Proverbial Wisdom

INTRO.- Quips and quotes.

- A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

- A bulldog can whip a skunk, but sometimes it’s not worth it.

- A clean house is a sign of a misspent life.

- A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

- A closed mouth gathers no feet.

- A diplomat is one who thinks twice before saying nothing.

- A friend in need is a pest.

- A husband is someone who takes out the trash and gives the impression he just cleaned the whole house.

- A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.

- A teacher’s job is to take a room full of live wires and make sure they are well grounded.

- Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

- Being young is a fault that diminishes daily.

- Blessed is he that can laugh at himself, he will never cease to be amused.

- Blessed is he that expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. - Ben Franklin

- Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker. - Ogden Nash

- Credit cards are like mosquitoes. You can keep them away for a while, but sooner or later they will be back to suck your blood.

- Dear God, I have a problem; it’s me.

- Do what you think is right in your heart. You’ll be criticized anyway. - Eleanor Roosevelt

- Eat a live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse can happen to you for the rest of the day.

- Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else. - Will Rogers

- Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

- Few things are harder to put up with than a good example. - Mark Twain

- Fish and visitors stink after three days. - - Ben Franklin

- God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.

- Golf: A good walk ruined. - Mark Twain

- Happiness is merely the remission of pain.

- He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals. - Ben Franklin

- He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

- Housework done properly can kill you.

- How many observe Christ’s birthday, how few his precepts. - Ben Franklin

- I believe the only time the world beats a path to my door is when I’m in the bathroom.

- I have a new philosophy, I’m only going to dread one day at a time. - Charles Schulz ("Peanuts")

- I have never killed a man but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. - Clarence Darrow

- I never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain

- I refuse to enter a battle of wits with an unarmed man.

- I saw few die of hunger; of eating -- 100,000.

- If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.

- If at first you don’t succeed, you’re about average.

- If the baby is happy, don’t try to make it happier.

- If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.

- If you’d lose a troublesome visitor, lend him money. - Ben Franklin

- In God we trust; all others pay cash.

- It is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. - Mark Twain

- It’s not easy being green. - Kermit the Frog

- I’ve suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened. - Mark Twain

- Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. - Ben Franklin

- Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself. - Eleanor Roosevelt

Now the book of Proverbs.

1- Plans (16:9)

2- Pride (16:18-19)

3- Prosperity (16:20)

I. PLANS

16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.”

ILL.- The architect of the Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland made sixty plans, one after another, all of which were rejected. He was about to give up. “Make sixty-one, John, if necessary,” said his brave wife. The sixty-first plan was accepted.

The moral of this story is: KEEPING PLANNING. You never know when your plans will succeed.

Prov. 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

One important way to achieve success in our plans is to seek the Lord about these plans and to ask His blessing on them.

ILL.- When I ran and trained for marathons about ten years ago I told a Christian friend of mine, “I pray about my running.” At that time, he said, “The Lord doesn’t care about your running.” But I think he misunderstood me. I never prayed for success in my running. I only prayed that it might make me healthy and that I might be able to glorify the Lord in my running.