David Jeremiah - Fools Rush In
Solomon had a great insight into political jokes. He no doubt hired a few of them in his day and he'd actually played the fool himself on more than one occasion. As you know, he's looking back over his life now in this book which is sort of a journal of his existence and he's evaluating life under the sun. Basically, talking about what life is like when there is no God in the picture. And as we come to this section here in the 10th chapter, we need to remember that Solomon has written what we call the Wisdom Literature; Wisdom Literature being the Proverbs and the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. In the Wisdom Literature are ideas and thoughts. We should not be surprised that Solomon, as he nears the end of his journal, takes just one little section of the journal to go back once again to the theme of wisdom and foolishness. He wants us to understand the difference between being wise and being foolish.
In fact, if you count them as I did, the word for folly or foolishness is found nine times in the 10th chapter. Solomon is going to tell us once again that there are two ways to live life. There's the way of wisdom and there's the way of foolishness. And as we look around us today in the world which is beamed into our home by television, we see the evidences of those two different lifestyles: the wise way to live and the foolish way to live. It seems like we have far more illustrations of foolish living than we do of wise living. Solomon wants us to understand that you can make a choice. And Ecclesiastes 10 is like a slice out of the book of Proverbs. The teacher king raps out one short proverb or wise saying, one after another, and in this chapter he's gonna warn us about foolishness in four areas of our lives. He's gonna talk with us about foolishness in little things, and foolishness in leadership, foolishness in the labor pool, and foolishness in our language.
Let's talk for a moment about foolishness in little things. Notice what Solomon says in verses 1 through 3. This doesn't sound like it should be read in church on Sunday morning but it's in the Bible so here we go: "Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor". Now, back in chapter 7, Solomon had used the illustration of perfume, and if you remember when we were studying chapter 7 in the 1st verse he said, "A good name is better than precious ointment or precious perfume". Now he returns to that picture again and he was going to make a very important point for all of us to notice. He says that if a dead fly gets into a perfume box, it can spoil the perfume and putrefy it.
That's a good illustration, and notice what he says in the text. He said in the same way, a little bit of foolishness in somebody's life can destroy the perfume of their life. It can destroy their dignity and their reputation. Did you know that this is the place where we get the expression, "A fly in the ointment"? Have you ever heard that? People are, like, "Well, there's a fly in the ointment". It comes right out of Ecclesiastes 10:1. Now, Solomon wants us to understand that foolishness in our lives doesn't have to be some big huge mistake that we make, but we can be foolish in little things. In fact, it's interesting how little things can come along and ruin everything that a person has lived for. You don't have to make a big mistake, you just have to make a little one. You don't have to do anything huge to mess up your life, just do some little thing and look what happens. We don't know what happened in the perfume box.
Perhaps somebody forgot to put the top back on before they went to bed at night, and while the top was off during the night, a fly got in there and got down in the ointment and died. The next thing you know, you open the box for perfume and you go, "Whoa, what is that"? It isn't anything you thought it was going to be. Well, throughout the Bible, there are little vignettes of warning about taking care of the little things in life that can ruin you. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 5:6 we read that, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump". Have you ever seen that? And you who are into baking, you know it doesn't take very much yeast to have a great impact upon the dough. Just a little bit and it leavens the whole amount.
In Song of Solomon chapter 2 and verse 15, it says: "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines". That comes out of an agricultural, but it says, you know what, you don't have to have a big fox to ruin a grape vineyard. Just a little fox can ruin the vine. And James chapter 3 tells us that, "Even so the tongue is a little member and it boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles"! What is he saying? And we all know this here in Southern California, don't we? One little spark out of control, man, and you got a mess. Acres and acres of property destroyed. Solomon is saying that you don't want to take the little things for granted. Little things can make a lot of difference. And he says be careful that you don't assume that one little thing's not gonna make any difference.
Do you ever hear anybody say, "Well, you know, it's not that big deal, just a little thing". Just the wrong kind of a relationship, the wrong kind of a conversation with somebody who's not your spouse. "Just was no big deal, just a little thing". And oftentimes, when they get to the other end of it and there's destruction, they say, "Well, you know, it was just no big deal, man. It was just a little thing". But sometimes, little things can reap great rewards in the wrong way. And Solomon says, "Just like a little bit of a fly in a bottle of a perfume can spoil the perfume, so a little foolishness in a man's life or in a woman's life can ruin their life. Only takes one little foolish mistake.
