Proverbs 17

Good Morning Everyone,

Happy St. Patricks day everyone!!! While I don't necessarily understand or celebrate St. Patricks Day I did always enjoy pinching people for not wearing green. I want to say a very special thank you to Chris Peters for giving us a wonderful devotional thought last night he always does a great job of making us think. Let's take a look at Proverbs 17.

Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17:4

⁴ A wicked man listens to evil lips;
a liar pays attention to a malicious tongue.

It seems that a lot of the time we place a lot of blame on people who are gossipers and who stir up trouble and rightly so. What we don't do a lot of is talk about the listeners. Did you ever stop to think that people wouldn't say things to stir up trouble if people wouldn't listen? Let's try to be people who don't say things to stir up trouble and let's make sure that we aren't listening to people trying to stir up trouble.

Proverbs 17:6

⁶ Children’s children are a crown to the aged,

and parents are the pride of their children.

My parents have six grandchildren who all happen to be granddaughters. To say that they are proud of these six beautiful little girls would be a huge understatement. Most Wednesdays my Mom comes over and stays with Emma and it is an absolute joy to see her face light up when she sees Emma. I chose to speak about this verse to show you how wise Solomon really was. Even so long ago he knew that grandchildren would bring joy to their grandparents.

Proverbs 17:22

²² A cheerful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

I've sat at the bedside of people drawing their last few breaths and left the room feeling uplifted because they had cheerful hearts. I always try to tell people to not allow situations to define them but for them to define the situation. That may sound confusing but here is what it means. In your life you are going to face many challenging situations if you make the decision that you are always going to glorify God and have a cheerful heart then those situations will not define you, rather, you will define the situation by your attitude. Let's choose today to define the situations. Enjoy the journey.

Be Strong and Courageous,

Paul