Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay

December 29 — Proverbs 29: Clearing the Fog

When life turns foggy, the danger isn’t the road—it’s trusting your instincts instead of God’s direction.

Proverbs 29:18 (MSG) gives us a powerful picture of what happens when our spiritual visibility drops: “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed.”

Fog doesn’t mean the journey is over. Fog doesn’t mean God changed the direction. Fog simply means slow down, listen closer, and trust the instruments more than your instincts. In leadership — and in life — the fog often comes in the form of fatigue, frustration, pride, distraction, or even success. Yes… success can fog our vision too. The glare of our own accomplishments can blind us to God’s next instruction. In today’s episode, I share that pilots don’t fly through fog by feeling their way forward. They trust their instruments. They tune into the control tower. They follow the voice that sees what they cannot.

That’s God’s GPS —God’s Perfect System for Purpose.

It keeps us calibrated when visibility fades. And here’s an “Ernie-ism” that frames it: “If our message and mission map is fuzzy to the team, it’s foggy to our customers.”

Clarity begins with leadership — including spiritual leadership. When your message is clear, people move with confidence. When your communication is clean, confusion fades. When your heart is aligned with God’s direction, blessing follows. Fog is not failure. Fog is a signal:

Slow down. Listen up. Realign.

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“Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.”—Proverbs 26:4–5 (NIV)

Few passages in Proverbs sound more contradictory than this one. In one verse, Solomon says, “Don’t answer a fool.” In the very next, he says, “Do answer a fool.” At first glance, it appears to be sending mixed signals. But that tension is the lesson. In leadership, as in life, wisdom isn’t about having the correct answer every time; it’s about knowing when to answer and how to respond. There’s a kind of noise in today’s marketplace that didn’t exist in Solomon’s day. It lives in comment sections, meeting rooms, and social media feeds. The good news is that everyone has a microphone. The bad news is that everyone has a microphone. Everyone has an opinion. And not all opinions deserve our engagement. The “fool” in this proverb isn’t a person with low intelligence; it’s a person with limited understanding. A fool refuses correction, elevates ego over truth, and argues to win, not to learn.

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A special message from me to you.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Have you ever chased something… only to watch it vanish the moment you caught it?

That’s what wealth does when it becomes the goal, not the byproduct.

Today, our focus is Proverbs 23:4-5 because it’s the 23rd day of the month.

Welcome to Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie™ — where a Proverb a day keeps stinking thinking away.

Today, I am sharing from chapter 23 of Marketplace Proverbs Vol 1: A Sales Navigator’s Compass to Customer Success Mastery by your truly and my friend Jon Kluiter.

Here is a link in the show note to download the e-book free, no gotcha, no clickbait, no data mining. Just free, our gift to you for listening, with a prayer, it helps you add greater significance to your customers. ⁠GUMROAD⁠

“Give up trying so hard to get rich. Your money flies away before you know it. Just like an eagle suddenly taking off.”—Proverbs 23:4–5 CEV

Power isn’t About How Loud we speak—It’s about how well we restrain it

In business, people often mistake meekness for weakness. But in God’s economy, meekness is one of the most powerful leadership traits we can have, because it’s power under control. Today, our focus is on Proverbs 22:4 because it’s the 22nd day of the month.

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” — Proverbs 22:4 ESV

Proverbs 22:4 — Meekness Is Power

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” — Proverbs 22:4 ESV

This verse links three truths: humility, reverence for God, and reward. In the marketplace, that path doesn’t run through ego or self-promotion—it runs through meekness.

But meekness is often misunderstood. It’s not passive. It’s not a pushover mentality. Biblical meekness is strength—your ability, authority, and confidence—submitted to God’s control. It’s the choice to lead with grace, even under pressure.

And I’ll be honest with you—there have been times I’ve failed at this.

Haste makes mistakes.—Proverbs 19:2

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, we often confuse movement with momentum. But quick decisions made under pressure often come with long-term consequences.

In this episode, I share the biblical story of King Saul’s hasty choice, how it relates to modern leadership, and the marketplace lesson it taught me the hard way.

Here’s the big idea:

✅ Speed can win a moment. Patience wins the mission.

🎧 Listen now and recalibrate your GPS before making your next big decision.

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“When your relationships start sounding fuzzy, it’s not the source that moved — it’s the connection that weakened. Proverbs 18 reminds us: Wisdom flows where we keep the line clean.”

In today’s episode, we discuss the concept of keeping static out of our relationship with God and His other children, those we serve.

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What if I told you that happiness isn’t just a feeling—it’s a competitive advantage?

It can open doors, build trust, and keep you energized in ways talent alone never will.

Today, I’ll tell you why I believe happiness belongs on your business scoreboard.

Welcome to Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie™ — where a Proverb a day keeps stinking thinking away.

I’m Ernie Lansford, here to help you connect biblical wisdom to everyday marketplace decisions so you can build relationships that outlast any transaction.

Here, we bring timeless biblical truth into the marketplace, where influence is real, choices are constant, and relationships matter more than results.

So grab your coffee, tea, latte, soda, or water… and let’s get started.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones—(Proverbs 17:22)

“Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”—(Philippians 4:8)

Today, we discuss changing traditional KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to Key Partnership Indicators.

Thanks for listening to Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie! This podcast is public, so feel free to share it.

“The path of lazy people is overgrown with briers; the diligent walk down a smooth road.” Proverbs 15:19 NKJV

Diligence isn’t hustle—it’s holy stewardship. It clears the clutter, opens doors, and builds trust in ways laziness never could.

In today’s episode of Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie™, we look at the power of follow-up, the parable of the talents, and why setting calendar appointments might be the most spiritual thing you do today.