Proverbs 10
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
Man, all I can think about is my economics and biology finals today.... but I think this will help relax me.
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v. 7 -- People who concern themselves only with making themselves great (regardless of the cost to others) will not be remembered in a positive light. Most people don't think of Napoleon as a wonderful man because he was a great military strategist (even though he was). No, most people remember Napoleon as a power-hungry dictator who tried to subject as much of the world as he could. Napoleon isn't generally viewed in a favorable light. The same thing could be said (on a lower level) about Albert Belle. The man was an incredible baseball player, but does anyone care? Nope. He's remembered as a jerk. The way you live your life from a moral perspective will determine how you are remembered.
v. 12 -- It's amazing how profound a simple nine-word sentence can be. And the truth of what it says is very revealing about human nature. Those whom we love can pretty much do whatever they want and it doesn't bother us, and, on the other hand, many perfectly innocent actions performed by those we dislike seem bad to us. We are colored by our feelings. Example: I think MercyMe is a pathetic excuse for a Christian band - not because their music is lame (even though it is) but because I think it's a horrible witness for them to promote the movie "Amadeus" on their website. Well, I know some people who really like MercyMe. But, strangely enough, it doesn't really bug me that Licia likes them.... because Licia is my friend. But it really annoys me that certain other people (who I don't particularly like) like them. And that's an unfair double standard.
v. 17 -- Many people like to consider themselves to be the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge. (I know this because I am one of those people.) But the fact of the matter is that nobody deserves such a title. I mean, there are over 6 billion people in the world, and you're bound to disagree with every single one of them on at least one point. So what are the chances, statistically speaking, that you are 100% right and everyone else is wrong? About zero. So the lesson for us is to be humble and accept the fact that people might be able to give us good advice that we would never have thought of on our own.
v. 22 -- I heard this thing about a convention of lottery winners. All these people who had won the lottery throughout the years were gathered for some big party. Well, apparently it was a very sad occasion. All these people had become suddenly rich, but it ultimately only made them sadder than the average person. I don't entirely know all the reasons this might happen, but, just as an example, there's always the issue of all your friends and acquaintances and people you said "Excuse me" to when you bumped into them in the grocery store aisle coming to you and asking for just a small piece of the 46 million dollars you just won. Well, God's blessings aren't like that. His come with no side effects. That's why following Him is such a good idea.
v. 26 -- I have so much firsthand experience with this that I have developed my own little cynical maxim: If you want something done right, you better do it yourself. It's always a test of my temper when I ask one of my brothers to please go get me something and they're never seen or heard from again. So the moral of the story is.... Don't be lazy. Do what you're supposed to do and what you say you'll do, because laziness is really annoying to everyone else.
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v. 7 -- People who concern themselves only with making themselves great (regardless of the cost to others) will not be remembered in a positive light. Most people don't think of Napoleon as a wonderful man because he was a great military strategist (even though he was). No, most people remember Napoleon as a power-hungry dictator who tried to subject as much of the world as he could. Napoleon isn't generally viewed in a favorable light. The same thing could be said (on a lower level) about Albert Belle. The man was an incredible baseball player, but does anyone care? Nope. He's remembered as a jerk. The way you live your life from a moral perspective will determine how you are remembered.
v. 12 -- It's amazing how profound a simple nine-word sentence can be. And the truth of what it says is very revealing about human nature. Those whom we love can pretty much do whatever they want and it doesn't bother us, and, on the other hand, many perfectly innocent actions performed by those we dislike seem bad to us. We are colored by our feelings. Example: I think MercyMe is a pathetic excuse for a Christian band - not because their music is lame (even though it is) but because I think it's a horrible witness for them to promote the movie "Amadeus" on their website. Well, I know some people who really like MercyMe. But, strangely enough, it doesn't really bug me that Licia likes them.... because Licia is my friend. But it really annoys me that certain other people (who I don't particularly like) like them. And that's an unfair double standard.
v. 17 -- Many people like to consider themselves to be the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge. (I know this because I am one of those people.) But the fact of the matter is that nobody deserves such a title. I mean, there are over 6 billion people in the world, and you're bound to disagree with every single one of them on at least one point. So what are the chances, statistically speaking, that you are 100% right and everyone else is wrong? About zero. So the lesson for us is to be humble and accept the fact that people might be able to give us good advice that we would never have thought of on our own.
v. 22 -- I heard this thing about a convention of lottery winners. All these people who had won the lottery throughout the years were gathered for some big party. Well, apparently it was a very sad occasion. All these people had become suddenly rich, but it ultimately only made them sadder than the average person. I don't entirely know all the reasons this might happen, but, just as an example, there's always the issue of all your friends and acquaintances and people you said "Excuse me" to when you bumped into them in the grocery store aisle coming to you and asking for just a small piece of the 46 million dollars you just won. Well, God's blessings aren't like that. His come with no side effects. That's why following Him is such a good idea.
v. 26 -- I have so much firsthand experience with this that I have developed my own little cynical maxim: If you want something done right, you better do it yourself. It's always a test of my temper when I ask one of my brothers to please go get me something and they're never seen or heard from again. So the moral of the story is.... Don't be lazy. Do what you're supposed to do and what you say you'll do, because laziness is really annoying to everyone else.