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Proverbs 14:18

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁸ Simpletons are clothed with foolishness,^[a]
but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

My Thoughts:

Proverbs uses descriptive nouns like fool, idiot and simpleton in reference to people who live their lives recklessly. These words are actually synonyms and they all lead to the same end: failure in life. Today’s proverb chooses to use the word, Simpleton. A simpleton is an ignorant, foolish or silly person whose personal calling in life is jesting. There is nothing wrong with jesting as long as it is kept in its proper place. Life needs a balance that can only be acquired by those who are prudent.  There is an old saying: “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” That is a true statement. It means that without time off from work, a person’s life becomes dull and boring.There must be a mix of both play and work. To live life in any other way leads to frustration.

The prudent make good choices in life and  as a reward for their diligence in pursuing the best path for them is knowledge. There are some who are born simple and some that acquire the trait because they have ignored education and guidance. The proverb says they are clothed with foolishness. That is: what we see when we are looking at them: foolishness. Simpletons have not chosen a career. They have not pursued and education. They have made bad choices in marriage and bad choices in most of their endeavors. All we see from the outside is foolishness. The simpleton has his priorities upside down. He is more concerned with play than with work. On the other hand the prudent has acquired education from public institutions and well as from mentorship. He is well versed in many areas of life and is continuously growing in knowledge.

Can one who has given his life to becoming the best simpleton that he could be change his ways. The answer to that question is yes. It may be harder depending upon how deep he has dug his path. The first step would be a change of mind and a determination to turn his life around. He would have to change his entire personality. The good part is that it is possible no matter how hard it seems.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:17

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁷ Short-tempered people do foolish things,
and schemers are hated.

My Thoughts:

Wow! I never knew there was a proverb that addressed those who are short-tempered. My family has been characterized for at least 3 generations as having short-tempers. It has never been looked at as a family negative, it was simply factual. Now I understand that there is a curse associated with a short-temper and it should be dealt with as such.

The result of a short-temper is foolishness. I remember when I yielded to my inbred tendency to get mad quickly. I would lose all awareness of what was right and wrong and my only aim was to hurt the person who had hurt me. Some people retaliate by speaking harsher words and as the tension of the moment escalate. It was that way with me. I would get so mad. The best thing for me to do would be to leave the presence of the person that I was confronted by. Early on in my life, I couldn’t control myself at all. I would say anything and do almost anything to satisfy my ferocious temper. As I got older and evaluated how I must have appeared, I began to try to find a getting off point. I guess the button is still in me to totally “lose it” however, I do not allow myself to get to that point. At the first sign of adversity, I normally exit. The Bible does say that I am to stay away from every appearance of evil (1 Thess. 5:22) . If I would stay in the presence of the person who confronted me, I will say or do something that would cause me to become a spectacle. I have found at that most of the time when there is a confrontation, there is a miscommunication between one person’s words and the other person’s hearing. There is a breakdown in communications. In my case, the best thing I can do is take myself out of the scene and stay out until I have a chance to calm down. This saves me from saying words that I will regret later. Relationships are worth more than a heated battle of words over something foolish.

The proverb also speaks of schemers. I had to give this one some thought. I think this person is a short-tempered person gone to seed. This person has come to the point to planning some type of vengeance against his perpetrator. I would think that this is a person who is even capable of murder in extreme cases. I guess anyone who would yield to his temper in this manner would be capable of malicious acts of retaliation if he would allow himself to continue in that state of anger. The key is not to get to that point. Treat anger as an enemy and don’t succumb to it at any level.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:16

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ The wise are cautious^[a] and avoid danger;
fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence.

My Thoughts:

It is a good thing to know the road where one is headed. There are a few ways to know a road that has not been traveled. You could ask someone who has traveled that road and got to their destination successfully or you could study a map made from a satellite view. I would put lots more trust in asking guidance from someone who has traveled the road and has reached the destination that I am traveling to successfully. I also believe the latter is the best way to prepare for a journey. The journey could be to a town that is twenty miles away or it could be to a life’s destination. If I want advise on a career path that I have chosen, it would make a lots of sense to me to get direction from someone who has reached that destination and has proven that his success. people are full of worthless information and most people think they know a lot about everything when actually they know little about nothing.

When I wanted to become a computer programmer I sought advice from those that I knew that were successful in the career. That is something else: how do I value success. Success in a career says to me that that person is able to earn a living at whatever it is. The test of success is: Is someone willing to pay you for doing what you do? If the answer to that question is not  “Yes”, then I question the success of the venture. Like I said, I sought out people who had been successful at real estate and began to track them. I found a mentor named Matthew. Matthew has brought me a long way based upon what he has accomplished in real estate during his career. He is my mentor.

