New Beginning Fellowship

Proverbs 13:20 NIV

As a member of Gen X, I remember my Mom telling me when I was young to stay away from certain other kids. She knew that they were bad news and could lead me down the wrong path. Her wisdom with those statements to me, when I was young, are spot on with today's verse. We tend to emulate who we hang around with. If the people in our circle go out and get crazy, we can tend to follow in that. King Solomon is telling us here who we should be following or keeping company with. How many times have you witnessed people self destruct because of the "fool's" they were following. Some food for thought from Solomon, should we decide to take it.

20) Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

James 1:19 NIV

Hoo Wee! Talk about being instantly convicted as soon as you read something! This verse came from the brother of Jesus, James, and hits the nail on the head. I won't even try to fake that I do this, because I can get spooled up way too fast. The solid advise here is for us to try and apply these words of wisdom in our lives, which is no easy task for many of us. Words said in anger can never be taken back, once they're in the universe, they're there to stay. There are times our pride will make us double down on things we've said, even though we know we should be apologizing and trying to deescalate the situation. It takes intentionality to apply what James is telling us. We're not always right and our pride can get in the way and make things worse, remember pride is what got lucifer thrown out of heaven. My prayer for all of us today is this, Lord please keep our mouths shut when they need to be, our ears open, and our hearts to be more like yours.

(19) My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

Ecclesiastes 9:17 NIV‬

I was in one of my apps this morning, listening to several chapter of Ecclesiastes, and this verse stuck strongly with me. There are times when we want to be heard, perhaps to assist in a problem, or smooth a trouble. When you're dealing with fools, sometimes it's better to keep our mouths shut and walk away, this is where wisdom comes into play. The older we get, the faster time seems to go, and I don't know about you, but I refuse to waste my time on fools who don't deserve something I'll never get back. There's times when we need to walk away from a situation or people, that will drag us into a position we don't need to be in. The younger you can learn and apply this, the better off your life will be. I'm not saying this to be mean or rude, but simply leave the situation or person to deal with their foolish behavior. Our time on earth is short and fleeting, use it wisely.

(17) The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.