10.01.08 A New Day, Proverbs 1

It's a new month and I am looking forward to going through the month in Proverbs. It has been interesting to notice how I am reminded of certain verses in my day to day dealings with people and the inpsiration that comes along with the study.

I decided to create "Wisdom Cards" for my children. Some of the subject matter is innapropriate for children under 13, but many of the verses are helpful. I will write these on cue cards and hand them out to my children to read every morning or have them available for study as a demonstration on how to gain wisdom beyond their years. The key is to make it relevant to their daily lives.

Interestingly my friend Gordon just called (a Marketer's marketer) and wants to help me with the idea. He says parents need every tool they can get in these trying times!!

Proverbs 1:7 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”

I love this verse, a parent to a child. "The Fear of Lord" part usually gets most people. They don't understand that the fear mentioned in the bible is a holy fear, a respect, and understanding that the Lord is not your "homey", a "cool dude", or "my best friend" (he is better than that). He knows you better than yourself and will do what is necessary to keep you on the right path (to the point of death or prison). Why would he want to lose you to hell?

I liken this understanding to my Marine Drill instructors at MCRD San Diego in 1988. I was a young civilian. Our platoon was introduced to our drill instructors. The men were lean, mean, and squared a way. We had never met serious Marines like these.

United States Marine Corps Drill Instructors Photo by Ed Crisostomo, The Press-Enterprise

Our initial reaction was typical, "What have I gotten myself into?". These drill instructors lived up to their reputation. We all feared them. The psychological trauma was overwhelming. The drill instructors job was to teach us everying we needed to know to be a basically trained Marine in 3-months. That required them to control 65 young recruits and for them to set the tone for instruction. How they did that, was instilling the fear of God in us. We couldn't help but learn. If you and I want to learn wisdom, we have to fear the Lord first, clear out our minds with our agendas and accept his discipline.



Proverbs 1: 20 – “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:”

I love this verse. It tells us that wisdom is yelling out to us. We just have to listen. Like turning on a radio. Tune in to the "Wisdom Channel". Would love to see a TV network called "Wisdom TV".

Proverbs 1:33 – “. . . but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm.”

What a comforting verse. Many are going through trials, tribulations, and uncertainties in these times. I heard of a story of a man on his death bed at over 80 years old. He was asked about any reqrets he had. He said "That most of my life I spent worrying about things that never happened to me." Live life, seek wisdom, and walk in safety and peace.

Please comment on your readings of Proverbs 1, today!! God bless!

On Mission, On Assignment, and in the ZONE!

Andy Valadez
e-mail: andy@marketingdynamics.org