Let’s get it.
That’s what I say before I do my reps on bench press. That’s what I say before I have my post-workout protein and creatine smoothie. That’s what I say before I climb a hard route. And bro—if you’re looking to upstyle your life, upskill your life, then I say to you, “Let’s get it”. I’m all about helping people find their value and motivate them to climb higher in life.
Why write a blog for motivation? Because I see a lot of downcast faces when I go to the gym, to the grocery store, or when I’m climbing. Life is hard, but social media has made it easy to compare your worst with someone’s best fleeting moment. No one sees what happens 3 seconds after the picture is taken, all one sees is perfection. I have found a way to motivate and make life grand that I want to share with you, and it was found in a hard place, even rock bottom. But when you hit rock bottom, use it as the foundation for building up your life.
But when you hit rock bottom, use it as the foundation for building up your life.
Growing up in the church, I didn’t have that older guy to encourage me. Growing up I didn’t have a good church, nor did I have modeled in front of me, a godly man. Someone who would take the time to invest in my life. And you know what? The old saying is true, “The help you didn’t get it, was the help you needed.” No idea who said that, but I like it. God used the lack of help in my life to shape me into who I am today.
So this in this blog, I want to walk you through the Biblical Book of Proverbs. Sometimes, I’ll go chapter by chapter, theme by theme or even verse by verse. If you have a question or a chapter of some book you want to go through, especially within the Bible–nothing would make me happier than if you sent a request!
The Book of Proverbs was written by a man that without doubt was extraordinary, as if he a character in a movie. It’s very possible that he was even the inspiration for several stories, for example, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, or Sleeping Beauty. So many fictional stories have some inspiration from real life and real people in mind. The curious aspect of a story is, was the person that inspired the movie portrayed inversely, in an adversarial light, a positive fashion? What trend did the director follow?
One trend in movies is to redeem the villain. Dracula: Untold, Maleficent…etc. Another trend is that writers are creatively retelling some timeless classics. The audience is brought into nostalgic waters as they relished the old familiarities and surprised at the new differences. One of my favorite movies growing up was The Beauty and The Beast. My wife and I went and saw the new version portrayed in real life and loved it. We saw the old version of The Beauty and the Beast after we watched the new one for fun to see the differences.
The story of patient love overcoming a curse is a timeless classic. The beast is presented as larger than life and hosting extravagant parties for a nearby village in his enormous castle. Though cursed as a beast, he still lives in a large estate, with many servants, highly educated and very wealthy. How curious and shocking that a poor peasant girl would steal his heart? His servants were kind to him the long years of being a beast and slowly helped curb his mean spirit, and readied his heart for her touch. Her kindness transformed his rugged selfishness into a selfless king that gave back to the nearby village.
I’m reminded of a tale that is like that is often misunderstood but talked about by many. A long time ago a very wealthy young man was impressive in wisdom, in wealth, and with shapely women and held the world in awe. So superlative was this young man that many historians and liberal scholars doubt the range and scale of his success and reign. He was a king over a once small and quiet people. He was a spectacle that the world from all places would come just to see him in his glory. They would listen to his wisdom, gaze at the large buildings he had constructed, walk within his garden and parks, and enjoy great musicals and feasts that he would host. His castle-palace was filled with lovely maidens, talented musicians, inventors, and every kind of delight.
But the man was lonely. Dark depression and intellectual frustration over the brevity of life soon crept in. Although power was his in the extreme, he was powerless to the fact that one day he would die and give his lot to another, and who knows if that man would a fool or not? Pleasure was fun, but what use was it for facing the challenges of death, the vapor-like state of life, and the overall pain in life. Like the beast, he soon hated all of life and burdened the people with more and more building projects. People were reduced to an audience to hear his wisdom. As a wealthy man, buyers were no longer human beings, but reduced to profits to be accumulated and maximized. As a strong man, people were simply to be used for gain. The crowds grew bigger, but he grew lonelier. His wealth waxed steadily on in size, increased in variety and the like, but his heart waned, and his heart grew dim. Enraged like his father, he grew more and more selfish like a beast.
Selfishness was eating away him as he denied the very God he once believed in, since wild and fetching vixens had dragged his heart away from the God he grew up with, to the gods the lusty women had. Salubrious and sunny days turned grey and taxing. His supernaturally blessed life became a fetid existence. Yet one unexpected day God graciously would bring in a single woman to change all that. One poor peasant girl would steal the heart of the great beast. Surely this tale is worth retelling too.
Who was this man? Some would call this man king and master. Others would call him a god. The workers called him a harsh taskmaster. The gentry would call him sage. His father David would call him Jedidiah, “beloved of Yahweh.” His mother Bathsheba would call him Lemuel, a baby name meaning “devoted to God.” His darling companion called him, “Beloved.” God himself called him the wisest man that ever lived.