Proverbs 21:18-20
The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and the faithless are taken in the place of the upright.
It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome and easily-provoked woman.
There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise,
but a foolish person devours all he has.
I don’t remember if I was always this way, or if someone noticed me doing this once as a kid so I became this way, but there is a thing I do. When it comes to cookies and sweets, I like to ration them out and save them so they last over time. I like sweets alot. Too much really. I very rarely turn down something sweet.
So, since I love sweets, I like to make sure that I have some now and some for later. So, if I get a gift of Hershey bars, for example, I’ll hold on to them for quite a while. That way when I really want a sweet, I know that there is one to get. Sure, they might not be perfectly fresh, but it’s still chocolate!
And, this has turned into quite a little joke with our two older kids. One day, one of them stole one of my chocolate bars, and I pretended to make a big deal about it. Putting my hands on my hips, furling my brow and making a pretend mean face, I scowl at them and we all crack up. Then, they would just say that they stole one of my chocolate bars and we’d all have a good laugh of it.
Until one day…when I found out that they actually had stolen most of my chocolate bars. I didn’t make a big deal about it with them, even though I wanted to. But as someone who likes to save treats so they last, I was back to square one.
Now, not to pat myself on the back as wise, and, not to compare chocolate bars with desirable treasure and olive oil, but this is what the wise do. The wise save things and ration them out so they can enjoy them over time. When you enter into the house of the wise, there are delectables.
However, when you enter the house of a foolish person, there isn’t anything to enjoy. Why? because they devour it as soon as they get it. Kind of like Charlie when he got his first chocolate bar in the movie. There is no rationing, not saving, no enjoying. Just devouring.
So, be a wise person. Save your chocolate bars.