Now, look back in chapter 9: "Wisdom is better than weapons of war," now watch this, "but one little sinner destroys much good". It's not only one little thing, but one little person. Do you know, one person can do a lot of damage in a group. Did you know that? One person can cause a lot of trouble. Little things do have an impact. It only takes, listen to me again, one little foolish mistake or one thoughtless slip of the tongue to destroy a career. We ought to get up every day and say, "Lord God, give me wisdom today not to do some foolish little thing that could undercut all that you've been doing in my life". Solomon warns us against the power of little things, and he says, "A little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor". And then he makes this comment and those of you who are, how many people here today are left-handed? Let me see your left hand, all right, we got a few.
Now, you're gonna think I'm picking on you right here, and I want you to know I'm not. I'm just reporting what Solomon said. Here's what he says in chapter 10. He said, "A wise man's heart is at his right hand, but a fool's heart is at his left". Now, what he's saying is, and you have to go back into the culture. In the culture of Solomon, a person's right hand was perceived as the place of power, and his left hand was perceived as a place of weakness. It was just part of the culture. Has nothing to do with being left-handed. He's saying that it's possible for you to do something little and, when you do something little, fall into foolishness.
Warren Wiersbe points out in one of his commentaries that the word "sinister" comes from the Latin word that means on the left hand. So he's talking about the fact that, in that culture, a person who does something little can make a big mess out of his life. The foolishness of little things. It's sort of like the story that's so popular, the children's story, called "The Emperor's New Clothes". Do you remember that story? In the story, a ruler is roaming around naked because someone has told him that he is clothed.
What got the emperor into such a mess? Well, just one little thing. He believed the two strangers who came to town declaring that they could make clothes that were made of stuff which had the peculiar property of becoming invisible to every person who was unfit for the office that he held or who was exceptionally stupid. And the emperor believed him and, for a period of time, walked around without any clothes on until a kid said, "Hey, you've got no clothes on". All he did was he just listened to somebody tell him something that wasn't true, one little thing. I have a feeling, if this were a true story, that might have messed up his life pretty good, don't you think? Well, foolishness in little things. We have to move on.
Let's notice in verses 4 through 7 and then again in verses 16 through 19 foolishness in leadership. Solomon goes now to the next part of his discussion and he talks about how easy it is for foolishness to get into leadership and perhaps this is a message for me and for all of us who are in places of leadership or anybody who aspires to leadership or who is involved in business. First of all, in verse 4 he talks about the ego-driven leader. The ego-driven leader, notice. He says, "If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses". Now, let me just tell you that here is a picture of a leader who thinks he's arrived. And he shouts and screams at everybody who's around him. And there are people around him wanna serve him and all he does is abuse them because he's now the leader. The foolishness in the heart of a proud leader causes him to think that he's above everybody else and that, for some reason, he has the right to oppress them with cruel language.
Woodrow Wilson once wrote that, "Every man who takes office in Washington either grows or swells". He said, "When I give a man an office, I watch him carefully to see whether or not he's swelling or growing". Proverbs 16:32 says: "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit is better than he that takes a city". Proverbs 25:28 says: "Whoever has no rule over his spirit is like a city broken down, without walls". Solomon says that sometimes there can get into leadership foolishness, this ego-driven guy who thinks he's something and he just runs roughshod over everybody. Now he gives us a little counsel about what we should do when we get up against somebody like that. Some of you are kind of shaking your heads back there 'cause you work for this guy I'm talking about right here.
Here's what Solomon says. He says, "Conciliation pacifies great offenses". Basically, he's saying, "Don't panic. Don't quit your job, don't leave your post". In other words, hang in there and deal with the person, but deal with them according to the Scripture. Proverbs 16:14 says: "As messengers of death is the king's wrath, but a wise man will appease it". Proverbs 25:15 says: "By long forbearance a ruler is persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks a bone". "And a soft answer turns away wrath but a harsh word stirs up anger," Proverbs 15:1. Solomon says, "Sometimes you get into a situation at work and you got this tyrant, ego-driven leader and he's running roughshod over everybody. Don't quit, don't panic. Follow the Scripture. Soft answer turns away wrath. Deal with him according to the Word of God.
