Tuesday, September 22

Today’s Readings: Ecclesiastes 5:1-20; John 8:21-38; Psalm 128

One of the acronyms that informs the way I approach my life is KISS. As some of you might remember, that stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. In my case it’s especially appropriate the saying ends with stupid as I frequently forget to follow the advice contained in the first three letters. I have a gift for making things way more complicated than they need to be. Of course, there are many other sources that I look to for principles to guide my life – and one of those sources is the books of wisdom contained in the Hebrew Scriptures/Old Testament. Today’s passage from Ecclesiastes has many bits of wisdom that could positively shape one’s life. My favorite verse out of all of the verses is verse two – for it gives me three foundational principles that help keep my life on track. First, verse two tells me, be real with God (or, as the author states, “Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think God wants to hear”). Second, be humble (“God’s in charge, not you!”). Third, be quite (“the less you speak, the better”). I’ve found those to be wonderful words to live by. Today, I would invite you to experiment with the three be’s as I call them (“be real, be humble, be quite”) and see if your attempt to live by those words helps shape your day in a positive manner. Til next time…