Thirty Sayings of the Wise: Further Sayings

For many of you who follow my blog, you know that I have been doing a mini series about the Thirty Sayings of the Wise. So far I have done saying numbers 8, 26, and 21. Those three are some of my favorite sayings in this section. I could do all the sayings, but that might get repetitive after awhile, but I encourage you on your own time to read all thirty.

Today I am wrapping up this mini series, but I’m stepping away from the thirty sayings to the section of further sayings of the wise. There is one verse that just sticks out to me, and I wanted to talk about it. The verse is Proverbs 24:26, and it goes, “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” I love the simile that is used here. I know that most teenage girls dream about their first kiss, or any kiss to be honest. We want it to be perfect, and we can’t wait until it happens. Here the kiss that we all want is being compared to honesty. Honesty is just as good as every kiss that you may get.

Now some people out there might be skeptical, especially when the truth hurts. When you think about it though, wouldn’t you rather know the truth, then find out the lie from a friend that isn’t even involved in the situation. For example, if your boyfriend cheated on you, wouldn’t you like to find this information out from him, than from a friend who may be exaggerating a bit. You would rather find out from him, then your friend. Honesty may hurt sometimes, but it is better than the other options.

God wants us to be honest, with him, people, and ourselves. One of the Ten Commandments is not to lie. This is really important to God, and most of us have a bad habit of lying constantly. We now know that the truth is a big deal, but most of us can’t just start telling the truth. We first need to recognize that fact that we lie, and then slowly we can start to change our lying habit.  This will take some time, and you need God’s help, but it can be done. So take some time today to start changing your lying habit.

Dear Heavenly Father

I know that lying is like a second language to me. Thanks for you salvation and forgiveness of every lie that I tell. I need your help though so I can change this habit. I know that this is going to be long process, but I am willing to go through this to become more like you. I know that the truth is important, for honesty is like a kiss on the lips, and I know that it may hurt some people, but I want to start telling the truth more. Thanks for your forgiveness for every time I mess up. Amen.

Thirty Sayings Of The Wise-Saying 21

I don't know how many of you are an architect, (or want to be one) but I think we all know the basics of building a house. First, you need a solid foundation, then you need the actual structure and then you need to decorate it and make it yours. Today's saying is about how we are to build our spiritual house. Saying 21 goes, "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures." This verse is pretty straight forward when it describes what you need to build a house: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. But I want to break down what exactly is these three components.

Wisdom-Wisdom is your foundation. For us our wisdom is knowing that we are all sinners, that we all mess up and fall short of the glory of God, and how Jesus came down to earth and lived a perfect life to die for our sins. That is the wisdom you need to build your foundation. Your foundation is the gospel.

Understanding-Understanding God's love for you, and how constant God is builds the walls and roof of the house. God is constant, never changing, and when we understand that, then our walls become constant and unchanging. Just like your actual home is to keep you safe and protected and loved, your spiritual home has these characteristics built right into the walls, because those are traits of God.

Knowledge- Know this is where the fun part begins. Any Christian has the wisdom of God, and they have the understanding in the walls, but what separates you from everyone else, is the knowledge that you put inside you spiritual home. If you have little knowledge of what actually is in the Bible, than you house will be bare. But if you have lots of knowledge of what is in the Bible, than you house fills up. Your bed can be built on the knowledge that David beat Goliath and the hope that God can use anyone to do something big. Your kitchen can be built of the parables that Jesus told in the gospels. We can see that knowledge is an important thing to have, because it is what makes your house a home, and it turns Christianity into having a relationship with God.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your wisdom, understanding and knowledge. I pray that you can help me build a strong foundation of wisdom, with sturdy walls with understanding, and a house full of nice things built of knowledge. You laid it out so plain right here, and know that I know what I need, help to work towards building a better house everyday, especially when it comes to decorating the inside with knowledge. Amen

Thirty Sayings of the Wise-Saying 26

Many of us love the taste of honey. It is sweet and delicious, and we love to add it to everything. We add it to tea, to desserts, and even our sandwiches. (maybe that is just me) The Bible makes a simile between honey and wisdom. Saying 26 goes, "Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future and a hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off." We all need wisdom in our lives to grow, whether it is school wisdom like math and English, or religious wisdom found in reading your Bible. Wisdom is sweet and it can be applied to everything, just like honey. English is found in math when you have to explain your reasoning, and history can be found in the study of physics. The knowledge that we find can be applied to any part of our lives. It could be in competition in sport, or in the pop quiz you are taking in school, or when you are sitting with friends at your lunch table. This wisdom that you find will also give you a hope for the future. When you learn more about God and his character, then you begin to see the love God has for you and that he will never leave or forsake you. God is your comfort, your support and your strength. Wisdom is an important ingredient to have, just like honey, so don't skip out on the opportunities you have to gain wisdom.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the wisdom that you give freely. Help me to ask for the wisdom, so that I may grow closer to you and your love. I also pray that you help me reflect the wisdom that I have learned back onto the world so that others may be able to grow closer to you. Amen.

Thirty Sayings of the Wise-Saying #8

If you have read Proverbs, you would find that in the middle of Proverbs there is a section "Thirty Sayings of the Wise." These start at Proverbs 22:17 and go through Proverbs 24:22. I have read all thirty sayings and they are really good, and I encourage you to take some time to read them for yourself. I have chosen a couple that I connected to and ones that I thought would make a good post. Today, I chose to talk about saying #8 which goes,

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

do not trust your own cleverness. 

cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,

for they will surely sprout wings 

and fly off to the sky like an eagle"

I chose this one because I feel like we all struggle with this. We think that if we work hard enough than we can get all the money that we want, or if we buy enough lottery tickets, than eventually we will win. Riches could also be how smart you are, or how popular you are among you friends. These riches will fade away faster than you achieved them. They are just temporary things of this world.
I love this saying, because it describe how the riches will "fly off to the sky like an eagle." That imagery is amazing to think about. Below I have a picture that I drew of the riches, in this case,the dollar, euro, and yen, flying away from us. When you think about it, money doesn't choose who it would rather stay with. The money as no attachment to one person, so it can easily be gone in a flash. 

Money is not the thing that we should worry about, that is God's job. He is able to give you everything you need, and that includes your finances. We may go through some hard times with money, but we go through hard times in other parts in our lives, and God still takes care of us and gives us our needs. We need to be focusing on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and there are many ways to do that in which no money is needed. Just going up to someone who is by themselves, and just start making conversation is a free way to share God's love and Jesus Christ. Sure you could donate money, or items that you buy, but that is not the only way to make a difference. There are many ways to make a difference in just our schools that doesn't take a lot of money.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please help me Lord to not fall in love with money. I trust you to take care of my finances, whether it is how I am going to pay for college, or how I am going to donate to help out someone else. Thank you Lord for the money I do have, and help me to use it for your glory Lord. Amen.