50 DAYS OF WISDOM - DAY 33 "Wisdom as a Daily Investment: Proverbs 16:1-15
SALT WATER
Normal Spring Morning this time of year here in San Clemente. These are my buddies I surf with most mornings as the sun comes up
CLEAN WATER
Curtis Hunnicutt is a genius and I am stoked to see how we develop our clean water partnerships in the future
LIVING WATER
One of the best human beings I know - Joey Tellez. We have known each other for 30 years. He and his wife have a church in their backyard and now a network of house churches called “Connection House”
Today I want to talk to you about Proverbs chapter 16 "Wisdom as a Daily Investment"
We're just accumulating wisdom as we go through this very deep, meaningful work written by Solomon to help an everyday common person get some practical wisdom for their life. This book is very helpful. Verse 1 says, To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue. So we plan a lot of things, which is good. It shows initiative. It shows ambition. But really, the wise person understands that it's our job to put forth our best plan and our best effort. And then you totally yield the results to God. I've seen many people be disappointed with life, with ministry, with their family when they try to control outcomes. Well, friend, you don't get to control outcomes in life. You do get to control your effort, the best plan you can possibly put together. And then you release it to God. And when they go your way, you rejoice. When they don't, you learn. That's life. Let's look at verse 2. It says,
All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Boy, that's true. We love to think that our plan is the best plan. Well, God digs a little deeper. God can see things for how they really are. And the Bible says that the heart is deceitful and wicked above all things. And who can know it? Well, knowing God helps us to have a pure heart. So that's an incentive for us to know the Lord more so that he can purify our motives.
Verse 3 says commit to the Lord whatever you do and he will establish your plans. This has been one of my favorites since I was a teenager. You always want to say, God, whatever you want to do in my life, in my family, in my friendships, in my work, my business, this project that I have, I commit it all to you and I give it all to you. That's our job again. Our job is to focus our effort and our energy in the best possible way. We release the outcomes to God.
Verse 4 says the Lord works out everything to its proper end, even the wicked for a day of disaster. Wow. We're really getting taken to task here in Chapter 16 about outcomes and about how things end up. You know, the Bible teaches that God even uses wicked people for his purpose. That's one of the things that we don't totally understand all the time. I look forward to getting to heaven where I can talk to God about that idea. I don't understand that one. Next verse says the Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this. They will not go unpunished.
So the Bible actually says in James, they say that God opposes the proud, but that he gives grace to the humble. So I've said this before, the quickest way to get close to God is humility. The quickest way to be used by God is humility. The quickest way to fall on your face is pride. The quickest way to fail is your own pride. So I want to make sure that when this sin through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided, life is full of both success and suffering, but you can avoid a lot of unnecessary suffering and unnecessary problems by being close to God.
Now being close to God doesn't immunize you against tragedy, against trials, against difficulties. In fact, one of the paradoxes is that some of the people that have been closest to God in their life have had the hardest times on earth. Look at Jesus. He went to the cross and he was crucified for our sins. And some of the greatest people that I've respected the most in my spiritual life have suffered the most in our time here on this planet.
So we want to avoid evil as much as possible and the mistakes that come along with it by being close to God. Look at verse 7, when the Lord takes pleasure in anyone's way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them much in the same way that God chose David and Samuel to be the king over Israel. God gave David favor with Saul who ultimately sought to snuff his life out, but God gave David favor with Saul's son, John, and Saul's daughter Michael and Saul's entire army. You know, when your heart's right with God, God will give you favor with people. Now the wise person will use that favor for godliness and humility. The prideful person will use that favor on themselves, which David actually did when he got into trouble with Bathsheba. So we want to make sure that we use any favor that God gives us to circle back to humility and to hard work.
Verse 8, better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. So we will all end up somewhere in our life. You want to make sure that you got to your final destination with integrity and humility. A lot of people lose that along the way. Verse 9, in their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. So we need to put together a plan, we need to put together a roadmap, but literally your physical steps are ordered from God. And that's where life gets really exciting is when you start to understand that that person that you ran into at the store or school or work, as you thought you were walking one way, literally like your physical steps, God was directing you to have a conversation with someone or pray with someone. That's very, very comforting to know that God is in the details.
Look at verse 10, the lips of a king speak as an oracle and his mouth does not betray justice. This is speaking of the prophetic nature of the king to determine direction and to determine vision. And we should have both of those in our lives. Look at verse 11, honest scales and balances belong to the Lord. All the weights in the bag are of his making. You know, God loves honesty and he loves truth. Truth is in the data. So my watch will tell me how far I paddled, how many waves I caught, the length of time that I was in the ocean. My Bible app will tell me how many chapters that I read each day. And if I completed them, the panels that we collect water with around the world will give us that data in real time. We want to be drawn to measurements of truth, not narrative and story. And people are obsessed with narratives and stories. And most of the time they butt up against the data that we know to be true. God loves data and he loves data that gives us the truth and the reality of what is actually happening. Even when it contradicts what we want to be true. Verse 12, kings detest wrongdoing for a throne is established through righteousness. So again, God looks for righteousness. He looks for humility and he looks for integrity. Verse 13, kings take pleasure in honest lips. They value the one who speaks what is right. So we always want to give the most accurate, truthful feedback and answer at all times.
Verse 14, a king's wrath is a messenger of death, but the wise will appease it. So God will give us wisdom to give the correct, accurate feedback. And just following up from the proverb before. And then last one for today, when a king's face brightens, it means life, his favor is like a rain cloud in spring. So people who you report to, people that you work for, God will give you favor with them as you pursue humility, integrity, righteousness and hard work.
Again, so much gold here in Proverbs. I'm so glad that you could be with me today. Until next time, I hope you have a beautiful day.