22220.001 How to Recognize A Fool

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile. (Psalm 53:1) Upon hearing circus magnate P. T. Barnum’s famous quote, “There’s a sucker born every minute,” someone asked, “If so, where did all the rest of them come from?” As societies stray from honoring God and …

22220.002 Adultery: One “A” You Don’t Want to Earn

For the lips of an adulteress [adulterer] drip honey, and her [his] speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she [he] is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword…For the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread and the adulteress preys on your very life. (Proverbs 5:3–4, 6:26) A story going …

22220.003 Anger: The Nuclear Emotion…with Huge Fallout

Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city. (Proverbs 16:32) For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife. (Proverbs 30:33) Fred (not his real name) was a professional associate in Christian service …

22220.004 Lying: The Self-Made Trap

Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment. (Proverbs 12:19) A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. (Proverbs 21:6) “Inhale. Lie. Exhale. Lie.” This was the title of a front-page article by David Shaw in the Los Angeles Times about the chronic lying …

22220.005 Gossip: The Hidden Dagger

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts. (Proverbs 18:8) A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. (Proverbs 16:28) It was the perfect setup—described in Judges 3. Ehud gets permission to have an audience with Eglon, King of Moab, on a …

22220.006 Reproof: A Building Block for Character

The corrections of discipline are the way of life. (Proverbs 6:23) A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool. (Proverbs 17:10) My godly father had a slogan on the wall of his den that said, “It’s better to give someone a piece of your heart than a piece of …