Working inside the underbelly of global media, as I did for nearly forty years in places like Hollywood and New York, I have a new appreciation for wisdom. I know this may sound harsh, but I view Hollywood as the epicenter of cultural and moral stupidity! Even self-descriptive phrases from the lips of those who …
Series Archives:
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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22220.007 Insults and Curses: Unsolicited Instruction
Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult. (Proverbs 9:7) A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. (Proverbs 12:16) As a 27-year-old college president with no little arrogance and a lot to learn, I got a lot of insulting—and often anonymous—letters. Since my godly father always taught me, “Don’t ever …
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22220.008 Listening: God’s Channel for Personal Growth
My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge. (Proverbs 5:1-2) He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. (Proverbs 15:31) People from other cultures have one devastating observation about Americans—we are lousy …
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22220.009 Scoffers and Mockers, Beware!
Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended. (Proverbs 22:10) The eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens…will be eaten by the vultures. (Proverbs 30:17) What an embarrassment it was to discover that the book of Proverbs had a …