I don’t hear many proverbial sayings quoted anymore. If you read old books or even watch tv or movies from the 1940s-60’s, you will typically get a character quoting some bit of wisdom. The Andy Griffith Show is a good example.

Barney Fife also said:

“Better to be a nobody than a bad somebody.”

and…

“It’s just a matter of time before everything comes home to roost.”

“You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever.”

Sheriff Andy Taylor was a walking proverb. Not an episode went by without him doling out wisdom to someone or other.

“Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone.” – Andy Taylor

Perhaps that’s why The Andy Griffith Show is STILL popular. We get nostalgic for a time when life was slower and the most dramatic thing happening was a newcomer to town.

Even good ol’ Goober occasionally had a bit of wisdom like: “You can’t boil a pot of water if the stove is off.”

And one of my favorite characters, Aunt Bea had her wise words too: “There’s nothing like a good home-cooked meal to cure the troubles of the day.” (Amen, Aunt Bea)

I say all this to point out that our culture has largely lost this tradition of wisdom. Most people used to know that the cautionary phrase, “A word to the wise…” inferred the longer proverb “A word to the wise is sufficient.” That, in turn, was shortened from

“A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭17‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A wise person does not need lectures and a heavy sentence of physical punishment to be corrected. You can just have a brief conversation and get your point across.

We would all do well to make an effort to pass on wisdom to younger generations. They aren’t going to get it from technology.

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“Many seek favors from a ruler; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭19‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

My mom once told me that this proverb helped her solve a problem for my older sister. She was getting picked on by some bigger kids on the school bus. Ignoring them didn’t make them stop. Then mom ran across this proverb, “everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts.”

So she bought a bunch of bubble gum. 🍬

Gum-chewing does not seem to be quite the fad now as it was in the 80’s. Hubba Bubba. Bubbliscious. Double Bubble. Bubble Yum. Bazooka. And my favorite – the shredded Big League Chew, which – horrors – was meant to be the kid-version of chewing tobacco. Chewing tobacco!

We had candy cigarettes and bubble gum cigars too. The 80’s were wild. I had no clue about chewing tobacco. I just thought the idea of shredded gum was cool and it tasted amazing. The 80s were peak bubble gum.

Sure, we still have the thin strips of modest DoubleMint and Dentyne at the checkout, but when I was a kid it was all about big wads of gum, sugar, flavor, artificial color, and how big a bubble you could blow. Everyone was chewing gum.

So mom buys gum; probably a big ol’ bucket of those pink hunks of Super Bubble. Yes. You could buy buckets of bubble gum in those days – like from Costco, but at your local supermarket.

And mom loads my sister’s pockets with pieces of gum. And when the big kids on the bus start to come around, she gave one a piece of gum. And another. And another. She does it again the next day. And the next. And by week’s end the big kids are being very nice to the little girl who gives them gum.

As you read through the proverbs, watch for ones you might apply right now; perhaps for you or a coworker, a child or grandchild. They are meant to be applied. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It might just mean giving away a small gift of gum. Divine wisdom is timeless. It worked in 1000 BC. It worked in the 80s. It still works today. Something to chew on.