Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

Have you noticed how success can quietly change us? Not always dramatically. Not overnight, it’s usually gradual. A promotion here. Recognition there. A bigger title. A larger office. More influence. More people are listening and agreeing. If we’re not careful, something subtle begins to happen. We started serving the mission, then somewhere along the way, we began expecting the mission to serve us. “The lazy fool claims to be smarter than seven men who can answer sensibly.”— Proverbs 26:16 MSG This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketplaceproverbs.substack.com [https://marketplaceproverbs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

The things causing the greatest damage in our lives are not always the obvious big things. Rarely does a vineyard fail because of one dramatic catastrophe. More often, damage begins quietly. Subtly, incrementally, one small intrusion at a time, a little neglect, a little compromise, a little resentment, a little cynicism, a little offense, a little drift. Before long, something once healthy and fruitful begins producing sour grapes. And nobody likes sour grapes. “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.”— Proverbs 25:28 NIV “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”— Song of Solomon 2:15 NIV This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketplaceproverbs.substack.com [https://marketplaceproverbs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

Does life rarely ask permission before disrupting your plans? Storms don’t check our calendars. Setbacks don’t schedule appointments. Problems rarely arrive at convenient times. Sometimes life knocks us down without warning. The real question is not whether we will face setbacks. The real question is: What happens after we fall? “For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…”— Proverbs 24:16 NIV This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketplaceproverbs.substack.com [https://marketplaceproverbs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

Why do people often form an impression of us before we say a single word? Before the presentation begins, before the sales pitch, before the meeting starts, or before we even introduce ourselves. I believe something is already being communicated. Our presence speaks, our posture speaks, our facial expressions speak, and our tone speaks. Long before customers fully evaluate our words, they are often evaluating us. That’s why communication is about far more than vocabulary. Sometimes what people see speaks louder than what we say. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”— Proverbs 23:7 NKJV This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketplaceproverbs.substack.com [https://marketplaceproverbs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie

The Lion in the Street Have you ever convinced yourself not to do something you knew was good for you? It’s not because it was impossible, dangerous, or because God told you not to. Sometimes, your mind just finds a very convincing reason. Over the years, I’ve learned that my mind is incredibly good at coming up with reasons to justify what my heart already desires. This insightful point is exactly what Solomon warns us about in Proverbs 22. excuse. Scripture “The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”— Proverbs 22:13 ESV This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit marketplaceproverbs.substack.com [https://marketplaceproverbs.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]