Dear men, this morning, if you turn in your Bibles there to that passage of God's Word that I read to you in your hearing, there in the book of Proverbs and the verse 32 of chapter 16, and just thinking about these words which will form, as it were, a springboard into the subject in which we are considering Christian manhood how the man of God is to think and to act in this world, how he is to honor God, how he is to glorify God in this world. We think of these words here, he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. A Christian is called, isn't he, to have a meek spirit to watch his tongue, to watch his heart, to watch his life, to be slow to anger. We are called to temperance in the Christian life, self-control. The Holy Spirit teaches us self-control. We want to think about this morning, remember in our beginning of our series I began to give an outline of the Christian life. and the true Christian man of God. I formed, as it were, a skeleton by giving you a framework of what biblical manhood is. Firstly and chiefly, biblical manhood is somebody who fears God. And I fleshed that out in terms, we looked, didn't we, at the man Job. It's said of Job, that there was one who feared God and eschewed evil. There are many other characters that we can look at. So we looked at Job, we also looked at Cornelius, and then I mentioned in our series of studies at the outset when we began to form an outline of what we'll be looking at, biblical manhood rejects passivity, and that we'll be looking at this morning in some depth, and then somebody who accepts responsibility and then falsely, through biblical manhood, leads his family with biblical conviction and courageously. Now, having given that outline, that was our first meeting, I gave that outline, didn't I, of what it really means to be a godly man, one who follows the Lord, one who fears God. And we mentioned, didn't we, that I suppose in the day and age in which we live, this is something that is not really understood in many a church. True, biblical manhood is not some John Wayne character in that sense. Neither is he a weak, effeminate, modern man who is so weak that won't stand up for things. We live in a day when masculinity and manhood is frowned upon, isn't it? It's very much portrayed that way in the media. It's, in fact, discouraged. And people use terms like toxic masculinity. I'm sure you've heard of that. And the distinction between the sexes is increasingly becoming blurred, isn't it? in the day and age in which we live. Men and women are different, and we've got different roles in the family, in the life, in the community. God has made us equal, of course, in terms of made in his image, male and female, but we have different functions. We are biologically different, but we're also, I suppose, in terms of mental characteristics, we are different. Peter describes men or women as the weaker vessel. That is, women can be more emotional. Men are to lead. Men are stronger with certain situations. But of course, we can't give birth to children. Women are very different emotionally and physically. And the distinction needs to be kept, doesn't it, in the day and age in which we live. So we need to come to biblical manhood. You may even hear some things, and it almost seems comical, when men say, I need to get in touch with my feminine side. I've never heard such nonsense in all of my life. Friends, we need to get in touch with biblical manhood, don't we? We live in a day and age where men need to be men. The Apostle Paul says, quit you like men. Men need to be men, women need to be women, and we need to teach our sons to be men. We live in a very godless age where Satan is perverting the minds of people and society So we thought, really, what is biblical manhood? As I said in the first study, and I gave that fourfold outline of that skeleton, as it were, of a biblical man, biblical manhood, chiefly, is somebody who fears God. Secondly, he rejects passivity. Thirdly, he accepts responsibility. And fourthly, he leads with biblical conviction. And thus, he leads courageously. And then in the first second message, we opened up this matter of the fear of the Lord. And of course, the great example is our Lord Jesus. And somebody might ask the question, well, did the Lord Jesus really fear God? Well, yes, he did. We're told in Isaiah 11, it says that the spirit of the Lord shall be upon him. It says there in verse one, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. This is speaking of Christ. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of the knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. It's not the fear of dread. that Christ had, but a filial respect and awe for the Father. Indeed, although he is the eternal Son of God, God, as it were, respects himself, fears God. He came as a man into this world. And we could think, I suppose, of heaven in this way. The whole atmosphere The native breath of heaven is the fear of God. There is respect, there is awe. The angels have all respect for God, and the Father for the Son, and the Son for the Father. The fear of the Lord was upon Christ, and he honored the Father here in this life. It was one perpetual delight to honor the Father, and that's what filial fear is. It is a desire to honor God. And that truly is at the heart of all true biblical manhood, a desire