You'd be surprised what would happen if you ever try that. What is your response usually when something like that happens? You get angry, you get mad, you try to figure out a way. Did you ever make speeches to yourself? C'mon, now, do you? You get in your car on the way home from work. Do you ever give a speech to the guy on the way home? Oh, his ears would be scorched if he was sitting next to you. And some of my greatest speeches have been in my car with the windows up and the radio going and nobody there. Have you ever done that? Solomon says, "Man, you could do that if you want to, but the best thing you can do is just be soft in your response and try to figure out how you can help me understand that what he's doing is wrong".
An ego-driven leader. Then he goes on and he goes to the other extreme and he says, "Sometimes, foolishness falls into ego-driven leaders and sometimes it falls into easy-going leaders," verses 5 through 7. He said, "There's an evil I've seen under the sun, as an error proceeding from the ruler: Folly is set in great dignity, while the rich sit in a lowly place. I have seen servants on horses, while princes walk on the ground like servants". Here is another folly according to Solomon: an easy-going leader who puts unqualified people in office while he ignores those who should be leading under him. Perhaps he does what he does because he's so insecure and he doesn't want anybody to threaten him, so he puts in all these people who shouldn't be in leadership.
They're riding the horses while the people who are leaders are walking around like servants. Really qualified people are placed where they cannot possibly be challenged or encouraged while the servants are given the positions of honor, and you know that there is no way that can ever work. Ultimately, it will fall into disrepute and defeat. So we got the ego-driven leader and we got the easy-going leader. Now, here's one that's really interesting in this passage. The engineered leader. Verses 16 and 17, watch this: "Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, and your princes feast in the morning! Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, and your princes feast at the proper time for strength and not for drunkenness"!
Now let me just kinda unpack all that for you so that you can get the nuance of what Solomon is saying. He's talking about the kind of leaders that sometimes get into office. They are not experienced leaders. They are put in office by the help of their friends. Their leadership is orchestrated, arranged, or negotiated. They don't have a clue what they're doing, and consequently, they don't do anything. In the morning when they should be caring for the matters of state and government, they're already feasting and drinking and the implication is they party all day long. They are not deserving of leadership and office. And Solomon says, "Woe to you when your king is childish, when your leader's like a little kid, when he's immature".
Boy, do we ever suffer from that in lots of places around the world today, immature leaders who don't have a clue what they're doing and they just use the office as a place for self-entertainment. Well, let me go on to the last one. The ego-driven leader, the easy-going leader, the engineered leader, and the last guy is the evil leader. He doesn't have anything good you can say about him at all 'cause he's just plain out lazy. "Because of laziness the building decays, and through the idleness of hands the house leaks. A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything". Here's a guy sitting at home with a bottle of beer in his hand, watching television. He's supposed to be doing work, taking care of things. The house is falling down, nothing's going on right. He's not doing his job, he's just a plain old lazy bum.
Yet, he's in a position where he's supposed to have leadership and Solomon says, "He has no excuses. He's just an evil man who cares nothing about his responsibilities. Through his laziness, his leadership is dissipated and his kingdom is destroyed". Solomon, in the book of Proverbs, has a lot to say about laziness. Have you ever studied that? Well, Solomon has given us a little kind of a closing chapter here on wisdom and foolishness and he says, "Sometimes you can be foolish in little things and it can have a great impact". Now he's gonna talk about another area, and we'll cover this real quickly in verses 8 through 10, and that's foolishness in labor. He says, "You can be foolish when you go to work". Notice verses 8 through 10, and remember this is written in the time of Solomon. "He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits wood may be endangered by it. If the axe is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success".
Now this is not really an easy section to interpret but most scholars agree that Solomon is pointing out the things that can happen in the workplace when laborers are foolish. When you go to work and you don't put your head on, you can get into trouble. You can make a lot of dumb mistakes. He says, "There are five illustrations I want you to think about. Here's a laborer who's digging a pit, and because he is not careful and wise, he falls into the hole that he is digging". Look at the rest of these. A laborer is breaking through a section of a wall, and 'cause he's not careful and wise he forgets that snakes love to live in the cold caverns of walls, and when he reaches into the wall he just breached, he gets bitten by a snake. That wasn't too smart. That was pretty dumb.
Here's a laborer who's quarrying stones in the stone quarry, and because he's not wise and careful, one of the stones he's quarrying falls on him and he gets hurt. Here's a guy who's splitting wood, and 'cause he's not careful, a piece of wood apparently flies off the block he's splitting, maybe hits him in the head and cuts his head open or maybe hits his wife who's watching him cut wood. Who knows? And then he says, at kind of at the end, he says it's important when you go to work to be wise. Does everybody understand that? Especially if you're a Christian and you're going into the workplace today, you better pray every day, "Lord God, give me wisdom as I go to work today". "Oh," you say, "Pastor, my job's so routine I", Oh, yes, you do. You need wisdom.
Solomon says, "It's foolish for a laborer to cut wood with a dull axe. And because of that, he has to work twice as hard". Do you see that passage? If he were wise, he'd take some time off to sharpen his axe and he would save himself a lot of time and energy. In other words, he's working harder and he should be working smarter. Isn't it hard sometimes when you're working hard to do the thing that you're supposed to do, to realize that in order for you to really be effective, you need some time away to sharpen your tools? I have to do that sometimes. I have to get away and sharpen my tools so that I don't have to work so hard to do what God has called me to do.
Solomon is just saying, "All right, now listen to me, class". He says, "Before I get into my last little section of this book, I wanna just run by some important things. Don't be foolish in the little things because they can really have a big impact on your life. Don't get involved in leadership and be foolish in leadership. And don't get foolish in labor 'cause you can get hurt and make a big mess". Now he concludes with probably the most important point of the chapter. Because I've observed in studying the Wisdom Literature that wherever you have discussion about foolishness and a fool, it's almost always in the context of the use of his tongue, his mouth. So Solomon's gonna talk now about foolishness in language. And, oh, how easy it is for us to be foolish in our language.
A deacon was briefed beforehand on what his role would be in an upcoming missionary banquet, and he was told to be sensitive to the fact that there would be guests in this banquet from foreign countries, and that those who were there would not be accustomed to the English language or the American culture. During the banquet, the deacon found himself seated next to an African man who was hungrily devouring his chicken. Trying to think of some way to communicate with the man, the deacon leaned over and said, "Chomp, chomp, chomp, good, huh"? And the man gazing back at the deacon simply replied, "Mmm, good".
A few minutes later as the African man savored a delicious cup of coffee, the deacon leaned over and commented, "Clugg, clugg, clugg, good, huh"? And the man, a little uncertain, replied, "Mmm, good". To the deacon's dismay, when the speaker for the evening was announced, it happened to be the African man next to him. The gentleman got up and he delivered a flawless message in Oxford-accented English. Upon concluding, the speaker headed straight for the deacon whose face was red with embarrassment, and the speaker simply said, "Blab, blab, blab, good, huh"? Does that remind you of the most embarrassing thing you ever said or did? Well, Solomon says if there's one place where you can really see foolishness, it's in the way you use your tongue.
Now, go with me through this passage and notice the things that he's gonna tell us. And we'll do this real quickly. There's five ways your tongue can betray you and demonstrate that you're a foolish person. Verse 11, the untamed tongue. He says, "A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; the babbler is no different". Interesting, this is coming out of the context of Solomon's day when they had snake charmers, and the charmer would have a little flute or something and it was quite interesting. They would charm the snake and the snake would sit up, but Solomon says here the serpent can bite you while you're getting ready to charm it, and he's saying the babbler's no different. While you're getting ready to control your tongue, it gets out of hand and it does you in.
