This kind of leaders we want

When people trust a leader they expect honesty and careful guidance. As leaders, we should make God part of our business. We should work on our own character growth. God’s moral standard, should be our standard. We should discourage wrongdoing and stimulate truth and fairness. We should spend time encouraging to contribute to the common good, because selfish behavior destroys the sense of community.

A good leader motivates,

   doesn’t mislead, doesn’t exploit.

11 God cares about honesty in the workplace;

   your business is his business.

12 Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds;

   sound leadership has a moral foundation.

13 Good leaders cultivate honest speech;

   they love advisors who tell them the truth.

14 An intemperate leader wreaks havoc in lives;

   you’re smart to stay clear of someone like that.

15 Good-tempered leaders invigorate lives;

   they’re like spring rain and sunshine.

(Prov.16:10-15 MSG)

Prayer: Give us leaders that will shine and guide like You would. Give us leaders that will invigorate lives like spring rain and sunshine. Help our leaders to cultivate a godly moral standard for their life and work. Help us to be the leaders You expect us to be.

Honesty and the need for approval

There is a tension between the need of being honest and having other people’s approval. If you believe in the God of the Bible, His approval will mean more than anything to you. You will never be able to satisfy everybody around you. You will have to choose who to satisfy. Choose God. He is the only One who can guide you to real love and truth. He knows you better than anybody else. He has the power and willingness to help you. He loves you more than anybody else.

God can’t stomach arrogance or pretense;

   believe me, he’ll put those upstarts in their place.

6 Guilt is banished through love and truth;

   Fear-of-God deflects evil.

7 When God approves of your life,

   even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.

8 Far better to be right and poor

   than to be wrong and rich.

9 We plan the way we want to live,

   but only God makes us able to live it.

(Prov.16:5-9 MSG)

Prayer: Protect me from arrogance and hypocrisy. I want to live in truth and love. My life is in Your hands. I want to follow You faithfully. I know You have the love, the power, and the wisdom I need. There is nobody like You. I commit my life to You.

Making plans?

Planning is wise and healthy. But there is a danger in thinking that we cannot be wrong. Even the best of our intelligent calculations can err because we cannot control all the facts. The One in control of all the facts is God. He is not limited by time and space like we are. He can see what we cannot. It will be healthier to have the humility to recognize His superiority and let yourself be guided by Him.

Mortals make elaborate plans,

   but God has the last word.

2 Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good;

   God probes for what is good.

3 Put God in charge of your work,

   then what you’ve planned will take place.

4 God made everything with a place and purpose;

   even the wicked are included—but for judgment.

(Prov.16:1-4 MSG)

Prayer: You know what is good. I surrender to Your wisdom. I give You my plans. I put You in charge. Guide my life to the place and purpose You intended for me when You created me. Your destiny for me is the best destiny. I trust You.

From humility to glory

The joy of the heart can be seen in your eyes. Also a wise and honored life is the result of listening to good advice, self-discipline, and being humble. Everything starts with recognizing and respecting the God of the Universe. The Fear-of-God makes you humble and wise. It educates you through your walk to glory.

A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart,

   and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.

31 Listen to good advice if you want to live well,

   an honored guest among wise men and women.

32 An undisciplined, self-willed life is puny;

   an obedient, God-willed life is spacious.

33 Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living—

   first you learn humility, then you experience glory.

(Prov.15:30-33 MSG)

Prayer: Oh God, You are the joy of my heart. Make me receptive to good advice and wise talking. I want to discipline myself to be obedient and humble. I want to eliminate all the barriers in my life to allow You to express Yourself freely.

Behavior and prayer

God loves every human being and is willing to bless everybody. But, your behavior indicates your level of respect for God. If you are rebellious or live out an evil ethic, you cannot pretend to have a good relationship with God. God is morally defined. Not everything goes. Praying is not only to ask God to do something, it is also submitting our life to Him. Theology and ethic cannot and should not be separated. When your theology and your ethic don’t coincide it is called hypocrisy, and it is not healthy.

God can’t stand evil scheming,

   but he puts words of grace and beauty on display.

27 A greedy and grasping person destroys community;

   those who refuse to exploit live and let live.

28 Prayerful answers come from God-loyal people;

   the wicked are sewers of abuse.

29 God keeps his distance from the wicked;

   he closely attends to the prayers of God-loyal people.

(Prov.15:26-29 MSG)

Prayer: I know you can’t stand evil in my life. I render my life to You, I want to be loyal to You, the only One deserving it. Help me to be open and honest in every step of my life. Remind me of your wisdom and counsel to build my life upon a good foundation. Let me honor You in the way I live.

Good friends, good advice and good thinking.

To become a thoughtful person, you have to:

1. Have the intention to become one.
2. Learn to profit from good advice.
3. Choose friends that will inspire you to grow.
4. Remain humble and dependent upon God.

