Tag: Godly character

Scholar writing notes beside books and a globe in a historic library

Many for the Price of One

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“I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech. I possess good advice and sound wisdom; I have understanding and strength. It is by me that kings reign and rulers enact just law; by me, princes lead, as do nobles and all righteous judges. I love those who love me, and those who search for me find me.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

One of the ways businesses try to increase their bottom line is by selling things in sets. Product B is good, but it really only works at its maximum potential if you also have Product A with it. Of course, if you purchase Product A, Products C, D, and E will also work better. Product A is the thing that ties them all together and completes the set. Wisdom and its fruits are like that. The fruits are all good, but if you try to acquire them independently of wisdom, they won’t work as well. Let’s talk about this as Solomon tells us about some of wisdom’s accompaniments.

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Morning Musings: Proverbs 25:6-7

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“Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.”  (ESV)

We live in the day of the self-made, internet-created celebrity.  YouTube has been the source of numerous stars today.  So have Instagram and Snapchat.  To become such a person you must promote yourself.  Relentlessly.  You must be constantly on the lookout for opportunities to get other people to pay attention to you.  And, if you have the right blend of talent, gumption, and luck, you can make a lot of money this way.

And yet, what is ultimately the fruit of such an endeavor?  Given the stories about or often the character of such folks, it’s not good.  We live in a celebrity-worshiping culture.  We are constantly on the lookout for people to elevate to celebrity status in order to give them our devotion.  In doing so, we not only debase our own lives, but also the lives of the people being worshiped.

Still, many recognize this celebrity worship and crave it.  They crave it and so they do whatever they can to gain it for themselves.  Yet again, what good does this do?  Wisdom and observation would again answer: Very little.

What Solomon calls for here is a much better way: Do your best where you are and let it be recognized naturally.  Let your godly character be the thing everyone notices about you first and foremost.  Become known as a person who can be depended upon when things get tough.  Produce work that lifts people up and points away from you to God.

If you are advancing yourself and your image, you just may get the acclaim you seek, but there is a very good chance it will come at the expense of your soul.  And with that sold away, when the acclaim departs (for self-sought acclaim nearly always departs much sooner than we expect it to) what will you have left?  Instead, glorify God in all things and let the chips fall where they may.  He will receive the acclaim now, and you will receive acclaim from Him when the time is right.  That will be a fame that won’t fade.