The Word To LIve By: 10-3-25
Phil Waggoner
Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3
The Word to live by: I spend a lot of time in the everyday culture of the world. I try very hard not to be of it, but Jesus said, for the time being, He wants me in it. I think one of the things I see missing the most is truth and kindness. Another word for truth there is integrity and so I’m going to use that when I talk about kindness and truth today. Solomon said that kindness and truth should be bound around your neck. These should be so much a part of our lives that they would be the first two attributes a person notices about us. We were at formal dinner fundraiser one year where people were dressed up more than for just your usual fundraiser. There was a woman there wearing a diamond necklace that, I’m sure was worth a lot of money. The diamonds were roughly a carat that led to one huge diamond in the middle. It hung just below her throat around her neck. It immediately drew your attention. I first spotted her from probably 50 feet away and it drew my attention to her. That’s the descriptive picture of what this verse means. Kindness and integrity with your fellow man will open doors that no man can close. There’s a second half to this Proverb, “write them on the tablet of your heart.” In other words, develop the seed of the Word of God in you to such an extent that kindness and integrity become part of you. As the saying goes, “When someone looks up kindness and integrity in the dictionary, they should see your picture.” In a Christian’s life, kindness and integrity should be the most identifying traits. If they are, you will gain a benefit that no amount of money can buy. The next verse, verse 4, says, “So you find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.”
Read through the Bible in a year: Revelation 3; Nehemiah 4; Psalms 98;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 3, Luke 4:1-22, 1 Thessalonians 2
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160