Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Delivering truth to someone is a special craft.

Our well-intentioned words can enlighten and heal or trample their souls into undeserved grief.

Golden apples arrayed on a silver tray is analagous to gracious and beautiful words delivered gently and thoughtfully to the right person at just the right moment.

Unsolicited commentary may have its place—albeit more infrequently—but when solicited, it presents opportunity to speak the truth in love.

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine the path they’re walking.

Be that apple of gold that creates change and leaves a lasting impression. 

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭25‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Disarming by acting unexpectedly removes the weapon from your enemy’s hand.

Those at odds with you don’t expect your kindness to prevail.

But taking the higher road still recognizes and responds to the needs of others despite your differences.

The greatest of these is love. -1 Cor 13

Love is foundational to human existence and relationships; it has the power to inspire, heal, and connect.

Disarming an enemy in this way results in a reward that hastens resolution of conflict by making it personal, assuring the other that you care beyond the conflict.

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

-Triggered without gunfire.

-Smart people know what sets them off and they know when not to shoot.

-God knows our triggers and the wisdom in not letting them control what we do when they’re pulled.

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

-Knee-jerk reactions are for children to start fights. Adulting tempers our emotional triggers and moves interactions forward in ways that promote peace and understanding.

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

-Know your own triggers before they own you.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Count on me, lean on me, depend on me. So many songs about friendship, its expectations and its cost it’s hard to imagine life without one or two good people who gladly will have your six.

Then a test comes and you discover you’re just as alone as the day you came into this world.

Heartbreaking.

What little trust you had in people is shattered in an instant.

Throughout history until very recently, the blood bonds of family were considered super glue and inescapably reliable.

As believers, we enjoy a new and literal blood bond with Jesus, a brother who has our six, three, nine, and twelve at times and places when misplaced loyalties and allegiances have burned us.

We need friends, but when the rubber meets the road, our only and truly reliable advocate is the one who came through for us and gave his life to save ours.

My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.

Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭7‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Tethered to the commands and teachings of God, we create an inanimate bond and relationship to life itself.

Inseparably, wisdom and insight are prized like members of your family for whom you would gladly die.

There’s a compelling reason king Solomon chose wisdom over riches when presented the choice.

Holding intangible virtues trumps all the world’s riches as a guide through the complex decisions of life.

If it was an easy path we wouldn’t need to hold so tightly against the temptations of the world that otherwise so easily snare us.

Be different.

Lead from virtues.

Model an inseparable connection to the holiness of God and watch others follow.

It’s what people need, want, and seek most of all.

There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:

haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The seventh is a summary of the other six, emphasizing the cumulative destructive impact to a community of the previous six.

Health and vitality for a group of believers is deconstructed piecemeal by individual sins.

Keeping your own nose clean is a service to yourself but moreover it’s a service to all those who share your space.

Your sin works double-duty for the devil who won’t stop at just tearing you down but relishes the thought of it bringing down the entire house.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭6‬:‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Where did the weekend go ?

More certificates of laziness and procrastination are redeemed in two days than in the other five combined

Here, Proverbs encouages us to be diligent and proactive in the affairs of our lives.

Most in the US are just one or two paychecks away from homelessness.The imagery of poverty coming “like a thief” suggests that neglecting responsibilities can lead to sudden and unexpected consequences.

Hard work and vigilance balanced with healthy amounts of R&R keeps us from falling into financial or personal hardship.

The message is timeless, urging us to opt for taking action rather than succumbing to the temptation of idleness.

We all want the same thing in our 9 to 5.

An employer who is honest and above reproach:

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

An employer ready and willing to protect and defend our company mission:

The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭145‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

An employer who knows his stuff and is compassionate and decisive:

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Someone we can trust, who can build a team, purposefully united around a mission:

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

They say employees don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses.

You’re in great company when you work for Jesus, the creator of your purpose and mission.

He’s now hiring.

Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭144‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As parents, our greatest desire above all others is for the success of our children.

When they are launched into this crazy world on their own, youthful and independent, our desire is that they will have gleaned from us all the healthy ingredients sufficient to fuel their own goals and futures.

Very few of us parents can honestly claim to have attained this goal. We remember all our mistakes, our bad examples, and our utter and complete failures.

And we forget that the best learning comes from failing.

The best teaching comes from humility.

The best example comes from experiencing a bad one.

Our children are smart enough to take the good things they need and to leave behind what doesn’t promote their goals or futures.

Raise a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it—Proverbs 22:6

Not necessarily when they’re young, but when they are old. They may rebel as youth, but they will come around to their roots later.

Our kids can distinguish between what were our intentions and our mistakes in teaching them along the way.

Have faith in God to fulfill his purposes for your kids, but don’t lose hope in his timeline to do so.

The OG know-it-all.

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s hard to imagine someone who knows every dark corner of your life, yet still loves you.

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Someone with x-ray vision into your past, present, and future.

When we were just kids, we were amazed how often mom or dad were omniscient like psychics, knowing us better than we knew ourselves.

Parents ourselves, we totally understand the responsibility we have to magically anticipate, protect, and be smarter than a fifth grader for our kids, all because we love them so much.

If you know exactly what I’m talking about, you know exactly how God feels about us.

You matter to God even more than you can imagine.