"The beginning of wisdom is: Get wisdom!" (Proverbs 4:7 AMP 2015, no brackets)
This is my absolute favorite one-liner from the Amplified 2015. Its pointedness makes me laugh.
"In the mouth of the fool is a rod for his back." (Proverbs 14:3 AMP 2015, no brackets)
The fool's words will, eventually, become his own punishment.
"...A glad heart has a continual feast." (Proverbs 15:15 AMP 2015, no brackets)
You know--I read that verse this morning and felt an immediate spark of guilt for good fortune. It's not that I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, because God isn't like that. But I feel, often, that I've not suffered nearly the number nor degree of misfortunes that seem heretofore normal for someone my age. And I'm filled with wonder and thanksgiving because of it. For this and other things, my heart is glad. And the verse tells me a continual feast is the condition of the glad heart. It's as if, in a way, the verse has granted me some sort of permission. No, a better word is freedom. And a promise. If my heart is glad (even if bad circumstances do come, my future with Christ is assured), I can expect a sense of continual feast as a consequence. And gifts from God come with no guilt attached. Verse 19 adds: "...the way of the upright is smooth and open like a highway." Christians are often cautioned to expect a hard road, and we do know suffering is involved in the Christian walk. But some of the time, part of the way, a smooth highway is also our lot, if we have made good choices as much as possible.
Lord, help those believers who have received more than their share of trouble to live the life of the upright in Christ, and help them experience a smooth highway with You. Amen.
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