The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Escaping oversight or even just a healthy challenge often finds the challenged grasping for too many words to defend positions often poisoned by their own lies and half-truths.

Brevity, once the plain talking cut-to-the-chase answer that broke through a clutter of excuses, is now the ugly stepchild of those who either will not take blame and accept consequences, or worse, won’t have the guts to stand for unpopular convictions.

While politics is often the stage where this acts out, we’ve all experienced this interpersonally.

All of us are sinners who at times either try to avoid God’s probing or are too meek to stand up publicly for his truths and get caught up in long-winded word salads of our own.

Let your yes be yes

and your no be no.

-Matthew 5:37

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our senior citizens are in desperate need of advocates.

I’ve spent the last dozen years and a lifetime before speaking out and speaking up for a lonely and voiceless generation to which I now belong.

Lacking money, energy, and now the basic technological skills to make their voices heard in an online world, their concerns and requests remain brushed under a rug.

They are a lost generation becoming more invisible by the day for lack of interest and enthusiasm of the now selfish generations they created.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬

One by one, they are becoming an impoverished cohort of forgotten stories and crushed voices whose equal rights are without equal representation.

God instructs us to be advocates for the needy with whom we share this earth.

If we fail, what goes around will-in time-most certainly come back around.

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.