to honor God. We think of those words, do we not, in Philippians chapter two, where it says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He was not robbering God the Father, He was not robbing him of his honor because he is very God himself and he had the glory once with a father and yet in this life he came and humbled himself and became a man, didn't he? But made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. That's humility. Although he is very God and being found in fashion as a man He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And then we're told that, therefore, the Father has given him a name, which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. He feared the Lord, and he is the example to all of us. We should follow in his footsteps. God and heaven is not a place of anarchy, but a place of honor and respect. And that's really how our homes are to be. Children feel most safe where they know the rules. And a family marriage and union in a church is a wonderful place to be where people know the rules and things are done decently and in order. But look at families today, societies. There's disorder. How few families actually sit down and eat a meal together. Somebody's getting up, putting their dinner in the microwave, everybody's eating at their own times, and there's chaos, and there's disorder, and everybody is doing their own thing. Well, we are the order of heaven and God. God is a God of order. We are to be men of order, and there is to be No chaos in our lives or in our family's lives or anything like that. And we are to be God-fearing men. And we are to teach our children the fear of the Lord, which is really the beginning of wisdom, isn't it? And then we looked, didn't we, at the life of certain righteous men. We thought of Cornelius a little bit, that devout man who feared the Lord, and then we thought of Job. and how Job feared the Lord. A man, it says, that was perfect and upright and one that feared the Lord and eschewed evil. And even when everything was taken away from that godly man, and his wife very strangely said, why don't you curse God and die? Have you lost your integrity? She said to Job. And then it says there, after the Lord had taken everything from Job, Job said, the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? And then we're told in all this, did not Job sin with his lips? He knew the Lord. And if God was to take everything and God was behind it, it was not so much the Sabaeans or the Chaldeans that took all of his things, but God took it away. God even worked through those things for the good of Job's soul. So really the fear of God is to know that God is control over everything. And that whatever happens in this life, we are to trust Him. That He is a God of order and He is ordering all things in our life for our good and His glory. You see Job, unlike so many, he had his eye upon God. Not like Peter at that time, when Peter, remember how there was a storm upon the sea and the Lord called Peter and said, come. And Peter at first went out and then Peter took his eye off the Lord and he had his eye upon the storm and he began to sink. And whatever troubles and trials in our life, we are to rather be like Job. who could say, I look to the left, I look to the right, I don't see him there, but he knows the way that I take. And after he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. Behind the fear of God is a man of faith. We cannot fear God apart from faith. And the fear of God is the mark of regeneration. It is God that does it that we should fear him. We're told this in Ecclesiastes 3, 14 and 15. God doeth it that men should fear before him. And the fear of the Lord produces love and obedience to him. We saw also from Psalm 130, verse 3 and 4, how David said, Lord, if thou shouldst mark iniquities, who should stand? David understood himself to be a great and unworthy sinner. Lord, if I should stand before you or anybody, who could stand? Because, Lord, thou dost see sin. Lord, if thou shouldst mark a nicotine, who shall stand? And then he exclaims, but there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. The forgiveness of God produces a true filial fear. It's the mark of Regeneration, it's the mark of forgiveness, but it's the mark of the spiritually blind who does not fear God, isn't it? It says there in Romans 3.18, there is no fear of God before his eyes. That's the ungodly. He doesn't even see himself for what he is, a great, hell-deserving sinner. There's no fear of God before his eyes. He's blind to himself. He's blind to God. And it says there in Psalm 36 verse 1, the transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, there is no fear of God before his eyes. And the fear of God, furthermore, we thought, it is through the fear of God that we perfect holiness in the life. It says there in 2 Corinthians 7, having therefore these promises, that is of heaven, and many things that are to come, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. It's as we think upon God and all that he has done for us, as we gaze upon all that Christ has done for us, dying upon that cross, and the judgment that is to come, viewing God's mercy toward us, that we will perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. Well, something else we began to think about is one who fears the Lord will have