Whether you believe in the Bible or not, good wisdom is hard to refute. In the book of Proverbs, between 22:23 and 24:22 (chapter:verse), King Solomon (990 BC to 931 BC) is reputed to have written these 30 sayings to live by. They are still applicable today.
- Don’t be a bully!
- Choose your friends carefully.
- Don’t make promises that you cannot keep.
- Don’t steal what belongs to others.
- Work at becoming skilled in your passion.
- Learn to restrain yourself.
- Pursue wealth for the right reasons.
- Avoid taking gifts that have strings.
- Be careful with whom you share your valuable thoughts.
- Have a fearful respect of civil law.
- Always seek opportunities to learn and grow.
- Model disciplined behaviors to those that you love.
- Wisdom through the mouth is wisdom in the heart and vice versa.
- Don’t envy people their success.
- Find and follow your own path. Avoid negative people!
- Learning and growth are worth the price. They bring joy to those that you love and those that love you.
- Be aware of your vulnerabilities and susceptibilities. Do not live in delusion and denial.
- Don’t blame others for consequences that arise because of your bad choices. Admit culpability and seek help.
- You will know a shortcut when it presents itself. Avoid it. It leads to a dead end.
- Life is not an accident. It is a deliberate exercise in creation. Intentionality is therefore required. Nothing desired is gained by coincidence.
- Invest the time to find trustworthy people who can encourage and advise you; people who are going in the same direction of learning and growth.
- Do not be afraid to admit ignorance. Silence is better than the absence of vocal restraint.
- A schemer intentionally undermines others. A mocker jokingly denigrates shared values for the sake of amusement. Both labels are detested by others and difficult to remove. Be neither.
- Life is a series of challenges that present opportunities for growth. You don’t move to the next level until learning from the previous level is fully internalized and applied.
- Be an advocate for those who do not enjoy your privilege.
- Being open to learning and growth establishes a unique way of being that helps to navigate life’s choices. There are things in life, however, that were made for enjoyment. Find them. Enjoy them.
- Resilience is a characteristic of those who acknowledge and relate to a Higher Power. Calamity befalls all others.
- Don’t take comfort when calamity befalls people with whom you compare yourself negatively.
- We were created for eternity. Living only for the temporal is therefore an act of misinformed ignorance and should generate a sense of sadness.
- Don’t allow yourself to be influenced into divine disobedience. The consequences can be disastrous.
