Proverbs 1:32

For the waywardness of the simpletons will kill them, and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.

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“It’s the first of the month… Wake up, wake up, wake up Cash your checks and come up!”

And all my Old School Heads out there are smiling, nodding along like, “If you know, you know.”

Do you remember the first time you heard Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? They didn’t just give us one of the most iconic hooks in hip hop — they challenged the whole hip hop scene of their day, innovated the game, became Pop Icons, and kept it Gangsta the whole time.

I gotta keep it buck — I really didn’t like Bone Thugs when I first heard them. I remember jokingly calling it “Speedy Gonzalez rap!”  you know,

And I'm gonna miss all my babies, And I'm gonna miss all my babies, you know?

I was like, what is this? They were too different. I was too stuck on what hip hop was. But they came in and redefined what hip hop could be. It took me some time to learn to appreciate their melodic, rapid-fire, unapologetically raw style. But now when I hear their music, it takes me back to a place of reminiscence. Where I was invited to evolve or get left behind.

Proverbs 1:32 instructs us about this principle in a different way:

“For the waywardness of the simpletons will kill them, and the careless ease of fools will destroy them.”

Let that marinate: Have you ever been stuck on an old habit, a tired technique, or an outdated rhythm of life — only to realize the “new new” exposed your complacency?

Now I used Bone Thugs-N-Harmony as my example but this shows up everywhere.

* A business that refuses to innovate and suddenly becomes irrelevant (ask Blockbuster).

* A believer who only lives off yesterday’s revelation, never seeking fresh wisdom (ask the Pharisees).

* Or—how many of y’all refuse to upgrade your phone because you’re used to the old one, and every time they force an update, you feel like you need a whole degree just to use the camera again!

Well, here’s the point: a culture of complacency doesn’t just shrug at progress —  it literally fights it every step of the way mocking it.  You hear the inner voices:

“Who do you think you are?” “Oh you ain’t better than the rest of us.” “Why you trying so hard?”“ It don’t take all of that!”

 Do you hear that? That’s the sound of simple-mindedness trying to recruit you back into mediocrity. And if you listen long enough, repetition becomes habit, habit becomes trait, and trait becomes a flaw so deep you barely notice it’s destroying you.

That’s what Proverbs is warning about. Waywardness — that casual wandering from the path — that eventually kills. Careless ease doesn’t feel dangerous in the moment, but it breeds destruction in the long run.

So what’s the good news? If “careless ease destroys,” then intentional care restores.

That means caring enough to grind when it’s easier to coast. Caring enough to grow when it’s easier to settle. Caring enough to do the hard work of rewiring your habits so they form your future instead of fracturing it.

Think back to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. They were melodic enough for the mainstream but real enough for the streets. And they weren’t universally embraced — a lot of people criticized their freshness when they came on the scene. But they endured. And decades later, their sound is still instantly recognizable. Why? Because they didn’t remain complacent. They got up every day like it was the “1st of the month.” They cashed their checks and came up.

Proverbs is handing us the same wake-up call today: don’t drift, don’t sleep, don’t settle. Stay awake to your calling.

🙏🏽 Prayer

Lord, wake me from complacency and guide me toward purpose.

💡 Today’s Challenge:

Choose one small habit you’ve been avoiding (like updating your resume, reaching out to someone you’ve lost touch with, or finally fixing that thing around the house). Do it today — and mark it done before bedtime.

About the Author

Fred Lynch is a creative communicator, author, and Christian Hip Hop pioneer. To learn more about Fred and what he’s up to now…click here or you can find him in all the socials by searching the handle: heyfredlynch

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Be Wise and Be Well...peace.

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