a prayer life. He who does not pray, we cannot say, we can say, does not have a relationship with God. It's the mark that we're saved. Now, sometimes our prayer life suffers because in sin we put other things in its place. And we are not to do that. And I spent some time on that and stressed how we need to make it our daily practice to have communion with the Lord, to read His Word, to have a good devotional, to read good Christian books, to be as the Psalmist who said, I set the Lord all the way before me, therefore I shall not be moved. We need to be reading, we need to be praying, and especially in the home. We need to, as Paul says in Ephesians 5, husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. And then he says, by the washing of the word, We need to bring ourselves, as well as our wives, under the Word. Men, if we are not reading, and if we're not studying God's Word, and if we do not have a close walk with the Lord, we're not ready for marriage. You want to know how can I be ready to marry somebody? You say, well, I want a godly wife. Maybe you're single. Well, become a godly man. Maybe the Lord will provide you a godly wife. We've got to be men who pray and who bring ourselves under the word of God every day. Let us always set the Lord before us. And then, so having thought about the fear of God fairly extensively, we come now to our fourth message. And I want us to think here this morning about the second aspect about here rejecting passivity and putting flesh on the skeleton, as it were, we thought of the fear of God. We looked at Job. We looked at the example of what it means to fear God, to have a prayer life, to read the Word of God, to walk closely with the Lord, to fear the Lord, to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. Now, secondly, We are to reject passivity. We can know many things in our mind to do them. But the scriptures say, he who knows to do good and does it not, it is sin, isn't it? We have to, as it were, the wheel, the rubber has to hit the road at some point, doesn't it? And the Christian life is not just taking in information. but it is living it out. The Christian life is an active life and we are to reject passivity. I think we live in a day and age when so many men are passive. Passive in the home and we find women leading because men won't. Women taking the lead because men don't. Men acting like little boys and we are not to be little boys. Paul says, when I was a child, I thought as a child. Let us not be children and let us be of a sober mind and let us reject passivity. Now, first of all, let me say rejecting passivity does not mean that we are a rash person. It's important to stress that. Do you know what I'm saying? Some people, when we talk about rejecting passivity, they think that means I've got to be constantly just making a quick decision to do things. Rashness is condemned in the Bible. It is absolutely condemned. And we have to watch our tongues. We have to watch our speech. We read that verse, didn't we, there? Look at verse 31, actually, of Proverbs 16. The hoary head, or the gray head, is a crown of glory. Men don't be ashamed of gray hair. Let me just say that. Gray hair, or hoary head, is nothing to be ashamed about. We are told to grow old gracefully, aren't we? So don't be ashamed of it. But you don't glory in the hair if it is found in the way of righteousness. Job tells us, in Job, days should speak and a multitude of years should teach wisdom. We need wisdom, don't we? The years that pass on should make us wise. And we should learn from our stumblings. Oh men, how many times have you made a fool of yourself, as I have, when we have spoken rashly? And you know what? People will not listen to you, people will not follow you, if you are quick to speak. If you come to decisions quickly in your life, how foolish it is. Positivity does not mean being rash with your words, or my words. You see what I'm saying? The first thing now, we're thinking about here the speech, aren't we? Don't be rash with your words. A God-fearing man can be rash with his words. He has to control his tongue, especially in the home, especially in the church, at work, anywhere. Rejecting passivity does not mean you are to be rash, but rather we are to be slow to speak. And when we know something, we are to take action decisively and to do it in a measured way. We have to be measured. Sometimes, you know, it's like the pendulum can swing completely the opposite way and people overreact. And this is completely wrong. Some men are not level-headed, and one of the requirements of an elder is that he is not a rash man in his thoughts, but he is measured. The Lord, of course, is the supreme example of this. If you turn with me to Proverbs 14 and verse 15. I would say this, this is, again, reading the Word of God, meditating upon it. Men take, as it were, a verse of the Bible every day and think about it, or maybe the whole week. Try to put to practice that particular verse. It's not so much quantity, but the quality. Do we follow in the things that we are? being given advice by God about. Do we practice these things in the life? Look at Proverbs 14 verse 15. The simple believeth every word, but the prudent man looketh well to his going. Look at that verse carefully there. The simple believeth every word. Some people are just so easily