When I meet young people whose whole quest in life is sports,  I am sorry for them. The reason why I feel sorry for them is that there are very few who are successful at making a living at football or basketball or any of the other professional sports. There must be a reality check somewhere but where? One of my grandchildren desires to be a professional football player and for now that is his foremost focus. He has an under developed area of interest and that is music. He loves music but trying to get him to practice either of his instruments is a battle. Wow and not to mention the basic courses that are needed to just function in life.

I desire wisdom in choosing pathways. According to the proverb, it takes caution to avoid danger. The fool rush forward driven by a false confidence. The problem is that their confidence leads to destruction. They find that at the end of their road is death and the worst part is: it is death without accomplishment.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:15

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁵ Only simpletons believe everything they’re told!
The prudent carefully consider their steps.

My Thoughts:

A prudent person always chooses the most beneficial pathway for their daily lives. They will carefully consider every step that they make. They will scrutinize to make sure that there will be benefit coming out of it. It is exhausting to take oneself on a pathway that turns out to be non-productive or counter-productive.

I received some information that led me to believe that I needed to contact a bunch of people announcing something that is of upmost importance to me. I felt that if I could contact these people it would prove beneficial for my business in a long run. There was a bit of apprehension in making a decision to pursue these celebrities because there was a good chance that however I would attempt to contact them, the possibility would be great that they would never receive my correspondence. The only address that I had for the group was their agency and since they are all celebrities, the chances of the correspondence landing in their hands were slim. In spite of the apprehension I decided to reach out to this bunch of people with snail mail. I decided that snail mail would have a greater chance of winding up in their hands than email. I decided that these days they would surely be getting more emails than they could shake a stick at so snail mail seemed to be the way to go. I made a decision to send this large group of people a colorful post card. There are about a hundred members of this group; most of them celebrities. Unfortunately I do not know the outcome of this shout out because the cards have not reached their destination. The point that I am making is that this was a carefully thought out plan and not just a simpleton venture. Even if I fail to make the connection with this celebrated group, I am satisfied with the decision that I made to pursue them.

A prudent person will counsel with wise people before venturing out. Sometimes other people can see what you can’t and the council will help ensure a good decision. Only a simpleton would believe everything that they hear according to the proverb, so each bit of advice has to be scrutinized. Once we are sure that we are headed in the best direction, we can step out in confidence knowing that we have made a good decision. Whether the venture fails or succeeds, we are satisfied that we made the right decision.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:14

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁴ Backsliders get what they deserve;
good people receive their reward.

My Thoughts:

A backslider is someone who has made advances in some areas of their life; then for whatever reason has relapsed into some undesirable activities. An example of a backslider is someone who has quit smoking and because of some trigger has picked the nasty habit up again. He has regressed into an area where he had tried to conquer. When speaking of backsliding, it is in the attaining something that I believe is good and then reverting back to where I came from. I have great strides toward organization and do attain some success at it, but when I have lots of work I regress to disorganization. That is something that I really desire to attain: organization. When I try to organize things, I get disorientated. Disorganization wastes time for me because I lose things and then I have to spend time either recreating them or seeking for them.

I believe this proverb is speaking of someone who has attained some strides in goodness by personal definition. Apparently they were people in need of help. It must have been that they gained progress as a “good person”. That I think, would be someone who has a genuine concern about other people;  someone who tries to be of some service to their fellow man in a positive way. The nature of this person in his bad state could have been selfishness or greediness. This one has learned that it is better to be a team player and concerned about others and deeply desires to be that person. Something has triggered this person to backslide into his true nature of selfishness or greediness. There is always a trigger that causes someone to regress. In taking that thought, it would seem that the easiest way to transition permanently to this good person is to find the trigger that causes one to backslide and get rid of it. In the case of a smoker, the trigger might be going to a bar or just being around people that smoke. So that person would have to stay away from that atmosphere in order to keep from backsliding. As for me and my desire to be an organized person,  I need to seek out the trigger that causes me to revert to my old habits. I have noticed that even as far as emails are concerned, I don’t delete them because I think I might need them later so I wind up getting kicked off the server because I am hogging too much space. When I look back at emails that I have kept, it is a lot of junk. I am sure that the same trigger exists for me to take me back to a life of disorganization in other areas. This proverb has given me something to work on. I will work on finding the trigger that causes me to regress to disorganization.

