When your name is brought up what is the reaction? Do people say, “That guy or gal is a good person, good friend”? Do people see honest trustworthy character in you? Or do they cringe at your name? I think it is important what you are known for but even more important is if they are seeing what God sees inside your heart. I hope your name means something. Let’s see if that matches Scripture

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
You name is important. Have you looked into the Biblical and Ethnic meaning of your name? It is worth the research time and fairly easy to do on the web. Your name is much more important than the zeros in your bank account. Read that again. God calls you special and He loves you. Read that one again too.

Proverbs 22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the Maker of them all.
When God measures if you are allowed into His family He does not look at if you are rich or poor. He looks at your heart and what you have done with Jesus. When we think about the importance of a name I cannot help but to think about Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Proverbs 22:3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
Are you aware of your surroundings? Seriously, are you? There are far too many people unaware of things going on right around them, right in front of them. Psalm 139:14 b says “wonderful are Your (God) works”. Do we see God’s hand at work?

Proverbs 22:4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
I told you we would get back to an echo on the fear of the LORD. Stop and read that again and pause at each word and think. God wants to reward you and He will if you are humble! God wants to reward you and He will if you are humble! God wants to reward you and He will if you are humble! You know in the Hebrew context something repeated three times means it is very special and important. So did you catch it?

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
What do you think of when you think of snares and thorns? I think of sin. I think of the trap of sin? I think that Satan put them out there to step in but I am the one that steps into the trap by not being careful. That is why we need to be surrounded by the Word and in the Word and focused on the Spirit.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Dad’s – Have you put the time into training up, educating your family in the LORD?
Son’s – Have you obeyed what God teaches? Is it your own and not just your Dad’s faith?

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
This teaching is important on two levels. One, on just a pure stewardship and money level it is important for us not to be indebted. We become slaves. On a spiritual level this verse reminds us we can not live off of anyone else’s faith. We have to have our own faith. We cannot get saved because our Grandma was or Mom. We have to cry out and repent. I hope you have.

Have a great day racin’ in the SONshine,
Todd