
drawing by Alexiuss
I know that my words and thoughts are no better than the word of scripture. Those are just some key point that I took for myself. By reading the following points I encourage you to go to the Bible and read the actual passages that I am talking about. In the Bible you can find real wise pieces of advice for your life. It is not just a Christian perspective. It is not just theory. It is more than that. It’s a living river of knowledge for your every day life.
1 Better to be poor and honest than a rich person no one can trust.
2 Ignorant zeal is worthless;
haste makes waste.3 People ruin their lives by their own stupidity,
so why does God always get blamed?4 Wealth attracts friends as honey draws flies,
but poor people are avoided like a plague.5 Perjury won’t go unpunished.
Would you let a liar go free?6 Lots of people flock around a generous person;
everyone’s a friend to the philanthropist.7 When you’re down on your luck, even your family avoids you—
yes, even your best friends wish you’d get lost.
If they see you coming, they look the other way—
out of sight, out of mind.8 Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor;
keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life.9 The person who tells lies gets caught;
the person who spreads rumors is ruined.10 Blockheads shouldn’t live on easy street
any more than workers should give orders to their boss.11 Smart people know how to hold their tongue;
their grandeur is to forgive and forget.12 Mean-tempered leaders are like mad dogs;
the good-natured are like fresh morning dew.13 A parent is worn to a frazzle by a stupid child;
a nagging spouse is a leaky faucet.14 House and land are handed down from parents,
but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.Proverbs 19:1-14
Jesus teaches us:
Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: “Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It’s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.
Luke 22:24-26
My pieces of advice for your life are inspired from Proverbs 16 and 17. I hope they are wise enough for you. We all try to understand the Christian perspective and to live it:
The Christian life offers a lot of opportunities. We are often put in high positions. But God does not make this happen without a purpose. Were you given a high rank? Are in a high position at work or in your community? Do you have the power that you never dreamed to have? If you do, you were not given all this just to enjoy them. You were blessed with a purpose. Great power comes with great responsibilities. What do you do when you have the opportunity to prove yourself?
7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
Esther 2:7
I want to bring to your attention the story of Esther. Actually her name is Hadassah. God made Esther the queen of the Persian Empire with a purpose. It wasn’t easy for Esther to get there. She had to endure and she was scared at first. She was taken to the king’s house into the custody. How would you feel to be kidnapped in the middle of the night of the secret service? I know that I would be at least scared.
Later it comes the opportunity for Esther to prove herself. Haman, who was higher than all the nobles (Esther 3:1), hated all the jews. Based on JewishEncyclopedia.com Haman was a descendant of the Agag, the king of the Amalekites, so he hated the jews with all his hart, and promised to exterminate them. Haman offered the king ten thousand talents of silver for permission to do with the Jews as he pleased and the king agreed.
12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:12-14
God put Esther to be the queen of the entire Persian Empire with a purpose. Of coarse if Esther didn’t agree with Mordecai, God had a back-up plan. God always is able to fulfill His plan. Look at what Esther choses to do:
15 Esther sent back her answer to Mordecai: 16“Go and get all the Jews living in Susa together. Fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, either day or night. I and my maids will fast with you. If you will do this, I’ll go to the king, even though it’s forbidden. If I die, I die.”
Esther 4:15-16
If we obey and sacrifice ourself God’s name will be praised. We are not promised that our sacrifice will be rewarded in this life. We may even die in our attempt to fulfill God’s plan for us. But what is most important is the the eternal reward. You are there, in that place, with all that people with a purpose. You are blessed with a certain purpose. Do your job as good as you can and live a happy life. But when God asks from us to sacrifice it all for Him, we should be prepared to do so.
