Booster No. 4 – Proverbs 11:23 “The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked is wrath”.
The word ONLY is the word that resonates with me, more than any other; it speaks to me! By me accepting the gift of Salvation, the righteousness of God is placed upon me. Because I am sanctified by his precious blood, I am now righteous! The Holy Spirit therefore, empowers me to live righteously. The word ONLY is not a far-fetched “pie-in-the-sky” wish, or empty longing, and this is what captivated me about this verse. My reality is that, it is possible to have desires that are ONLY righteous, because Christ lives in me. I am still human and subject to fail, but if I remain attached to the branch (Jesus) and I am feeding on his word, I would not desire to do wrong, I would want to please God consistently.
It is assuring to know that it is possible, through the Holy Spirit, to live victoriously, in the midst of temptation, corruption, and thriving evil. You and I are human beings, but we can live up-scaled lives, that are marked by integrity, virtue and kindness.
Booster No. 5 – Proverbs 13:18 “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction; but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.”
I found myself pondering on this verse, as just a few days ago, I was given instructions that I thought was based on insufficient or incomplete information. I thought I was approached in the wrong way and my first reaction was, “why me? what do these people have against me? But then, I chose to consider what was said and examine myself. It was during that self-examination that I found this verse. It gave me a considerable “boost”, I felt determined, more than ever, to allow God to work on me.
Sometimes we may resent the way instructions are given to us, because we are misjudged, we are disrespected, and the instructions are given to us to send a message of intimidation and dislike. In times like these, when our emotions are ruffled, and we feel hurt, we should still consider the instructions. This requires less of self and more of God.
It is easier though, when instructions are given to us, out of a genuine desire to mentor us, guide us, up lift us and protect us. If you find yourself resisting instructions, whether passively or actively, whether concealed in your heart or openly expressed, stop and ask yourself “Why am I resisting?” and “What could be the possible consequence?” It would also be beneficial to ask “What is God trying to say to me?”
We got to check our attitude, our response when someone else is telling us what to do.
What I have found in life is that the more educated and knowledgeable we become, the harder it is for us to receive instructions; unless we make a special effort to be different. We need to remember that there will always be something you do not know and somebody else would know it.
Instructions from God, more than any other being, must not be ignored. Embrace instructions and ward off poverty and shame.
There is nothing wrong in receiving instructions, it does not make you lesser, weak or insignificant.
You can also read verses 23 & 25
Booster No. 6 – “A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
Another great verse, great motivator. It seems like a great responsibility though. I need to be very careful of the words that comes out of my mouth speaking only when it is worth it, when it is constructive criticism, when it is going to encourage someone to persevere, when it is going to provide comfort to a grieving family and when it is used to testify of God’s goodness and character. I just better guard my mouth.
Let’s read that verse again, meditate on it.
“A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!”
Oh Wow!! Now why wouldn’t anyone love this verse, I mean you are “set up” to win!
Don’t we all want joy, that deep satisfying feeling of contentment that saturates your entire being. That inner fulfilment that only God can provide.
This verse tells us that our joy can be disturbed by our words. Yes, it is true, sometimes we say the wrong things, sometimes we speak when we should not, sometimes we speak without thinking it through first, or we speak strictly on emotions, not objectively, considering the facts. We need to train ourselves to speak only when it is necessary, and to ensure our words are seasoned, tasty, worth hearing.
This verse certainly boosted me to speak with grace and flavour, so that I can positively influenced those I meet.
Booster No. 7 – Provers 17:6 “Children’s Children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children are their fathers.”
We can say this another way, grand children who are respectful and obedient are the pride of their grandparents. In the same way, children admire and honour their parents when they are treated with unconditional love and they see them as great examples to follow.
I love Benson’s commentary on this; “It is an honour to parents, when they are old, to leave children, an children’s children growing up, that thread in the steps of their virtues, and are likely to maintain and advance the reputation of their families and to serve their generations to the will of God.” WOW.
I am boosted to live my life, so that it would leave spiritual footprints of great value, sound exemplary character, one of deep foundations that cannot be shaken for generations to come. I must therefore live responsibly and teach my children to do the same.
Booster no. 8 – Proverbs 17:8 “A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it; withersoever it turneth, it prospereth”
Whoops! I am guilty of not doing enough with my gifts; Major Booster here! What about you? How does this apply to your life?
We are looking at gifts as “Spiritual gifts”. These are gifts given to men by God to uplift the body of Christ and by extension fellow men. No one has the same gift profile. Some bible scholars have identified the following as spiritual gifts:
Leadership, Administration, Teaching, Knowledge, Wisdom, Prophecy, Discernment, Exhortation, Shepherding, Faith, Evangelism, Apostleship, Service, Mercy, Giving and Hospitality. Whatever our gifts, they must not be looked down upon, but embrace as precious. We ought not to have a gift, and do nothing with it, as if it is useless and of no value. It should be valued similarly to the way we value precious stones and should lead you to experience a life that is full and exciting.
Booster no. 9 – Proverbs 18:9 “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.”
This verse calls you to stand at attention immediately. It is always important for us to be able to assess our performance, whether it is a personal project, a group activity requiring your contribution, or work at the office. You should be proud of your work culture.
Do you seek to do an excellent job, always or do you look for ways to cheat or to skip some important steps that would negatively affect the quality of your work? Are you usually ready to make the necessary sacrifices, or are you the kind of individual to make excuses for sloppy work. The slothful person is described as brother to him that is a waster, or a destroyer (destructive person who fails to act responsible with the resources he has).
Here are some other words we can use to describe slothful (slack, lazy or negligent).
Whatever you do, make sure you are not giving others good reason to describe you as slack, lazy or negligent. This approach to work, and to life on a whole, can lead to poverty. May this verse inspire you to do each task with sincere diligence, as unto God and not man.
Hope you enjoyed sharing my journey to Proverbs with me. I am currently in Chapter 18, looking forward to the other chapters.
These Proverb Boosters, though written by me, stirs my heart every time I read them. I feel wisdom flowing through my veins as I mediate of these great verses.
Do you have a Proverb Booster, that verse in the Book of Proverbs that just wakes you up and makes you think? I will be happy to hear about it. Would you be willing to share it with my readers?
I hope so!