I want to advance to the second part of this proverb: “Good people receive their reward”. Good  can be defined by the one who has not backslidden. If I can find the trigger that causes me to revert back to disorganization then I will become that organized person that I desire to be. For me to reach that goal in this example would define me as a good person.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:13

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ Laughter can conceal a heavy heart,
but when the laughter ends, the grief remains

My Thoughts:

I am forced to evaluate my view point on grief today because of the words of today’s proverb. I don’t believe in what some call normal grieving. I believe that any grieving is negative energy and given time will destroy a person. I don’t believe that you should ignore a sad occasion; I’m just saying I think we need to deal with these losses in a positive way. If grief tries to attach to me I always find something that will pull me out of it. This has been my practice for years. I am not trying to fool myself. There is an old saying: “I’m laughing instead of crying” and I see that being portrayed in this proverb. Just sitting around laughing will not cure grief, it will only mask it.  However, Time will heal all wounds so if given time, hurt will heal. I’m not trying to conceal hurt; I’m just dealing with it with a positive action. When I have had loses that were dear to my heart, I refused to wallow in grief. I find ways to console myself. The grieving process may work for some but if it does, I don’t see how. Maybe one chooses a time that that period will end but the more you wallow in grief the deeper it will go until it penetrates your entire being.

I am not a psychologist, so all of this is strictly my opinion. It is not exactly all opinion. I am also looking closely at the proverb. The proverb simply says that laughing can conceal a heavy heart. I’m not looking to conceal it. I’m looking to deal with it in a positive way. I will never lock myself in a room for days crying and looking at pictures of deceased loved ones. I will remember the good times and smile about them often. When I feel that I am going to go into depression, I will get up and get my mind on something positive. Just taking a walk helps. I am not only talking about the loss of deceased loved ones but any loss that may cause grief. Maybe grief might come as the results of a loss job. If it were a loss job what would I do? Well I would get up and get another one. If there were not any available, I would make one. This I know about because I have walked it out. That is how I became a full time real estate agent.

I guess everybody handles grief differently. As for me I will never buddy up to it. I have seen people who have done that and have become a statistic themselves. I will deal with grief according to my own convictions. I will fight it like the enemy that it is. I will not mask it with laughter because then it is still there. To exchange laughter for grief would be exchanging one emotion for another. It has just been concealed. I will work it off with a positive action, not emotion. Eventually time will heal grief.  I will still miss my loved one if that is the reason that the grief came but I will not make myself sick grieving over their death. That will not bring them back and will disallow me to live my life to the fullest. I will remember my loved ones in positive ways and move forward with my life.

As always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:12

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹² There is a path before each person that seems right,
but it ends in death.

My Thoughts:

I can picture myself lost and standing at the fork in a road wondering which path to take. In this case, I do not know where either path leads. I cannot stay in the place where I am because there is no daily provisions so I must choose either the path that goes to my left or the one that goes off to my right side. The left path looks plush and prosperous and that seems to be the way that I should go. The right path appears not so plush. At the beginning of the right path it even looks barren. As I look down that path I do not see the plushness that I and see in the path to the left. The only way that I can know what is at the end of either path is to ask someone who has been down the paths or at least has known someone who has been down both paths. I must seek good counsel and the council must come from someone who knows the right way. Of course, I could just go down the paths to see what is on the other end but what if it is hundreds of miles long and I lose my way back? Or maybe the path has grown up behind me and I cannot get back. I don’t think I will take a chance on my own. I must have the guidance of someone who knows the way.

Teenagers are the worse at not following the advice of someone who has gone down the path that they are approaching. I was the same as a teenager. It seems that those years that a life is shaped so every obstacle is there to deter the teen ager from the right path. It is the crossroad that leads to adulthood and is influenced by many distractions that could prove fatal. We as parents and grandparents have forgotten that we once stood at that crossroad in life so we lose patience with our teens. There was someone there for me to influence and coax me down the right path but I did not listen. I went off in the direction of the fool. Thank God, I did not get too far down that road before something called grace reached out and reeled me back in. I am so sorry for those days that I spent wondering on the wrong road. To me, that is motivation to help the young people around me to choose the right pathway in life. If they go off on the wrong road I will not leave them but will continually help them until they do as I did and realize that the road that they are on is the wrong road. When the discovery is made, I will be right there to help them find their way back and get onto the right path. I will be totally transparent and let them see what consequences I suffered because I ventured down the forbidden path.

Everyone needs the help of a person who has the wisdom to know the right paths to take. Sometimes people have traveled the wrong road themselves but in other instances some have taken wise advice and avoided the wrong road.  Whatever the case, I believe this Proverb is here to warn that there are two or even more paths to take. We must take care to take the time to choose the right one.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

Proverbs 14:11

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the godly will flourish.

