“Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” – Proverbs 14:4 There’s an adage that if you want to find someone to do a job, look for the busiest people. The underlying principle is that the people who have the...
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” – Prov 13:12 It’s pretty much the same feeling for me every January. Either the Cowboys narrowly miss the playoffs, or they stumble their way down through a playoff elimination game...
“Better to be lowly and have a servant than to play the great man and lack bread.” – Proverbs 12:9 Credit card debt is one of the most sadistic inventions of the past hundred years. People can now pay for luxury they can’t afford like never before. That’s not the only...
“Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.” – Proverbs 11:29 How do you get more followers? How do you get on the fast track to celebrity? Take it one step further. Push the envelope. Be a little more...
“If you are wise, you are wise for yourself; if you scoff, you alone will bear it.” – Proverbs 9:12 If you do it right, you will do the most good by being the most selfish. This is one of those paradigm-shattering axioms that behaves like a nuclear weapon. If...
“Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.” – Proverbs 8:10-11 Why is money always the answer? The Bible, in fact tells us as much (Ecc 10:12)....
“For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home.” – Proverbs 7:19-20 In Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the protagonist, Raskolnikov, rationalizes his way into the perfect crime:...
“Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?” – Proverbs 6:27 Don’t play with fire. Why would anyone need to be told that? Perhaps more intriguing is why many grown men, myself included, who are well acquainted with the properties of fire,...
“At the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed.” – Proverbs 5:11 It’s not a coincidence that substance abuse and sexual license like to hang out together. These two vices deceive us in similar ways. There is a promise of escape. There is an...
“Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” – Proverbs 24:27 You can irritate others either by making New Year’s resolutions, or not making them. For the resolution-making snobs, they don’t really...