The word "charmer" literally means a master of the tongue, and Solomon's saying watch that tongue of yours. Don't speak before you think. Solomon's already told us in chapter 3 there's a time to speak and there's a time to be silent. So, I guess the babbler didn't know the silence part. Did you ever know that there's a time you wanna say something, but in your heart you know Almighty God by his Holy Spirit is saying to you, "Jeremiah, just keep your big mouth shut. Don't say anything, and whatever you do, don't be a babbler 'cause you might get hurt in the process". So, an untamed tongue is a foolish tongue. Notice, secondly, an unkind tongue, verse 12: "The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up". A wise man's words will be gracious, but a foolish man's words will destroy others and they will eventually destroy him.
Proverbs 10:32 says: "The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked what is perverse". Proverbs 13:3 says: "He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction". Proverbs 21:23 says: "Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles". You know what, we have no idea really, do we, how much trouble our tongues get us into. James says you can bridle a horse and you can rudder a ship a whole lot easier than you can control your tongue.
How many of you have ever been in a situation where you walked away from the situation and you're biting your tongue 'cause you know you said the wrong thing, you said it in the wrong way, you said it to the wrong person at the wrong time? Oh, how much foolishness comes out of our language. An untamed tongue and an unkind tongue, now an unwise tongue, verse 13: "The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, and end with raving madness". Have you ever been around a person like this? This describes somebody you probably know who talks for the sake of talking. They don't have anything to say, they just have to say something. And their speech doesn't even make sense half the time. They just go on and on and on, and they drive you crazy.
Have you ever been in a car with somebody and you're driving down the road and everything you pass, they comment on it? "Oh, a stop sign. Oh, a McDonald's". "Oh, please keep quiet". You ever been around a person like that? I hope none of you have been in my car and done that to me but, I mean, that's just the way it is. Some people just open their mouths and they have to talk and it doesn't make any sense. They start out foolish, and it says it gets worse. They come into craziness. And then there's the undisciplined tongue, verse 14a. He says, "A fool multiplies his words". A fool is full of words without realizing that he is saying nothing.
Roxane Lulofs labels an undisciplined talker as "HARM," H-A-R-M. Hit-And-Run Mouth. Ever known anybody like that? And she describes in her book that, "A person who is a 'hit-and-run mouth,' for whatever reason, feels compelled to tell you just what he thinks of you and your actions, regardless of how well he knows you. His desire is to be heard without hearing, to be known without knowing. He doesn't care about getting his facts straight, he wants attention". He's a hit-and-run mouth. I have, over the years, collected epitaphs. I have some wonderful epitaphs that have been a blessing to me over the years. "Here lies the body of old man Pease, buried 'neath the flowers and trees. But Pease ain't here, just the pod. Pease shelled out and went to God". Isn't that a good one?
Well, here's one that fits right here. "Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, lies Arabella Young, who on the 24th of May began to hold her tongue". Boy, that's got a long fuse on it, doesn't it? I mean, oh, and that's the only way some people will ever stop talking, isn't it? So there's an untamed tongue and an unkind tongue and an unwise tongue and an undisciplined tongue. And let's look at verses 14 and 15, an unreasonable tongue. He says, "No man knows what is to be; who can tell him what will be after him? The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city"! Now, watch this. Proverbs 27:1 says: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you don't know what a day brings forth".
Here, he's talking about somebody who's always talking about all the stuff they're gonna do in the future and how the future's gonna be played out and all of that. And you know, I went back through the book of Ecclesiastes, if you have your Bibles open, turn back to the 3rd chapter and the 22nd verse and notice that Solomon has kind of hit on this subject a little bit before. In verse 22 of chapter 3 he says, "So I perceived that nothing is better than a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage". Now, watch this: "For who can bring him to see what's gonna happen after him"? You can't know the future.
Notice chapter 6 and verse 12. Just turn over to the 12th verse of chapter 6: "For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which pass like a shadow? Who can tell a man what's gonna happen after him under the sun"? And chapter 8, verse 7, it's the same thing, basically: "For he does not know what will happen; so who can tell him when it will occur"? Solomon really forces us to grin. If you like Old Testament humor, here's one of Solomon's jokes. He says that this foolish talker is always yakking about the future and he can't even figure out how to get back to the city. You see that in the text? That's kind of an Old Testament putdown like our saying that a person does not know his head from a hole in the ground.
