Scripture
“Train up a child in the way he should go; Even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
PROVERBS 22:6
“Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, for I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my instruction.”
PROVERBS 4:1-2
“My son, eat honey, for it is good, yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; know that wisdom is thus for your soul; if you find it, then there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
PROVERBS 24:13-14
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”
PROVERBS 13:22
Quotes/Color
“A careful man I want to be,
A little fellow follows me;
I do not dare to go astray,
For fear he’ll go the self-same way.”
John Wooden
“Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his life more true:
To think without confusion more clearly,
To love his fellow-man sincerely,
To act from honest motives purely,
To trust in God and heaven securely.”
John Wooden
Context
The reason I set out to put pen to paper and write 52 mediocre devotionals was this reason: I wanted to leave an inheritance of the knowledge and lessons that God has taught me throughout my life to my son, Wes Rhodes (due December 2023).
Call it an existential crisis… Call it trying to peak at the right time… Or call it a reason to pray for my son, Wesley, cause you’ve read all of these GreatValue (Common knowledge at an every day low price!!)… and you now know that he will definitely need some good outside counsel in his life to turn out as a normal person…
But I believe the Bible calls us as Christians to carry the torch and pass on God’s goodness and His lessons to us from generation to generation. I’ve felt a heavy weight of that as Katie and I have prepared for Wes to come into the world.
That has been my attempt in GreatValue Proverbs. Imitate the intention of the book of Proverbs, written by King Solomon as a guide to his son… but … with memes.
God has been so good to me in my life, and I hope you see that He has been to you too.
Take inventory of the lessons God has taught you in your life and generously share them with others. Someone will need it and take it as encouragement, I assure you!
Application
My favorite example of this of all time comes from one of my all-time heroes, former college basketball coach/English coach/master craftsman of words and motivation/philosopher/theologian, John Wooden.
I love John Wooden for so many reasons. He was a man of faith and lived in a way that made it no secret. Evidenced by his own words:
“If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me.”
John Wooden
He was a Christian and he wanted his life to always show it. So good. So classic, John Wooden.
John Wooden was a great Christian man who left behind many lessons and writings of encouragement to generations of believers following his death. But that’s not all. John Wooden was kind of a legend too… A small list of his time on earth included:
- Winning 10 NCAA National Championships as the UCLA Head Basketball Coach… Including 7 consecutive years (you thought you were tired of Bama winning the National Championship every year…)
- Winning 5 AP College Coach of the Year awards
- Being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003
- Being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a Coach… AND a player
- Serving in the United State Navy during World War II
An absolute legend in his time on earth. And a model in everything I want to be in life. A top-shelf good guy. And incredible at the things he did, only to return all of the glory to God.
7 Tips to Live By
When Wooden graduated from high school, his father slipped him a note with 7 Tips to Live By in his days ahead becoming a man. An inheritance of lessons he wanted his son to carry with him. These words of advice stayed with Wooden for the rest of his life and likewise have become a credo for myself as well. I consider them words to live by and have them written down on a flashcard/sticky note displayed at my desk each and every day.
These are the 7 things Wooden’s father left behind for him as a lesson:
- Be true to yourself
- Make each day your masterpiece
- Help others
- Drink deeply from good books, especially The Bible
- Make friendship a fine art
- Build shelter against a rainy day
- Pray for guidance – count and give thanks for you blessings every day
Isn’t that so good?
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…”
Perhaps of wealth. But more importantly of character and lessons learned from a life lived for God, as well.
Take a note from the book of Proverbs and from John Wooden… Live by a set of standards, glean from them, reflect, and pass them on. Leave an inheritance of God’s blessings to you to future generations.
Something to Chew On:
- Have you taken the time to really reflect on the important things God has taught you in your life?
- Do you make it a priority to not only grow in wisdom every day, but also pass it along to others as an encourager?
GreatValue Proverb:
John Wooden’s 7 Tips to Live By, translated into my own language…
- Be true to yourself – Don’t try to be someone else. No one can get to know you or come to appreciate you if you’re not yourself. (Plus it’s exhausting trying to be someone you’re not.)
- Make each day your masterpiece – From the beginning of your day to the end, make an effort to honor God with whatever you put your hands to. As Coach Herman Edwards says, “Put your name on it! Own it!”
- Help others – Think of others and constantly serve them. Look out for the interests of others. Anticipate what could possibly be helpful/encouraging for others and just do it – don’t wait around and ask. Christ came to serve, not to be served.
- Drink deeply from good books, especially The Bible – Be a “learn-it-all” not a “know-it-all.” Learn something every single day. Have a posture of humility. And let your learnings always be centered around God’s teachings.
- Make friendship a fine art – Don’t sit back and hope that good relationships happen (especially if you’re a male – we are terrible at friendships). Get creative with friendships. Be intentional. Inspect them. Invite others to look at them. View them as something that returns great rewards if you spend some time with them.
- Build shelter against a rainy day – Things seldom going according to plan in life. Expect that. Plan for the worst (be ready if things go sideways) and expect the best (choose to live optimistically).
- Pray for guidance – count and give thanks for your blessings every day – Turn things over to God. Live simply. And be an incessantly grateful person. Complaining is easy and lazy. It takes much more effort to find the good in things, champion those things and cultivate a grateful heart.
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!