persuadable. Somebody can come up to them and they believe the very first thing. It's like this on the internet. There's so much rubbish out there, and you have to be very careful who you read. Look at the source, look at what you read, look at what you hear. Pay attention to what you hear. Hear both sides of the argument. There are so many voices today, so many people speaking. And then you say something to somebody else, you're proven wrong, you lose your credibility. And how hard it is. to get credibility back, isn't it? The foolish man, the simple, believeth every word. But the prudent man looketh well to his going. He sees where he's going. He listens, he weighs everything up. If people see you, men, and if your wives, and even if you don't have a wife, if they see you as fickle-minded, If they see you as easily persuadable, do you really think you're making it easy for your wife to follow you? You're not. You're making it very hard, aren't you? We have to be men who think and pray before we speak, don't we? If you look at Proverbs 18, Proverbs 18 verse 17. It says, He that is first in his own cause seemeth just, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. In other words, the meaning of this verse here is one who states his case first always seems to be right. You listen to a man, he comes with an argument or he hears somebody or hear that argument it seems to be right. But then somebody else comes along and completely overturns it. Oh, how we need to be very, very cautious. You see, because we are, God has appointed us to be leaders in our home, perhaps leaders in the church. And if we listen to the first argument, or if we easily persuade it, how we undermine ourselves and how we make it so difficult for others to follow us. You see this? It means really, first of all, controlling your spirit, doesn't it? Sometimes we want to believe things that we hear, because we've got a bias, or maybe we've got a chip on our shoulder, and we want to believe that, so we jump at it, and then all of a sudden, the whole argument is overturned. and our wives and our family can see through this. We prove ourselves not at that time to be spiritual men. We're not thinking rationally. We're not thinking spiritually. It means controlling our spirits. Now we need to watch and pray. The devil will always come and he knows our own weaknesses of our own hearts, doesn't he? He certainly wants to disrupt churches. He wants to disrupt families. He wants to ruin us. He wants us also to be discouraged. Again, look at Proverbs 16, 31. The hoary head is a crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness. He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty. He that ruleth his spirit and he that taketh the city. So powerful because within the heart, as James says, is a world of iniquity. How envy and strife and malice and bitterness can be subdued if we would just watch our spirits and be slow to speak. So important, isn't it? Our thinking. Take things in carefully. And by the way, love thinks the best, doesn't it? It thinks the best of other people. And you want to think the best of other people, but you also want others to think the best of you. So, watch and pray against all inward temptation. Look at Galatians 5.19. It says there, now the works of the flesh are manifest. Galatians 5.19, the works of the flesh are manifest. Which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reverence and such the like of which I tell you before and have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness." Now there's the word temperance, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now somebody that has self-control He's not a disputer. He's not a brawler. He's not an argumentative person. He does not come to a rash decision. He does not make rash decisions, but he thinks and weighs up matters. Sometimes he holds his peace and he holds his judgment. Part of wisdom is knowing when to speak and when not to speak, isn't it? So, rejecting passivity does not mean we act rashly. I think that's very important to make clear to us. The Christian life is to be active, but actively suppressing sin, sin within us. Wouldn't you agree? All these things rise up within us. Wrath, he says, strife, seditions, all of these things inwardly. And we must remember that there is an enemy within us, isn't there? Sin, the flesh, lurks there and has this evil tendency, doesn't it, to rise up. And you know, when we fall, it makes it so difficult, men, for our wives to follow us. If we are impetulant, impatient, pray. Pray God will help us to be more rational, to be slow to anger, slow to wrath. Our wives, when they look at us, they should think, my husband is a rational, reasonable man. He will think this matter out. He won't be quick to come to a judgment and condemn people. My grandfather many, many years ago when he was alive. He didn't like to hear people talking about other people. And what he would do is he would go and make you stand in front of the mirror for 10 minutes if he heard you talk about people. He'd make you look at yourself. So some few moments of quiet reflection. And that's not a bad practice, is it? We ought to look at ourselves and to think, is what is coming out of my mouth edifying, encouraging, There are times when we must speak against wrong. But friends, we have to hold things