Solomon's saying, "This guy's babbling on about the future. He can't even figure out how to get home". As soon as you open your mouth, if you don't ask God for wisdom you can start betraying who you are to people, and your tongue gives way to identifying the foolishness in your heart. An untamed tongue, an unkind tongue, an unwise tongue, an undisciplined tongue, an unreasonable tongue. And here's the last one, go all the way down to verse 20: an unfaithful tongue. This ends the chapter. He says, "Do not curse the king, even in your thought; do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; for a bird of the air may carry your voice, and a bird in flight may tell the matter".
Now, he is saying be careful what you say with your tongue, be disciplined, don't be unfaithful. Don't say something in private that you wouldn't want someone to hear in public. And then he says, "If you do, you might think you're back there in your bedroom and nobody's there and you say this and," he says, "guess what happens? A bird hears you and carries it". That's why when somebody says, "Well, how'd you find that out"? "Well, a little bird told me," right, isn't that right? That's where it comes from, right here. "Well, where did you hear that"? "Well, a little bird told me". You know birds don't talk, but he's reminding us with this little illustration that a wise person isn't unfaithful even when he is unheard.
Now, aren't these great instructions from this wise man? He tells us that if we're going to have the ability to negotiate life under the sun and now he's brought God back into the picture, we have to be careful about the little things because little concessions can cause great harm. We have to be really concerned about leadership that we don't get in positions of leadership or allow leadership that is wrong. We have to be careful when we go to work because you can make mistakes that can hurt you in the labor market. But most of all, you gotta watch your mouth. Lord God, put a guard before my mouth that I might not say something that would be hurtful to you or to others. You know, lots of people have had their reputations destroyed because of gossip. The mouth is a very powerful tool when it's not yielded to the Lord.
You say, "Well, Pastor Jeremiah, what do I do with all this stuff? Man, this is a lot of good material, but it's overwhelming to me". Let me tell you what I want you to do. I want you look up on the screen with me and I want us to read out loud together James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him". You say, "How can I live and not get caught up in foolishness"? There it is. Ask God. Every morning when you get up, and I try to do this every morning in my prayer and in my journal, if you go back and look at the journal where I write my prayers, you'd see me over and over again saying, "Lord God, I don't know what to do. Please give me wisdom. Give me the wisdom I need".
I am not competent enough and sufficient enough and smart enough and wise enough to be doing what I'm doing in the kingdom of God; if it isn't for the wisdom of God, I'm a dead man. I can't do what God has called me to do in my own strength. And I would just be making mistake after mistake, falling into the pit and doing all the kinds of stuff that Solomon talks about if it weren't for the hand of God on my life in response to my simple prayer: "Lord God, please give me wisdom". Say that out loud. "Lord God, please give me wisdom". Do you know that one day, the author of this passage of Scripture that we studied today came before the Lord and the Lord said to him, "Solomon, ask me anything you want and I'll give it to you".
And Solomon said, "Lord God, what I want is I want wisdom. I want a wise heart". And the Bible says God gave him a wise heart. Did you ever wonder why he became the wisest man in the world? It was a gift from God. You say, "Pastor Jeremiah, I've gotta go to work tomorrow and I've got some of the most unbelievably sticky problems at work". But you know what, they're not too hard for God. They're too hard for you. And this whole thing we do here at Shadow Mountain Ministries and "Turning Point" is way too hard for me, but it's not too hard for God. Almighty God knows what to do.
So I just gotta stay in touch with him. Can I get a witness? I just gotta come to him every day and say, "Lord, I don't wanna be foolish. I don't wanna do some stupid thing that would undercut all that you wanna do in my life so I need your help and I need your wisdom. And Lord God, keep your hand on my shoulder as I walk through this day so I don't go the wrong way, do the wrong thing, and most of all, Lord God, put a guard before my mouth and don't let me say something that would hurt you".
So let's covenant together as a family today that as we go to our homes and, especially, when we get up tomorrow and head out to the workplace, wherever we're gonna go tomorrow, whatever we're gonna do, we don't start the day without saying, "Lord God, I really need you today". You know, we who are men, we have a harder time with that than you women do sometimes. We're all type A, you know, we can do this. We don't need any help. But we do. We do. We need a lot of help. And God is able to help us. He is wisdom personified.