Sobriety Bible, Using Proverb:4 in Sobriety

Throughout my sobriety I have read extensively; mainly books about sobriety, personal development, and success.

Now I am on a journey through the Bible. I will be sharing useful information that relates to sobriety in a series of posts called  “Sobriety Bible”.

These are wise words. They were written some time back in 960 B.C by Soloman, Agur and Lemuel, according to Jewish tradition.

The Bible that I am reading from is the “New Living Translation”.

Proverb 4. There is so much to glean from this Proverb. I love it. The title is ‘A Father’s Wise Advice’.

Proverbs 4:25 – Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you
Proverbs 4:26 – Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path
Proverbs 4:27 – Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil

This just speaks to me. It is so relevant in sobriety.  This is my interpretation;

Don’t look back, look forward, focus on today and what the future brings
Visualize the sober life ahead of you and follow the vision
Know what will sidetrack you and stay away from it. The “evil” is alcohol.

Another part of Proverb 4 that I like is:

Proverb 4:5 – Get Wisdom; develop good judgment.
Proverb 4:6 -Don’t turn your back on wisdom for she will protect you.
Love her, and she will guard you.
Proverb 4:7 -Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

When I was an active alcoholic, I think I lacked good judgment and wisdom. I did not live life using my greatest potential, nor did I make wise decisions. My judgment was affected, so was my understanding about life in general.
Alcohol changed my perception about life;  it had stripped my ability to live a really powerful life. Can you relate?

What is Wisdom? The definitions according to the Encarta Dictionary are:

1. Good Sense – the ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience
2. Wise decision – good sense shown in a way of thinking judgment, or action
3. Accumulated learning – accumulated knowledge of a sphere of activity that has been gained through experience

When talking about wisdom, we are also talking about; understanding, perception insight, knowledge, astuteness, intelligence, acumen, good judgment.

What is Good Judgment? The definitions according to the Encarta Dictionary are:

1. Judgment – discernment or good sense – the ability to form sound opinions and make sensible decisions or reliable guesses
2. Act of making statement – in logic, the mental act of making or understanding a positive or negative proposition about something

Whether you believe in God or not, I think these words can add meaning to your life.

Tags: Alcohol, Judgment, Proverb 4, Sober Living, sobriety bible, Sobriety Books, the Bible, Wisdom

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 5:47 am and is filed under Sobriety Bible. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.