The empty-headed treat life as a plaything;

   the perceptive grasp its meaning and make a go of it.

22 Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail;

   take good counsel and watch them succeed.

23 Congenial conversation—what a pleasure!

   The right word at the right time—beautiful!

24 Life ascends to the heights for the thoughtful—

   it’s a clean about-face from descent into hell.

25 God smashes the pretensions of the arrogant;

   he stands with those who have no standing.

(Prov.15:21-25 MSG)

Prayer: Give me perception to look for meaning, purpose, and success on what you put in my hand. Make me open and help me to pay attention to counsel and discern a good advice. Help me fight for thoughtfulness and against mediocrity. Help me to cultivate congenial friendships and be nurtured by it. Thank God for standing with me.

A good digestion and a smooth road

Hate and hot temper does not contribute to a good digestion. Peace and love are healthier for your body and soul. Cultivate them in your everyday life and it will be fruitful. Avoid laziness which will guide you to nothing (at the end of the day you will feel you wasted your time on earth). Cultivate a diligent attitude in your work and study activities. You and the world around you will benefit from that.

Better a bread crust shared in love

   than a slab of prime rib served in hate.

18 Hot tempers start fights;

   a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.

19 The path of lazy people is overgrown with briers;

   the diligent walk down a smooth road.

20 Intelligent children make their parents proud;

   lazy students embarrass their parents.

(Prov.15:17-20 MSG)

Prayer: Fill my life with love, which is more important than money. Help me to cultivate diligence, enthusiasm and a healthy work ethic. I want to live in a way that will reflect your love and mercy in everything I do.

A transformed heart

We enjoy achieving goals, but it requires humility to recognize that we still need to grow. The Fear-of-God will help us to grow in the right direction. A humble heart can enjoy even the simplest blessings of life. Appreciating every little blessing like a colorful flower, makes our life like a garden that fill our heart with joy.

Know-it-alls don’t like being told what to do;

   they avoid the company of wise men and women.

13 A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face;

   a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.

14 An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth;

   fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.

15 A miserable heart means a miserable life;

   a cheerful heart fills the day with song.

16 A simple life in the Fear-of-God

   is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.

(Prov.15:12-16 MSG)

Prayer: Give me a kind heart, that is teachable, cheerful, eager to learn, and value the Fear-of-God.

Wasted life

You have only one life. Live it well. Don’t waste time on earth. You are not here just to survive. There is meaning and purpose in life. There is a meaning and purpose for you too. God gave you special purposes because you are human, and because God never makes two humans to be identical, He gave you a specific shape of these purposes that matches your character, gifts and experiences perfectly. Start focusing on that purposes and your life will not be a waste.

A life frittered away disgusts God;

   he loves those who run straight for the finish line.

10 It’s a school of hard knocks for those who leave God’s path,

   a dead-end street for those who hate God’s rules.

11 Even hell holds no secrets from God—

   do you think he can’t read human hearts?

(Prov.15:9-11 MSG)

Prayer: I want to invest my life on what matters. I want to fulfill Your purpose for me in life. I don’t want to waste time and energy in things that are not important. Help me not to deviate from the path You have planned for me.

The opposites

Experience shows that there are no much differences (physical, mental, potential, abilities) between people who obey God and people that are against God. But that simple decision (to be loyal to God) makes all the difference. Good sense is developed, life flourishes, you gain knowledge, integrity and fulfillment become part of your life, your life develops its full potential. You become who you were created to be.

Moral dropouts won’t listen to their elders;

   welcoming correction is a mark of good sense.

6 The lives of God-loyal people flourish;

   a misspent life is soon bankrupt.

7 Perceptive words spread knowledge;

   fools are hollow—there’s nothing to them.

8 God can’t stand pious poses,

   but he delights in genuine prayers.

(Prov.15:5-8 MSG)

 
Prayer: I worship You, my God. I welcome Your corrections. I want to be loyal to You. Help me to grasp Your knowledge. Help me to pray with integrity and my soul entirely submitted to You. Your are the only God in the Universe.

Kind words

It is amazing how much power we have in our mouth. It is not only what we say but how, and how often. Your gentle response can calm down an anger attack. As long as you don’t let that anger get into you, you can still help. Put sweetness in your words, and let God wisdom flow into your heart. This will make your speech heal and instill wisdom to others.

A gentle response defuses anger,

   but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.

2 Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise;

   fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.

3 God doesn’t miss a thing—

   he’s alert to good and evil alike.

4 Kind words heal and help;

   cutting words wound and maim.

(Prov.15:1-4 MSG)

Prayer: Fill my heart with gentleness. Flow with Your wisdom through my mind and mouth. Fill my heart with Your word and wisdom to spread healing and help to everybody around me.