Beginning in August, we are changing the name of Wisdom Works Live to STOP BEING A FOOL, and while the name may sound stronger, the mission behind it has not changed at all; in fact, I believe the new name simply says more clearly what we have been attempting to accomplish from the beginning. We are not studying Proverbs merely to become more knowledgeable about Proverbs. We are studying Proverbs because FOOLISHNESS IS EXPENSIVE, and nowhere do we pay a greater price for foolishness than in our relationships. A foolish decision can destroy years of trust. A foolish word can wound someone we love. A foolish friendship can influence the direction of our lives. A foolish marriage can produce consequences that reach into generations, and foolish ambition can cause us to begin looking at people, not as souls created in the image of God whom we are called to love wisely, but as opportunities to be USED for our own advancement. This is why today's Proverb arrested my attention: “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.” Proverbs 22:16 KJV At first glance, these appear to be two completely different people, because the first man TAKES from someone while the second man GIVES to someone; the first appears selfish while the second may even appear generous, yet Solomon forces us to look beneath the behavior and examine something far more revealing. WHY are they doing what they are doing? The first man sees someone poorer and weaker than himself and asks, perhaps without ever saying it aloud, “How can this person benefit me?” The second man sees someone richer and more powerful than himself and essentially asks THE SAME QUESTION. One exploits weakness. The other courts strength. One uses the poor because they have LESS. The other favors the rich because they have MORE. Different behavior, but potentially the SAME FOLLY. This is why Relationship Wisdom requires more than learning communication techniques, resolving conflict, or getting along with difficult people. Relationship Wisdom is wise, ordered love under God, which means wisdom must govern not merely WHO I relate to, but WHY I relate to them the way that I do.

One of the things that struck me during today's Wisdom Works Live session is that most people spend far more time trying to manage their behavior than they do trying to understand what is governing their heart. Yet Solomon does exactly the opposite. Again and again throughout Proverbs 15, he takes us beneath the surface and forces us to look deeper than our actions, deeper than our words, and deeper than our circumstances. He continually brings us back to the same question: What is happening inside of you? When we think about self-mastery, many immediately think about discipline, habits, routines, time management, productivity, and self-control. Those things certainly matter. But biblical self-mastery begins much deeper than behavior. It begins with the heart. As we discussed today, the Bible describes the heart as the control center of life. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." (Proverbs 4:23) If the heart is right, many other things begin to fall into place. If the heart is wrong, no amount of productivity systems, life hacks, AI tools, calendars, planners, or accountability programs can ultimately compensate for it. One of the verses we spent time unpacking was Proverbs 15:14: "The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness." Notice the contrast. The wise person is seeking. The fool is feeding. The wise person is intentional. The fool is reactive. The wise person governs what enters their life. The fool consumes whatever is placed before them. And that brought us to what may be one of the most important questions for anyone living in the age of AI: What are you feeding on every day? Because every person today is being discipled by something. Every person is being shaped by what they repeatedly consume. The algorithm is discipling people. The news is discipling people. Social media is discipling people. Entertainment is discipling people. Politics is discipling people.

Wisdom Works Live Tonight Wealth Creation: The Three C's That Determine Whether You Build Wealth or Merely Chase It One of the greatest misconceptions among Christians is that wealth creation begins with money. Scripture teaches something altogether different. Before God ever entrusts a man or woman with greater resources, He first addresses the person who will steward them. Wealth is not merely a financial issue. It is a wisdom issue. It is a stewardship issue. It is a character issue. This is why Proverbs 20 is such a remarkable chapter. Solomon says very little about investments, business plans, or financial strategies. Instead, he exposes the habits, appetites, and decisions that determine whether a person can be trusted with increase. Tonight in Wisdom Works Live, we will examine what I call The Three C's of Wealth Creation. 1. Comfort Proverbs 20:13 "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." The issue is not sleep. The issue is what you love. The Hebrew word translated love is covenant language. It speaks of affection, devotion, and preference. Solomon is warning us that when comfort becomes our affection, poverty eventually becomes our companion. Many people pray for increase while protecting the very comforts that prevent it. Wisdom requires that we awaken, not merely from physical sleep, but from spiritual complacency, mental laziness, and vocational drift. 2. Counterfeits Proverbs 20:17 "Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel." Every generation has its shortcuts. Our generation has simply digitized them. The temptation is always the same: Quick success. Easy money. Artificial influence. Immediate results without faithful labor. Solomon reminds us that deception always begins sweet, but it never ends sweet. Wisdom looks beyond today's pleasure and asks what tomorrow's consequences will be. 3. Counsel Proverbs 20:18 "Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war."

To my Proverbs 12x Cohort: I've attached a video of my first masterclass from today as well as a copy of the slides that were used. The Zoom call was just over 90 minutes and was very interactive. The video attached is my recorded presentation, much shorter. I welcome any feedback you would like to give, and look forward to discussing on the wealth creation call Monday. Blessings, Mark

The Tragedy of Wanting Without Becoming Why Desire Alone Never Produces Increase There is something in the heart of man that loves the promise of increase while quietly resisting the process that increase requires, and nowhere is this more evident than in our desires for prosperity, opportunity, influence, effectiveness, and fruitfulness, because while most men would gladly receive more if God were pleased to place it into their hands today, far fewer are asking whether they have become the kind of person capable of stewarding more if He were to entrust it to them tomorrow. This is one of the great deceptions under the sun, namely, that we are often preoccupied with what we do not possess while remaining strangely unconcerned with what we have not yet become, and because our eyes are fixed upon the blessing, we frequently overlook the fact that God is ordinarily far more concerned with the formation of the vessel than the distribution of the treasure that is to be placed within it. The issue is not merely that people want more. The problem is deeper than that. Men want increase without development, prosperity without discipline, influence without responsibility, harvest without cultivation, and success without the patient labour by which God ordinarily brings success to pass, and because desire feels sincere and intention feels productive, many mistake longing for progress and wishing for transformation. Yet Solomon, with his usual precision, cuts through such self-deception with a single verse: "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Proverbs 13:4 Observe carefully that Solomon does not say the sluggard lacks desire. He does not say the sluggard lacks dreams. He does not say the sluggard lacks ambition. Indeed, the text expressly tells us that he desireth, and in those few words Solomon destroys one of the most cherished illusions of fallen humanity, namely, that desire itself possesses the power to change a man's condition.