Welcome back, my friends. It is time for the morning mindset. I'm glad you have carved out the time to be a part of this daily discipline of getting your mind aligned with the truth of God.

Because when we do that, then we can bring our hearts in line with the truth that we discover and learn how to be people who not only think the way God thinks but then behave in the way that God wants us to behave.

And when we do that, great blessing comes from these things we call our lives. People around us are touched, people around us receive good from God through us.

It's an amazing interchange that we get to be a part of and I'm glad you're here to join me in looking at the scriptures to start the process today.

And before we dive into Proverbs chapter 10 verses 13 and 14 today, I wanted to remind you this is a listener fueled project not only through your participation as part of the morning mindset but also through those who have become financial partners for as little as $5 a month.

If you're interested in knowing more about being a partner with the morning mindset, you can find out more at carrygreen.com slash partners.

Or today we're looking at Proverbs 10 verses 13 to 14 and it reads this way on the lips of him who has understanding wisdom is found but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.

The wise lay up knowledge but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.

Okay, again, we have a proverb here that's contrasting two types of people. The first is a person who has understanding and what happens when he or she opens their mouth and it says wisdom is found there.

When this person speaks, people listen because they have good things to say. They have insight and discernment that they share with others and enable them to see the wisdom and discernment for themselves.

But contrasting to that is the person that Solomon describes here as someone who lacks sense.

And this person he doesn't even mention what happens when this person speaks. Well, I guess he does mention what happens but he doesn't mention the person's speech at all.

He says a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. So what does that mean? Well, it's saying when a foolish person speaks and wise people are listening and they recognize how foolish the thing is that the person said.

They just want to beat that person. I mean, I have to find humor in this sometimes because the culture in which Solomon lived this could have been a very real thing that someone who was foolish would have just been popped in the mouth and said don't be so dumb.

You know, that kind of a thing. That's really the idea that Solomon is saying here and he's not advocating that we go around punching all the pundits on TV or the politicians that are out there.

Whoever it is that we think is being so foolish. What he's saying is that's what that person's lack of sense generates in other people.

Is this repulsion? This desire to push them away to get away from them to even punish them for the lack of sense that they have.

You see, Solomon is trying to use the extremes to point out to us the appeal and the benefit of being the person who has understanding and is able to speak wisdom into situations.

Verse 14, he says, the wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. So you see two different approaches to a situation, a wise person who lays up knowledge.

Now what does that mean? Well, it means he's learning. He's always in a growth mode. He or she is always trying to gain resources that will help them deal with life in a more wise and discerning manner.

This idea of laying up knowledge could also mean they're laying it up for others by sharing the knowledge that they have, that they've cleaned throughout the course of their wise life.

But the contrast is that the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. So a foolish person is not speaking wise things. They're not living according to wise things.

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