Introduction to The Greatest Business Book Ever Written, Proverbs

Personally, I have been blessed by in 1991 marrying the girl of my dreams, Carol, and we have two amazing children, Joshua and Bridget.  Professionally, I have been a practicing California real estate attorney since 1991. I practice in real estate and business transactions, although I did litigate and work in other fields over the years.  I received my bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1988 and my law degree from Loyola Law School in 1991.  Through college and law school, I sold real estate and practiced in mortgage banking as a real estate licensee.  It was my desire to truly help people and my love for learning that led me to consider going to law school.  It was a great decision for me.  I love what I do.  I came to believe and accept that Jesus[1] is who the Bible said he was when I was living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia when I was in the 8^th grade.  The particulars of that is a story unto itself, but my purpose in sharing this is to reveal a potential bias.  I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by God through the human authors.  If this is the case, and the Bible makes certain positive, testable vs. purely normative statements, then we would expect to see empirical evidence that it is true.  Practicing real estate and business law for over 20 years has provided me with something of a laboratory for testing business/interpersonal theories and strategies.  I have continued my studies after law school in business and economics because of my need to stay relevant for my clients and because of my love for learning.  A parallel avenue of study has been the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament of the Bible.  Around age 18, someone told me about a simple promise in the Bible: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5 ESV). Pretty simple, God thinks that the wisdom is so important that all you have to do is ask for it and it will be given, generously.  He also suggested that since there are 31 chapters Proverbs which roughly corresponds to the number of days in the month, that a daily discipline for those who want wisdom could be to: 1) ask God for wisdom; and 2) read a Proverb each day with the expectation that God’s wisdom will be freely and generously given.  I am not naturally the wisest person, but I believe that this simple act of obedience as a daily routine is a big part of my success as an attorney where people depend upon my counsel to them being wise. I will attempt to point out where conventional business knowledge/wisdom/best practices is in conformity with Biblical wisdom and where it departs from it.  I also believe that the benefits of Biblical wisdom can be learned and applied by both one who accepts the whole of the revelation of the Bible and those who simply want the wisdom to advance their business, however, there are two warnings for those in the latter category: 1) “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Mark 8:36-37 NIV; and 2) you may end up being convinced, as I did, that the Bible is true which will have much bigger implications on your life than just obtaining business wisdom.  I like to get this out of the way as some people will prefer to stop reading now.  I dislike it when writers obviously have biases, but leave it to the reader to figure them out.  You may figure out some other biases of mine as you read, but I want to get the big ones out of the way early on.  I do not feel the need to defend these provisions.  The Word of God stands on its own.  The one who wrote it is more than capable of defending it before man.  I also expect that as I hear feedback from others, I will have to clarify/amend certain provisions.  I welcome this feedback and spirited debate.  However, I would ask that you keep it civil.

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[1] “Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6 NIV.  “[I]f you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:9-13 NIV.