdom there.  There are many wise things that King Solomon had to say, so I thought I would check it out once again.  There are many things Solomon talks about and one of them is how the attitude of your heart matters and I thought about this, who knows the thoughts and intents of the heart outside of God?  So, it is better not to judge other people or for them to judge us.  This is very healthy for both parties.

Think about this, someone can say, or even do, things that we don’t agree with and many times we walk away perplexed, wondering why, or get angry and fly off the handle before we give the other person a chance to explain why the person did or said whatever it was.  Then, if it bothers us enough, we start to dwell on it and that’s when the judgements start flying; we think this or that and sometimes we start telling others about the situation and then we are not only judging but we are gossiping.  What might be the better solution is to ask the person that we are wondering about what was meant by the statement we heard or what was done that we didn’t understand, instead of just assuming that we know.

Then there is the other scenario I talked about and that is how we respond to what has been said or done.  Instead of flying off the handle, so to speak, and getting angry King Solomon said something very wise in chapter 15:1-4,

“A gentle answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise treats knowledge correctly,

but the mouth of fools spouts folly.

The eyes of Adonai are everywhere,

observing the wicked and the good.

A healing tongue is a tree of life,

but a deceitful one crushes the spirit.”   

It seems like many of us can be very competitive people, even as believers, and we forget very easily the second commandment, “To love  your neighbor, as yourself,” and who is our neighbor?  Everyone is our neighbor, according to the story (The Good Samaritan.)  If you are not familiar with this story please read Luke 10:30-37, “Yeshua replied, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He was attacked by robbers, who stripped him and beat him. Then they left, abandoning him as half dead. And by chance, a kohen was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came upon him; and when he noticed the man, he felt compassion. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on olive oil and wine. Then setting him on his own animal, he brought him to a lodge for travelers and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him. And whatever else you spend, upon my return I will repay you myself.’ Which of these three seems to you a neighbor to the one attacked by robbers?” And he said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” Then Yeshua said to him, “Go, and you do the same.”

It is easy for me to type these but many times I have a hard time living them out to my shame and possibly you may have the same problem that is why it is so important to be reminded of these things. We need to be careful of our tempers!! I think I will conclude this Tidbit with this from the book of James 1:19-26, “Know this, my dear brothers and sisters: let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger— for human anger doesn’t produce the righteousness of God. So put away all moral filth and excess of evil and receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

                                           

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror— for once he looks at himself and goes away, he immediately forgets what sort of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect Torah, the Torah that gives freedom, and continues in it, not becoming a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts—he shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is futile.”

I heard this said on the radio the other day (When you drop a little bit of courtesy on someone you will save a lot of friction) or something very close to it so I thought this might help someone.

I have given you something to think about and I hope it has been an encouragement and a blessing to you. May you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!! PS –Don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!