May 15, 2026 -- Proverbs 10:23 -- Is your life a joke?

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,
but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
Proverbs 10:23 ESV
 
Here’s a quotation attributed to the 1980’s and 90’s pop star, Madonna: “Why did I want to break all the rules, because the rules didn’t make sense”. In her heyday, she was considered the cutting edge of radical. What makes me laugh now is that much of her music is “elevator music” or muzak—the background noise at malls and public places. I remember almost spitting out my morning coffee when I heard some of Madonna’s music played at the nursing home of  my 90’s something aunt. At that moment I realized, for all her planned wickedness and flaunting of rules, Madonna is a has-been. Long ago overtaken by successive waves of the next, and the new.
 
Wisdom, however, is never trendy, but is always a pleasure to one steeped in it. Those who are trained up in wisdom are not garish in their youth, nor laughed at as a has-been in their senior years. Those who walk in wisdom carry about them the freshness of life well-lived. Those who are filled with understanding have hope for life beyond this life. They lead others in the right path. For a man or woman of understanding, it becomes obvious to the observer that the public life and the private of that person is consistent. It is honourable.
 
Wisdom and understanding are not naturally part of the human heart. People are born with every sinful inclination and wayward impulse. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to break the ingrained bent toward evil and open a heart up to the reconciling work of Jesus. No one can white-knuckle his way to a new life. It wells up in the heart of a person who belongs to Jesus. It is like cool, refreshing water available to all who live in the desert wastelands of our culture.
 
O God our Father, thank You for the blessing of Your great love, shown to us through Jesus.
O God the Spirit, thank You for opening in my soul a well of living water, from which the rich fountain of Christ’s blessings flow and overflow in my life.
O God my Savior, thank You for the fullness of life, the joy and pleasures which accompany living for You. Amen.
 
https://youtu.be/0nnkkra4FwY?si=rtC4pKYrdtqQMVDI Psalm 150 Praise the Lord
 

Copyright © 2026 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.