back, don't we, in our own hearts, because our hearts are a world of iniquity. And if we lead wrong, our wives will not trust our judgment. And that's a poor show. It's very hard to get credibility back, isn't it? We are to be diligent. Thirdly, to seek love, when we speak here of we're rejecting passivity, we are to be diligent in this sense to seek to love others and to think the best of others rather than think the worst. Think of it, if you think the worst about somebody, what does that actually do for you? Nothing. Doesn't do you any good. You create this image of somebody, that probably is all false and you don't know the half. We have to watch our spirits. It says there in 1 Corinthians 2.15, but he that is spiritual judges all things. That is righteous judgment. Yet he himself is judged of no man. As if a man who is truly spiritual, he assesses everything. He doesn't just judge some things. But it says he judges all things. He weighs up the entire matter. And true diligence and this being resisting passivity, you know, and sometimes people don't speak up when they should speak up. And we should reject that form of passivity, shouldn't we? We should reject that. But even when you do that, be very careful. If you turn to 1 Corinthians 13, it says there, 1 Corinthians 13 verse 4, charity or love suffereth long and is kind. True love is kind. You're going to correct somebody, be kind about it. If you've got a fault with somebody, you go and you tell them. You don't create an atmosphere, you go and you tell them, and you speak about it. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not, doesn't envy other people. Charity vaunteth not itself, doesn't puff itself up, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. That is, you think the best of other people, not the worst. How many times you can make a wrong assessment about somebody in front of your wife, in front of your children, and then, my friend, you are proven to be wrong. And that person shows your family and your wife that your words are all contrary. You've lost They're confidence, haven't you? Haven't you? You have. This is a serious thing and we can do it, man. Because we can be proud, we can envy somebody else. Never should it be. You know, people do make assessments about our own spirits, don't they? If the spirit is wrong, who would want to follow such a man? Who would want to follow such a father, such a husband? Again, one of the qualities of an elder in a church, 1 Timothy 3.2, is to be vigilant. We read sober, of good behavior, and then it says patient, not a brawler, not covetous, being content with what we have. And that can mean our homes, it can mean maybe even positions that we hold, or even be content with whatever situation we're in. Godliness with contentment is great gain. And if your family can see you as a contented man, they will trust you. But if they don't, they will see an evil spirit. And you'll make it very difficult for them to follow you. Friends, men, we will go through many storms of life. Sometimes, you know, men speak of this midlife crisis that they go through. But that should never be the case with a Christian. We should never have a sort of midlife crisis, you know, when you get to your 50s or whatever. Life should be getting better as a Christian, shouldn't it? But it won't if we take our eyes off God. And if we take our eyes off serving him, we're not here to serve ourselves, we're here to serve him. And the only way we will think right is by turning to God's word. It is by the entrance of his word we are told that he gives light to our souls. The word of God is described as like a mirror, isn't it? When we see it, we not only see ourselves, but we see the way in which we should go. Again, this comes back to the fear of the Lord, doesn't it? The Lord is not mocked. When we make a promise to the Lord, We should be quick to obey that vow or to follow it through, to commit ourselves to the Lord, to walk humbly for the Lord, to watch our spirit, to watch our minds, how we need to watch and pray against all inward temptation. It says there in Ecclesiastes 5.2, be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God. Sometimes we can come to God with complaints that are so wrong, or we can say things that are so wrong, and we can be so off being. And people pick up on this, don't they? We're talking about being godly men and being useful to our families. being useful to the church, not disgracing ourselves and not making a rod for our own back. How do people view you and me? Do people view you as fickle? Fickle? Double-minded? James says, unstable in all of his ways. What does it mean to ask in faith? I'll tell you what it means. It means that when God gives you the answer, you've already determined that whatever he's going to tell you, you're going to obey it. That's what it means to ask in faith. It means that you will receive of the Lord, and his answer is always right, and that you will follow it through, and that we will be not passive, and we'll take up our responsibility And we do so as we follow the Lord in confidence. Paul says, watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. We've got to be active, we're not passive. And that means we take the lead, don't we, in things. We take the lead, right. We say, we're going to read God's Word. We don't make excuses. When