Author Archives: John D. Willome

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

Proverbs 1:8-9

Dear God, it’s interesting that the first piece of advice from Solomon is to listen to your parents’ instruction. There are some caveats to this advice, I’m sure, but in general the idea is to listen to someone who has been there.

I think about teens and all of the things they want to do and do. Partying. Sex. Sneaking out. Not all teens, mind you, but a lot. And parents don’t want them to do these things. Why? The parents wanted to sneak out when they were kids. Why don’t they want their kids to do it. The parents wanted to have sex when they were young. Why do they want their kids to wait as long as possible? The parents wanted to go out drinking with friends. Why don’t they want their kids to do it? Why do they want their kids to work hard in school? Get good grades? Make the most of their opportunities? A lot of them didn’t when they were kids. It’s because they now know something that the young ones don’t know. In fact, they know a lot of things the young ones don’t know. There is danger in sneaking out and partying with your friends. You limit your life’s trajectory when you don’t work hard and make the most of your opportunities. And there are emotional and even physical ramifications if you have/treatsex casually. And Solomon tells that young person, “Listen to them. They have been where you haven.” My grandmother used to say that you cannot put an old head on young shoulders. That’s true, but a young head that heeds the council of an old head can find itself in a much better position than if it follows its youthful foolishness.

Father, even as a 50-year-old, I still have a lot to learn. I have initiated a coaching/mentoring relationship with an older man who is retired and I’m hoping can give me some of counsel from his experience. I’m hoping you can teach me through him, through the board of directors where I work, through friends, and, yes, through my parents, both of whom I’m fortunate enough to still have. So give me ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart humble and soft enough to absorb the guidance you want to give me through them.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

Proverbs 19:20

Dear God, I think I probably should pick at least one day a week to do a Proverb. Just little nuggets of wisdom as reminders. This one is the verse of the day from Bible Gateway, and it goes along with the self-evaluation I filled out for our board president yesterday.

As the director of a nonprofit, I have a choice to make when it comes to interacting with our board. I can be defensive, insecure, lazy, and prideful by hiding my self-perceived deficiencies from them. That’s one way to go, but the only person that possibly benefits is me (and I say possibly because if I choose to cover anything up, no matter how trivial I might think it is, it’s always the coverup that gets you). But if I am transparent about my weaknesses or failings, if I am forthcoming about things that went wrong, then we can correct or improve those things about me or our operation and benefit the staff, our clients, our community, and even me. And the irony is that transparency breeds trust and respect so it actually does me more good in the long run and I can be at peace because I don’t feel like I am hiding anything.

Father, I am writing this over two days, but the same is true today as I complete this prayer journal entry as it was yesterday when I started it. I need to submit not only to you and to the authorities in my life (government, board of directors, spouse), but I need to serve and be accountable to everyone around me. The more transparent I am, the more you will be able to touch others through me. And the more transparent I am the more I will be forced into growing on the inside the way I tell people I am growing. If I don’t give them a facade to view, but instead show them what it really going on in me then that accountability will be good for me. So help me to get over myself, my pride, my agenda, and my selfishness and worry more about your glory and how you might use me to bring your kingdom and yours will into the world.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

Proverbs 27:1-2

Dear God, sorry to make this so trivial, but when I read this I thought about college football. Last week, Mike Leach at Mississippi State, was pretty haughty about having just beaten LSU. He was arrogant and cocky during his postgame press conference, mocking the other team a little. Well, one week later, they lost to what is perceived to be one of the worst two teams in the SEC, Arkansas. I haven’t seen his postgame comments from yesterday, but something tells me they were a little different than last week.

Just boasting in general is such a bad look. The irony is that, while it makes us feel good to make sure people are looking at something good that we did or happened to us, it is pretty transparent to the other person how insecure we are. We actually end up accomplishing the exact opposite of what we are trying to accomplish.

I’ll confess that I’m as guilty of this as anyone. I might be a little better about it now than I used to be (is hat boasting?), but it’s only because I have come to see what my boasting looks like to others and sometimes that stops me from doing it. I’ve told you many times that I my secret biggest desire is that people be impressed by me. Ironically, the thing that always impresses people as much as, if not more than, anything else is humility.

Father, whenever I boast, whenever I try to impress others, I am increasing at your expense. I am so sorry. Everything about my life should be for you, about you, and because of you. I give you my life (including my ego) and will be the one to testify on your behalf of how great, awesome, and wonderful, you are.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

Proverbs 29:25

Dear God, the interesting thing about Proverbs is that the verses within the chapters seem to be so disjointed. It’s almost like dividing the book into chapters does it a disservice. I wonder if would be better as just one long chapter with different verse numbers. For example, the verse above is verse 25. Verse 26 says, “Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice.” Then verse 27 says, “The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.” Frankly, I would love to have sunk my teeth into verse 27 this morning because there are plenty of dishonest people about whom I would like to tell you how much I detest them, but 1.) the verse of the day for Bible Gateway is verse 25 and 2.) I should probably be more worried about myself being detestable than worrying about those I detest (see Disney Princess Theology).

So lets talk about fear of many proving to be a snare. It’s just the truth. So in what ways to I fear man?

• I am afraid of people not liking me
• I am afraid of people not donating to our nonprofit
• I am afraid of what the powers and principalities of this world can do to me and others in the world
• I am afraid of rejection by those I love

And those are just the things that I fear from other people. That doesn’t count all of the other fears in my life. But those things–the fear of those things–can lead me to made bad decisions. They can lead me to be a “pleaser” (which I am). They can lead me to compromise my values sometimes (which I do). They can lead me to talk harshly about others (which I love to do). All of these things are wrapped up together.

I wish I were the type of person who really just floated above all of the cares of this world and rose above them all. I’ve known probably one person I would put in that category. He had such a childlike attitude and faith. Your love poured out of him to everyone he met. With some of the conflicts in my life right now, I wonder how those relationships would be different if I were the personification of his relationship with you instead of mine.

Father, I know I still have so much to learn. I have so much growing to do. I’m feeling very repentant  this morning. Help me to be a man of mercy. Help me to not be defensive, but to be completely filled and overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen