My Daily Pause

The job that gets you the gold watch and a pension after devoting your life to the company is becoming a rare bird. The time is now to develop a craft, a trade or a skill that will help you earn. As long as you are going there, why not make it something you love and maybe even add a little service to others?

If you have followed Dan Miller at all with his 48 Days to the Work You Love, No More Dreaded Mondays or his blogs and podcasts then nothing in this book will surprise you. Dan and his son Jarad do inspire in their tag team approach to explaining the goal of working and living well. I have been following Dan for a few years and knew I would enjoy this book, but I was not ready for it to stir up a strong desire to look more seriously at some ideas I have had.

The fundamental question Dan asks in all his work is “Why would you choose to do a job you hate, when there is plenty of work available that you can love?” Why indeed? Pick up this book and let it guide you to transition to work you love!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

 ¹⁰ My child, listen and accept what I say.
Then you will have a long life.
¹¹ I am guiding you in the way of wisdom,
and I am leading you on the right path.
¹² Nothing will hold you back;
you will not be overwhelmed.
¹³ Always remember what you have been taught,
and don’t let go of it.
Keep all that you have learned;
it is the most important thing in life.
¹⁴ Don’t follow the ways of the wicked;
don’t do what evil people do.
¹⁵ Avoid their ways, and don’t follow them.
Stay away from them and keep on going,
¹⁶ because they cannot sleep until they do evil.
They cannot rest until they harm someone.
¹⁷ They feast on wickedness and cruelty
as if they were eating bread and drinking wine.

¹⁸ The way of the good person is like the light of dawn,
growing brighter and brighter until full daylight.
¹⁹ But the wicked walk around in the dark;
they can’t even see what makes them stumble. – Proverbs 4:10-19 NCV

Chapter 4 begins with the father’s advice to Seek Wisdom and he continues on to advise his son to be diligent to retain it.

Staying on the good and righteous way is contrasted with the pitfalls of being caught out on the dark paths. If you have ever been caught in the trap of one of the “major” sins you will have firsthand knowledge of the difficulty of repenting and putting it out of your life.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus shows us the difficulty God’s word (the seed) has growing in those who are not receptive (rocky, shallow and thorny ground), but how bountiful it grows in those who are (good soil).

The object then, is to tend to the good soil in our heart and soul by seeking wisdom through study and practice.

 ¹² “I am wisdom, and I have good judgment.
I also have knowledge and good sense.
¹³ If you respect the Lord, you will also hate evil.
I hate pride and bragging,
evil ways and lies.
¹⁴ I have good sense and advice,
and I have understanding and power.
¹⁵ I help kings to govern
and rulers to make fair laws.
¹⁶ Princes use me to lead,
and so do all important people who judge fairly.
¹⁷ I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
¹⁸ Riches and honor are mine to give.
So are wealth and lasting success.
¹⁹ What I give is better than the finest gold,
better than the purest silver.
²⁰ I do what is right
and follow the path of justice.
²¹ I give wealth to those who love me,
filling their houses with treasures.  – Proverbs 8:12-21 NCV

Proverbs 8 is wisdom personified – Shouting loud and demanding attention. She has to, those without her discourage others from looking. She invites us to seek her both in divine and secular areas. While this passage shows us the many physical rewards of wisdom, where do we start looking for the divine? This too, God has provided! See 1 Corinthians 1:24-25 for details.

 ¹ My children, listen to your father’s teaching;
pay attention so you will understand.
² What I am telling you is good,
so do not forget what I teach you.
³ When I was a young boy in my father’s house
and like an only child to my mother,
⁴ my father taught me and said,
“Hold on to my words with all your heart.
Keep my commands and you will live.
⁵ Get wisdom and understanding.
Don’t forget or ignore my words.
⁶ Hold on to wisdom, and it will take care of you.
Love it, and it will keep you safe.
⁷ Wisdom is the most important thing; so get wisdom.
If it costs everything you have, get understanding.
⁸ Treasure wisdom, and it will make you great;
hold on to it, and it will bring you honor.
⁹ It will be like flowers in your hair
and like a beautiful crown on your head.” – Proverbs 4:1-9 NCV

The modern versions of this passage seem to dance around the fact that verse 2 is talking about the Torah. The King James says ²For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Solomon’s advice to seek wisdom, specifically God’s law, is passed down from his father and he considers it his family responsibility. What if more families remembered this and taught their children the thing that will take care of them, honor them and make them great?

Those of us in the New Testament age have been given the wisdom we are to seek and pass on. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 1:30 for details!

 ¹ Wisdom calls to you like someone shouting;
understanding raises her voice.
² On the hilltops along the road
and at the crossroads, she stands calling.
³ Beside the city gates,
at the entrances into the city, she calls out:
⁴ “Listen, everyone, I’m calling out to you;
I am shouting to all people.
⁵ You who are uneducated, seek wisdom.
You who are foolish, get understanding.
⁶ Listen, because I have important things to say,
and what I tell you is right.
⁷ What I say is true,
I refuse to speak evil.
⁸ Everything I say is honest;
nothing I say is crooked or false.
⁹ People with good sense know what I say is true;
and those with knowledge know my words are right.
¹⁰ Choose my teachings instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than the finest gold.
¹¹ Wisdom is more precious than rubies.
Nothing you could want is equal to it. – Proverbs 8:1-11 NCV

As you read Proverbs 8 today, listen to the voice of a personified wisdom, especially in these verses. She represents herself in this chapter from two positions: by implying the knowledge of Divine and human things and as an attribute of God displayed in His wonderful creation. Notice too, that she does it loud and without shame demanding all to listen.