the family haven't come round for study, the father says, doesn't say, well, you didn't remind me. No, it was your responsibility to remind the family, wasn't it? To do the reading that day, or to read the word of God. You know, quite easily we can pass things off, can't we? And try and excuse other people. We have to be active. in serving the Lord, taking up responsibility, and being renewed in the spirit of our minds every day by God's Word. Active, not passive. And this will mean an active, conscious determination, my friends, to be holy in the life. Holy is not just thinking holy, is it? But it is acting in a holy way, responding. It's not passive. It's not just something we sit back and say, let go and let God make me a holy man. And that also means when we have erred and we have done things that are wrong, not being ashamed to confess it to the family and saying, I have erred. Don't follow me in this example. Husband repents. Father repents, and I turn now to do the right thing. That's what it means, doesn't it? Rejecting passivity. Men, we are to be examples, one to another, and in the family, to lead in all things, lead by example. Peter reminds us, doesn't he, of husbands how they are to dwell with their wives with understanding, that their prayers be not hindered. Remembering that the wife, he says, is the weaker vessel. She is more emotional. It should never be that the husband is more emotional. I'm not saying we should be dead and senseless, but it should never be that we are the weaker vessel in that sense. It should never be. Your wife ought to say that, yes, the Lord is my chief rock, but you're also my rock, because I know that you are resting and trusting in the Lord. And I know that you're not a man responding to your latest whim. No, we are to be meek. You see, that's really what it means to be meek. Moses was very meek, wasn't he? When Aaron came, And his sister Miriam came complaining, oh Moses was a rock, wasn't he? A rock. And you know what? The Lord rebuked Aaron and Miriam. And sometimes you don't need to say anything. Sometimes you don't need to say anything. Just a quiet, steady rock in the family. That's what the Lord would have us to be. men of resolve, men who are not rash or irrational, but rational. Thou wilt, what does the psalmist say, keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, for he trusteth in the Lord. And where is our trust? Let us not walk by sight, but by faith. Let's go back to that verse there earlier that we read. Be very careful. It says there in Proverbs 14 verse 15, the simple believeth every word. But the prudent man looketh well to his going." I think we need to speak far less than we do, don't we? All of us. Me especially. We need to speak far less, don't we? And think more. Be more gracious. Proverbs 18, 17, he that is first in his own cause seemeth just, yet until his neighbor cometh and searcheth him. Amen. It's a wonderful thing when the Lord brings peace to our homes, to our families, isn't it? Job even exclaimed, when he bringeth peace, who can disquiet? Who can bring unsettledness to a home where a man is steady in his mind? See, this is where the rubber hits the road, isn't it? It's all very well thinking, godly. But friends, we've got to reject passivity, but passivity, rejecting passivity does not mean being rash, but it means being controlled. It means God, by his word, permeating your thoughts, you thinking the best, doing the best, until you are forced to conclude otherwise about somebody. It's always important, isn't it? Hold your judgment. I would say this in the home as well. Always hold your judgment. Sometimes, men, we need to be the last to speak. Rejecting passivity does not mean that you are going to be the first person to say something. It might well be that most cases, you will be the last. It was in the book of Job. We read how the older men, he had three friends that came to see him. And they spoke by age. But then, one comes on the scene, Elihu, who's an extraordinary figure. And he comes and he truly brings the wisdom of God. Years should speak as we read in Job. And they should impart knowledge, shouldn't they? But it's a terrible thing when we see an older man walking as a fool and not as wise. Men, wear your gray hairs well. Wear them well. Don't just boast in gray hairs or no hairs, but with wisdom. Wear your age well and for the glory of God. May God help us to be those rocks in our home in our family as we follow Christ. May we honor him. May we watch our spirits. We're told, aren't we, as we read there in Proverbs, riches are a great thing, but how much better wisdom? How much better wisdom in life? Look there in Proverbs 16 again. And we're reminded there of this very truth. And it even says in verse 7, when a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. His enemies can't even speak evil of him the way he treats them. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right. You see, he speaks measuring wealth and money, but how much better is righteousness, wisdom, all of these things. Well, pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall. May we watch our spirits. our hearts and our minds. Let us be good for our homes, good for those places where the Lord has given us employment. May we be as light in a dark world as we live and walk humbly before our God. Amen.