Be Wise

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Sunday - 9:15 AM Sunday School, 10:30 AM Worship Service

by: Denise Robinson

02/15/2021

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For some reason, the first verses of today's reading remind me of the 1983 Christmas movie classic, A Christmas Story. If you don't know the story, it's set around 1940 and Ralphie, who is 9 years old, has been drinking gallons of Ovaltine in order to get an Orphan Annie Secret Society decoder pin. Each night, on the Orphan Annie radio show, a secret message is broadcast and the decoder pin is needed to figure out the message. Well, the pin finally arrives in the mail and that evening Ralphie sits in front of the radio, pencil in hand, to write down the secret code so he can decode it. The message comes and the excitement builds. And then comes the letdown, the total disappointment. What is the secret message? "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." See if you can figure out the connection when you read today's verses:  
 
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies; for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it. You will vomit up the little you have eaten, and you will waste your pleasant words. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, who will only despise the wisdom of your words.  (Prov. 23:4-9).

Meditation: Even as adults, there are things we think we want and things that attract our eye, and then we find that it (or the who) wasn't what we expected. Solomon reminds us to be wise enough to set proper priorities. What do you think Solomon's message is in the last few verses? His imagery is a bit strong, but there is a message there about the agenda of some people who "give" gifts and make "special offers," that come with a price. Read these verses a couple of times and see what meanings you can take away. Hint: it's not just about food and you don't need a decoder pin!
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For some reason, the first verses of today's reading remind me of the 1983 Christmas movie classic, A Christmas Story. If you don't know the story, it's set around 1940 and Ralphie, who is 9 years old, has been drinking gallons of Ovaltine in order to get an Orphan Annie Secret Society decoder pin. Each night, on the Orphan Annie radio show, a secret message is broadcast and the decoder pin is needed to figure out the message. Well, the pin finally arrives in the mail and that evening Ralphie sits in front of the radio, pencil in hand, to write down the secret code so he can decode it. The message comes and the excitement builds. And then comes the letdown, the total disappointment. What is the secret message? "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." See if you can figure out the connection when you read today's verses:  
 
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies; for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it. You will vomit up the little you have eaten, and you will waste your pleasant words. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, who will only despise the wisdom of your words.  (Prov. 23:4-9).

Meditation: Even as adults, there are things we think we want and things that attract our eye, and then we find that it (or the who) wasn't what we expected. Solomon reminds us to be wise enough to set proper priorities. What do you think Solomon's message is in the last few verses? His imagery is a bit strong, but there is a message there about the agenda of some people who "give" gifts and make "special offers," that come with a price. Read these verses a couple of times and see what meanings you can take away. Hint: it's not just about food and you don't need a decoder pin!
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