Proverbs

Want to win favor with God? Want to enrich your marriage? Develop a heart of love and faithfulness, then let it flow through your life. At the end of the day, you will be welcomed home by God, and your children will have a godly legacy to follow. 

God is not worthy of our leftovers. We should worship him with the firstfruits—the best—of our time and money. This proverb reminds us that God blesses obedience.

To live a life that is spiritually healthy, our heavenly Father must always be at the head of the line. We must jettison our own wants and desires and live in obedience to him. True wisdom begins when we embrace both God and his instruction. Only our heavenly Father always knows best.

Many trails will be tempting, inviting, alluring, and even fun…for a while. But they are all regrettable dead-ends. Follow the Leader. He will keep you on the straight path…all the way to your final destination. 

These two qualities are the essence of a person who follows hard after Jesus. “Bind them around your neck” to guide your actions. “Write them on the tablet of your heart” to guide your inner person. Love and faithfulness must saturate our thoughts, desires, and actions. 

When our children hear and see our teaching and adopt the truth as their own, God’s success follows. The challenge with success is not the desire to be successful but the paths we take to reach the desired destination.

The sluggard has desires, but they are unwilling to put in the work to make them happen. They are too lazy to get the education, training, and experience to achieve what they want, so they look for shortcuts.

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. The sluggard is full of them. “I am overqualified.” “I am underqualified.” “That’s too challenging.” “That’s not challenging enough.” “I am waiting for the perfect job that fits my gifts and training perfectly.”

The sluggard’s failure not only leaves a sour taste in our mouths; they also paralyze our progress. Ever get a face full of smoke? You are blinded until the smoke goes away and your eyes stop burning.