The wise pieces of advice for your life for today, based on the Christian perspective, are from Proverbs 13:13-25:
13 Ignore the Word and suffer;
honor God’s commands and grow rich.14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
so, no more drinking from death-tainted wells!15 Sound thinking makes for gracious living,
but liars walk a rough road.16 A commonsense person lives good sense;
fools litter the country with silliness.17 Irresponsible talk makes a real mess of things,
but a reliable reporter is a healing presence.18 Refuse discipline and end up homeless;
embrace correction and live an honored life.19 Souls who follow their hearts thrive;
fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.20 Become wise by walking with the wise;
hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.21 Disaster entraps sinners,
but God-loyal people get a good life.22 A good life gets passed on to the grandchildren;
ill-gotten wealth ends up with good people.23 Banks foreclose on the farms of the poor,
or else the poor lose their shirts to crooked lawyers.24 A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;
love your children by disciplining them.25 An appetite for good brings much satisfaction,
but the belly of the wicked always wants more.Proverbs 13:13-25
- Be generous: Invest in acts of charity.
Charity yields high returns.- Don’t hoard your goods; spread them around.
Be a blessing to others.
This could be your last night.- When the clouds are full of water, it rains.
When the wind blows down a tree, it lies where it falls.- Don’t sit there watching the wind.
Do your own work.
Don’t stare at the clouds.
Get on with your life.
He who observes the wind
[and waits for all conditions to be favorable]
will not sow,
and he who regards the clouds will not reap.- Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman,
So you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.- Go to work in the morning and
stick to it until evening without watching the clock.
You never know from moment to moment how your work will turn out in the end.Before the Years Take Their Toll
- Oh, how sweet the light of day,
And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!- Even if you live a long time, don’t take a single day for granted.
Take delight in each light-filled hour,
Remembering that there will also be many dark days
And that most of what comes your way is smoke.- You who are young, make the most of your youth.
Relish your youthful vigor.
Follow the impulses of your heart.
If something looks good to you, pursue it.
But know also that not just anything goes;
You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.- Live footloose and fancy-free —
You won’t be young forever.
Youth lasts about as long as smoke.
I am busy lately, and yes I do not manage my time so that I would have time to write here on my blog. The blog moved down on my important things to do, so I do not get to write in here. Today I have been reading Ecclesiast 10. It is almost like a chapter form the Proverbs. It’s a very practical chapter:
1 Dead flies in perfume make it stink, And a little foolishness decomposes much wisdom.
2 Wise thinking leads to right living; Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.
3 Fools on the road have no sense of direction. The way they walk tells the story: “There goes the fool again!”
4 If a ruler loses his temper against you, don’t panic; A calm disposition quiets intemperate rage.
5-7 Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth, An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
- Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
- While maturity is made to take a backseat.
- I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
- While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
8 Caution: The trap you set might catch you.
Warning: Your accomplice in crime might double-cross you.9 Safety first: Quarrying stones is dangerous.
Be alert: Felling trees is hazardous.
OR: Whoever removes [landmark] stones or hews out [new ones with similar intent] will be hurt with them, and he who fells trees will be endangered by them.10 Remember: The duller the ax the harder the work;
Use your head: The more brains, the less muscle.11 If the snake bites before it’s been charmed, what’s the point in then sending for the charmer?
12-13 The words of a wise person are gracious. The talk of a fool self-destructs — he starts out talking nonsense and ends up spouting insanity and evil.
14 Fools talk way too much, chattering stuff they know nothing about.
15 A decent day’s work so fatigues fools that they can’t find their way back to town.
16-17 Unlucky the land whose king is a young pup, and whose princes party all night.
Lucky the land whose king is mature, where the princes behave themselves and don’t drink themselves silly.18 A shiftless man lives in a tumbledown shack;
A lazy woman ends up with a leaky roof.19 Laughter and bread go together,
And wine gives sparkle to life—
But it’s money that makes the world go around.20 Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath,
And don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home.
Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around.
Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.
Ecclesiast 10
If you like Romanian, here is my key points from what I understood and took for me:
The Bible is full of advices and hints of how to have a good life. Indeed what matters most is what comes after this life. Nevertheless, God is interested of how we fell about living this life.
This morning God talked to me by Psalm 125:
Those who trust in God are like Zion Mountain: Nothing can move it, a rock-solid mountain you can always depend on. Mountains encircle Jerusalem, and God encircles his people - always has and always will.
The fist of the wicked will never violate.
What is due the righteous, provoking wrongful violence.
Be good to your good people, God, to those whose hearts are right!
God will round up the backsliders, corral them with the incorrigibles.
Peace over Israel!
What I understand is that:
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