Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 491 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Do Your Planning - Proverbs 24:17-34

Thank you for joining me for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. Today is Day 491 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday. Every Wednesday along life’s trails we dig for the nuggets of wisdom that are found within the book of Proverbs. Today we will explore the 2nd half of chapter 24.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. On the day this podcast is released, Paula and I will be heading to Arizona to work with our partners on our construction projects in Mesa. Phase I of the project is winding down, and we are starting to plan Phase II. The beginning of the next phase is dependent on sales of the units that are currently built, so the actual start date is not known for sure. Since our company is the general contractor and not the actual developer, we do have some other projects that may fill the gap between the two phases.

Planning is so important in projects large and small, and King Solomon was considered one of the greatest builders of all time. He addresses this in the passage that we are exploring today when he tells us in verse 27…

Do your planning.

Let’s start our trek with verses 17 and 18...

17 Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall;

don’t be happy when they stumble.

18 For the Lord will be displeased with you

and will turn his anger away from them.

Our natural tendencies are to rejoice or gloat when something bad happens to those that have hurt us or are against us. We should do the opposite, though. We should love them, help them, and pray for them. God may be taking them through a time of testing to bring them to Him. If we rejoice and gloat, God will be displeased with our actions, and turn His trials away from them.

19 Don’t fret because of evildoers;

don’t envy the wicked.

20 For evil people have no future;

the light of the wicked will be snuffed out.

It is so easy to get caught up in the lifestyle and habits of those who desire to do evil. We may even become attracted to it. We should not be fooled. Those who practice evil have no hope because their hope and faith is based on falsehood.

21 My child, fear the Lord and the king.

Don’t associate with rebels,

22     for disaster will hit them suddenly.

Who knows what punishment will come

from the Lord and the king?

God has control of the leaders of every country. He allows certain leaders to be in power and others to be disposed. We should not rise up with those who rebel against the God permitted authorities. This is especially true in free countries where we have the opportunity to vote and even participate in the process. If we do associate with those who rebel, we should not be surprised if we also suffer the consequences of our actions.

23 Here are some further sayings of the wise:

It is wrong to show favoritism when passing judgment.

24 A judge who says to the wicked, “You are innocent,”

will be cursed by many people and denounced by the nations.

25 But it will go well for those who convict the guilty;

rich blessings will be showered on them.

Injustice in any setting is disliked by God. This is especially true when it happens in a legal system. God is justice, and we are created in His image so justice should also be very important to us. Justice should be important to us in all situations. When we take justice seriously and practice it, then we will be blessed in many ways throughout our lives.

26 An honest answer

is like a kiss of friendship.

As we have referred to previously,