Steve Webb  0:00  
A foolish person thinks that he knows it all.

Steve Webb  0:10  
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. It's Poetry Thursday. We'll read Proverbs, chapter 10. And I'm calling this episode "Better to Be Quiet." This will be a short episode today for two reasons. The first is that the reading is short as are my comments. And I'm in the middle of doing taxes. Yes, I know. Taxes are due in just a couple of days, but it's my tradition. I've done my own taxes all my life (well, Turbo Tax and I) and I always wait until the last minute because being in business for myself, I'm really not in a hurry to send the tax man what I owe him until I have to. So I will be nose to the grindstone pretty much until the last minute. I did take some time today, though, to witness something that is sort of the culmination of something I've been praying for, for close to 19 years. Adam Curry was baptized this evening and the worship service at his church was streamed live. I had to watch it. Adam accepted the Lord last year, but it was wonderful to see him follow the Lord in the ordinance of baptism. Just makes me so happy. Well, for those of you in the Southern California area, remember that this Saturday, April 15th, 2022, there will be a No Agenda meetup here in Riverside at Heroes Restaurant and Brewery at 3:33 in the afternoon. I'd love to see you there. If you'd like to go you can find out more at lifespringmedia.com/meetup. Now before we get started, let's have a word of prayer. Our heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your Word. We thank you for our time together. And we thank you once again for giving Adam the faith to believe in you. I pray, God, that as we read today you would teach us. Give us something we can hold on to, apply to our lives today. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, let's begin. 

Steve Webb  2:06  
Proverbs, chapter 10. These are Solomon's proverbs: Wise children make their fathers proud of them; foolish ones bring their mothers grief. Wealth you get by dishonesty will do you no good, but honesty can save your life. The Lord will not let good people go hungry, but he will keep the wicked from getting what they want. Being lazy will make you poor, but hard work will make you rich. A sensible person gathers the crops when they are ready; it is a disgrace to sleep through the time of harvest. Good people will receive blessings. The words of the wicked hide a violent nature. Good people will be remembered as a blessing, but the wicked will soon be forgotten. Sensible people accept good advice. People who talk foolishly will come to ruin. Honest people are safe and secure, but the dishonest will be caught. Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticizes works for peace. A good person's words are a fountain of life, but a wicked person's words hide a violent nature. Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses. Intelligent people talk sense, but stupid people need to be punished. The wise get all the knowledge they can, but when fools speak, trouble is not far off. Wealth protects the rich; poverty destroys the poor. The reward for doing good is life, but sin leads only to more sin. People who listen when they are corrected will live, but those who will not admit that they are wrong are in danger. Anyone who hides hatred is a liar. Anyone who spreads gossip is a fool. The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep quiet. A good person's words are like pure silver; a wicked person's ideas are worthless. A good person's words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity. It is the Lord's blessing that makes you wealthy. Hard work can make you no richer. It is foolish to enjoy doing wrong. Intelligent people take pleasure in wisdom. The righteous get what they want, but the wicked will get what they fear most. Storms come, and the wicked are blown away, but honest people are always safe. Never get a lazy person to do something for you; he will be as irritating as vinegar on your teeth or smoke in your eyes. Obey the Lord, and you will live longer. The wicked die before their time. The hopes of good people lead to joy, but wicked people can look forward to nothing. The Lord protects honest people, but destroys those who do wrong. Righteous people will always have security, but the wicked will not survive in the land. Righteous people speak wisdom, but the tongue that speaks evil will be stopped. Righteous people know the kind thing to say, but the wicked are always saying things that hurt.

Steve Webb  5:22  
My goodness, there were a lot of topics in this chapter wasn't there? Well, where should we focus? How about this? One thought that comes up repeatedly for me is that a wise person knows that no matter how much he knows, there's still a lot he doesn't know. And a foolish person thinks that he knows it all. Well, in 1 Corinthians 8:2, it says, “Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.” Have you ever seen the old TV show, Cheers? There's a character on that show who's a mail carrier. His name is Cliff Clavin. He's one of those guys that you often see in a group situation that acts like an expert about whatever subject comes up in conversation. He puffs up his chest and he says, "Oh, yeah, well, let me tell you about that." And then he goes on to demonstrate that he really doesn't know anything about it.

Cheers  6:13  
I still say that Kennedy will be president someday. Now, wait. Now, wait. Maybe the next time. You know how politicians are. I really don't think so, there, Diane. I've got a pet little theory about that. You see if you go back in history and take every president, you'll find that the numerical value of each letter in their last name was equally divisible into the year in which they were elected. So who's going to win, Cliff? Reagan, again? Mondale? No, not a chance. See, I figured it out. By my calculations, our next president has to be named Yelnik McWawa.

Steve Webb  6:56  
Thank you, Cliff. And then on another TV show, there's a character that demonstrates wisdom. It's the Jesse Stone series that used to be on TV and starred Tom Selleck. In that show, he plays a small-town chief of police. He has a lot of personal problems, but he does demonstrate the characteristic of knowing when to keep quiet. In one scene, the town council (the group he's accountable to) is not happy with the way he's handling a particular crime investigation. And they keep asking him about his progress on the case. Well to their questions, he responds with primarily one-word answers, and then one of the councilmen has a question for him. 

Councilman  7:36  
Don't you talk? 

Jesse Stone  7:38  
Only when I have something to say.

Steve Webb  7:40  
You see, the wise person doesn't feel the need to demonstrate how smart he is. The Fool is too stupid to know when to shut up. So I think I'll shut up now. Well, how do you do when it's time to be quiet or when it's time to speak up? Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511 to let me know your thoughts or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com and put your thoughts in there. And of course, one of my favorite ways for you to comment is to send your comment via boostagram. Tomorrow will be Prophecy Friday and our reading will be Ezekiel chapters 25 through 30.

Steve Webb  8:29  
Jason Paschall did today's show art. Thank you, Jason. God bless you. And thanks to Sister Denise and Michael Haner, Scott Snider, and Sister Brittany, the rest of the team. God bless you guys. And, Beloved, thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai