Creating a habit is challenging.
I want to spend time with God every day.
Practically, that means spending time reading the Bible, meditating on the words, and praying to God. This typically takes me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I wish I could do more, but at this season of my life (working 11 hour days, married, 1 toddler, and 1 infant) its not easy.
I wanted to spend time with God yesterday, but due to getting off of work late and not rescheduling my trip with my wife to Costco in Korea. Costco in Korea is always stressful. In order to decrease the stress, the best time to go is the magic time between dinner and people who come after dinner at 6pm.
Our trip was successful until we left. I made my wife angry five times in a row in a 10 minute span. That’s a record.
To me that is proof that there are little demons around and they interfere with our lives. The little demons’ goal is to destroy. Destroy my relationship with God, destroy my relationship with my wife, and destroy me.
Whenever I try to change a habit that is healthy for me. An obstacle comes up.
Typically I am weak willed in this area and I actively look for a “reasonable” excuse to stop.
I am successful in not following through. I am an expert quitter.
I will break that cycle and get up.
I missed my time with God yesterday, but today will be different.
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Proactivity in action. I would feel guilty and rush through both Proverbs 13 and 14, but I don’t have the time to get deep enough with one book. I’ve decided to come back to Proverbs 13 another time and go straight into todays’ reading in Proverbs 14.
Here are my thoughts:
1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
I want to be wise. Wise people create and build things.
2 Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly,
but those who despise him are devious in their ways.
Fear God and walk upright.
3 A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride,
but the lips of the wise protect them.
The wise speak humbly. Need to work on this.
4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty,
but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.
Not sure what this scripture means. Need to look this up in a commentary.
5 An honest witness does not deceive,
but a false witness pours out lies.
Honest people tell the truth. Liars lie all the time. Something I learned the hard way.
6 The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none,
but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
The discerning knows where knowledge is.
7 Stay away from a fool,
for you will not find knowledge on their lips.
Stay away from foolishness.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
but the folly of fools is deception.
The wise think, plan, and strategically live. Working on this one.
9 Fools mock at making amends for sin,
but goodwill is found among the upright.
Need to study this scripture. What does goodwill mean in this context?
10 Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can share its joy.
Need to study this scripture. Not sure what the actionable item here is.
11 The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.
Flexible and upright people will flourish. People who are wicked and inflexible people will be destroyed.
12 There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.
Need to study this scripture.
13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,
and rejoicing may end in grief.
Need to study this scripture.
14 The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways,
and the good rewarded for theirs.
The faithful will be rewarded.
15 The simple believe anything,
but the prudent give thought to their steps.
I’m learning to be prudent. Still have a ways to go.
16 The wise fear the Lord and shun evil,
but a fool is hotheaded and yet feels secure.
The wise fear God and stay away from evil.
17 A quick-tempered person does foolish things,
and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.
Easily angered people do foolish things. People who do evil are hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
The prudent are crowned with knowledge. This belongs in an email signature.
19 Evildoers will bow down in the presence of the good,
and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
Evildoers will get their consequences some day.
20 The poor are shunned even by their neighbors,
but the rich have many friends.
Rich people have many friends.
21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor,
but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.
You will be blessed if you are kind to the needy.
22 Do not those who plot evil go astray?
But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.
Plan good and find love and faithfulness.
23 All hard work brings a profit,
but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Hard work brings profit. Need to study the Hebrew for “Hard” for this context. I think smart work brings profit.
24 The wealth of the wise is their crown,
but the folly of fools yields folly.
Wise people have wealth for crowns.
25 A truthful witness saves lives,
but a false witness is deceitful.
Truth saves lives.
26 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
and for their children it will be a refuge.
Fear God and the blessings will also go to your children.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
turning a person from the snares of death.
Fearing God is the provides life.
28 A large population is a king’s glory,
but without subjects a prince is ruined.
Large population is a king’s glory. In modern terms, have a lot of fans and that’s your glory.
29 Whoever is patient has great understanding,
but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.
If you are understanding you have patience. This is something I need to work on a lot. Perhaps I will focus on this one for a while.
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
Peace gives life.
31 Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,
but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Be kind to the needy and honor God.
32 When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down,
but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
Through calamity the righteous seek refuge in God.
33 Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning
and even among fools she lets herself be known.
Need to study this one.
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin condemns any people.
Righteousness exalts your tribe.
35 A king delights in a wise servant,
but a shameful servant arouses his fury.
Have wise friends and employees.
For rest of the month of August 2013. I will work on being more understanding the direct fruit being a more patience person. With my daughters, my wife, and my coworkers.
