The CEO Textbook & The Ideal Wife - Proverbs 31

Proverbs 31 is a king remembering his mother's advice on how to be a good king. Today, it could named as "The CEO Textbook". It advised the king to abstain from 2 things and to do 2 things well. It then lists down the attributes of a good wife. It shows the king how and who to choose as a wife and also how to treat his wife. 

4 Advice for the King:

 1 Keep Away from Sexual Lust #abstain #1

2 Keep Away from Alcohol #abstain #2

3 Establish Justice #Do #1 Fight for the Cause of the Afflicted

4 Find a Good Wife #Do #2 - Get a good wife

The mind map:

Lim Liat (c) 6 Jan 2024

Wisdom for Living Well - Proverbs 30(3)

Wisdom is more than knowledge. It is also more than being good and morally right. Those are minimum wisdom standards, but true wisdom needs more.  Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do anytime, anywhere, and for the right people. It is about making the right decisions to avoid disasters, to survive, and to have a good future.

Tim Keller in True Wisdom said it is insights. It involves 3 things:

    1 knowing how things really work

    2 knowing how things really are

    3 what I should do about it.

It is to become competent with regard to the realities of life - making up of physical realities,         relationships, and God's spiritual laws. It is to do the right things even when rules don't apply

Proverbs 30 gives us some key points as shown in the mind map:

What is wisdom?

Following up on the previous post on Proverbs 30. I spent some time finding out more about what wisdom is.

In short, wisdom is facing up realities of life and making the right decisions to obtain success and avoid disasters -趋吉避凶。

The 1st is facing & appreciation of the realities - Outside-in approach.

The 2nd is the development, analysis, and evaluation of alternatives to make the right one.

Here is the mind map on wisdom.

Lim Liat(c) 4 Jan 24

Awaken to our Limitations - Proverbs 30(2)

 Awake to our limitations and weaknesses, but how do we know?

Proverbs 30 part 2 gives us a list for us to consider and can compare against the seven deadly sins.

Lim Liat (c) 3 Jan 2024

The first thing to do in the New Year 2024...

Awake to know our limitations, to know God who is your answer to all your problems, and to be contented. It will pave the way for a good and joyful 2024.

This is the teaching of Proverbs 30 part 1.

Lim Liat (c) 2 Jan 2024

Let Your Goal for 2024 be Personal Development - Proverbs 29

Personal Character Development:  

The two key attributes are:  Emotion Management & Humility

Emotion Management - Especially Anger Management

• Pro 29:11  Fools are quick to express their anger, but wise people are patient and control themselves. 
  
  

• Pro 12:16  A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.

  Maturity is the ability to control ourselves, especially our emotions, of which anger is most common.  

  ZengSQ: Getting angry is to allow others mistakes to punish oneself. 

  Pro 29:22  An angry person causes arguments, and someone who is quick-tempered is guilty of many sins. 

  Art of War : [12.10] The ruler may not move his army out of anger; the general may not do battle out of wrath. 11] If it is advantageous, move; if it is not advantageous, stop. 12] Those angry will be happy again, and those wrathful will be cheerful again, but a destroyed nation cannot exist again, the dead cannot be brought back to life.

   

• Uncontrolled anger will bring destruction and hurt. Anger is no sin.

  It is the wrongful expression of anger that causes sin.

Humility Development

• Pro 29:23  Your pride can bring you down. Humility will bring you honor. 
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  Pro 18:12  Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.

  Luk 14:11  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

Character development 

It is not done at the annual New Year resolution but is done daily. It is an accumulation of daily practices. 

We find Daniel 6:10-12 He prayed 3 times daily. Before the day was over, he reflected and corrected. 

A similar practice is done by the sages of Ancient China. Analects 1v4 曾子在回答孔子提问时说：“吾日三省吾身——为人谋而不忠乎？与朋友交而不信乎？传不习乎？”Zengzi said,'Every day I examine myself on three counts. In what I have undertaken on another's behalf, have I failed to do my best? In my dealings with my friends have I failed to be trustworthy in what I say? Have I passed on to others anything that I have not tried out myself?'

• Emotion Management is best done through mindfulness practice.
  

  
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• Humility is...
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  • Proverbs 22:4 (NIV): "Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life."

    Humility is recognizing our standing with reference to others. Acknowledging God and some others above ourselves. Giving respect and obedience to them.

    
    

    James 4:10 (NIV): "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

    Humility is respecting and following the Lord's teaching, which leads to promotion and respect by others!

    
    

    Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV): "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

    This verse is more specific --- humility is valuing others and prioritizing the well-being of others over selfish desires.
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• 15谦 Humility - Ability with Gentleness

  From the Book of Change 易经  - Ancient Chinese Wisdom

  • 15谦 内高外低,有而不炫,谦虚行事,
  • Humility is made up of “have”, “don’t talk” and “use”. We must develop our ability and build up our resources so that we can have them. Then we must, while not boasting about it, use it to do good things. It is not passive but quiet aggressive actions without drawing attention to self.
  • 1. develop humility
  • 2. let your action do the talking
  • 3. accomplished and yet don’t claim credit but give credit
  • 4. do more good things and encourage others to do too
  • 5. do corrective actions to remove bad things
  • 6. expand humility to others that they may have it too

    #pass-on #succession

The mind map for Personal Development is:

Lao Zi explained to us the power of humility in 

Mind Value: 8 Keys for Sustainable Success by Lao Zi in Dao De Jing 22

Lim Liat (c) 1 Jan 2024