My Thoughts:

I wonder if this proverb is speaking literally of houses and tents. It appears to be metaphor. The Message Bible states it this way: “Lives of careless wrongdoing are tumbledown shacks;
holy living builds soaring cathedrals.”

Since I live in Florida where there are hurricanes, I am more than remotely aware of how houses are built. I would rather live in a block house than one that is made of wood. There are lots of houses that have been around a long time that are built of wood. There are also many trailer and manufactured homes that have withstood the hurricanes and tornadoes. I know that they exist but I don’t want to live in one. I feel more secure in a home that is made of brick. If the home that I lived in was made of wood, I would be concerned about termites. If I lived in a manufactured or mobile home I would be concerned about high winds. I would leave home every time there was threat of a storm.

If this whole house thing in this parable is symbolic of life itself, I have to give it more thought. No matter what the house of the wicked is made of, it will be destroyed. The reason for the destruction has to be because of its lack of foundation. A life that is filled with hate and maliciousness cannot survive. You know, some people are just mean and hateful. They never think of others. They always survive only for themselves. They are cheaters and liars. These may be the people that are called wicked. Their lives are destroyed because of this wickedness. No matter how prosperous they are, they can never be happy. On the other hand those who lead their lives in recognition of the rights of others and devote themselves to a living God will flourish even if they live in a tent. I like that concept. Nobody wants to live in a tent but a family is made of happiness and that happiness causes them to flourish even in a tent.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

www.gloriagibsonrealtor.com

Proverbs 14:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ Each heart knows its own bitterness,
and no one else can fully share its joy

My Thoughts:

I always knew that when people ask how you are doing, it is just a greeting. No one would want you to stop and tell them about your troubles. They don’t want to hear about your joy either. Each person has joys and sorrows of their own and do not really want to share in that of another person. Once I tried this out. I began to talk about some challenges that I was being faced with. I don’t really remember what the person that I was sharing with said. I do know that the focus was soon changed to them. I think it is even unconscious. People center up on themselves. I don’t necessarily believe that it is jealousy or selfishness, it is just humanity. There is enough drama going on in our own lives. We don’t really want to take on someone else’s life challenges. People may be sympathetic but that is not extensive. They each recognize the fact that there is nothing that they can do about your situation so they dismiss it as soon as possible.

It is a likewise situation when one has great joy maybe because of an accomplishment. He will share that with a friend. The friend is happy for you but he cannot fully share in that joy because it did not effect a situation in his life. I don’t think a person can effectively share in someone else’s joy or sorry unless he is a partaker. I believe the answer is to become a partaker in everyone else grief and to become a partaker in everyone else’s joy. Of course I don’t mean literally everyone. I mean our friends and family for a start. The question then becomes how can we genuinely come to share these emotions with those that we love? I don’t have an answer but I do have a solution that works for me. First of all, take time to rejoice with those who are happy. If there is grief, I share that grief to the point that I do everything that I can to raise the spirit of the one that is grieving. It’s all a matter of slowing down and taking time to listen. I find that when I really listen, I can share what the other person is feeling. That sharing is called empathy and it must be worked at.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson

www.gloriagibsonrealtor.com

Proverbs 14:9

The Message (MSG)

⁹ The stupid ridicule right and wrong,
but a moral life is a favored life.

My Thoughts:

The word stupid has a number one definition according to Dictionary.com. That definition is: lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull. It’s a wonder that I have gone my whole life without a working definition of the word stupid. I don’t think I have ever looked it up until today. The definition is not consistent with the definition that has been in my head all of my life. My definition would be very close to the definition for fool. Calling someone who is stupid a fool would definitely be a misnomer in my opinion.  In years past I would have aligned fool with stupid but today I see that the stupid person gets a lot more sympathy. He just plain can’t wrap his mind around some things. I think a fool could wrap his mind around some things if he applied himself. In my opinion foolishness is a choice but stupidity is inevitable. The stupid one is born stupid

The proverb says the stupid ridicule right and wrong. He does that because he has no idea of the repercussions that come from either. He ridicules because he doesn’t have the capacity to look at the after effects of neither right nor wrong. He is unable to make good choices because he cannot think things through. He makes fun of people who live their lives in a way that is respectable and righteous. He also ridicules people who live recklessly with disregard to right. He does this because he is a dim-wit. I don’t think he is a fool.

Regardless of the ridicule coming from a dim-wit; the proverb lets us know that a moral life is a favored life. I favor a live of peace and harmony over a life disgrace and turmoil. I favor a moral life, a life where I am in good standing with the people that I have interactions with. My choice is a life filled with love for other people; loving through action as well as word.

As Always,

Gloria Gibson