A Fool

Bible Reading: Proverbs 24

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.”

Key Words: Wisdom is too high for a fool 

Solomon warns us against listening to the advice of three kinds of fools: the silent fool (verse7) the sinful fook (verse 8), and the scornful fool (verse 9).

But it is verse 7 I want us to see.  “Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his moth in the gate.”  The point being, this man has been promoted beyond his level of competence.  He has a position amoung the mighty, but he is completely incompetent to speak with wisdom on the matters under discussion.

I read the following from An Atlas and Text of Ulta Structural Pathology.

“In the liver biopsy of a 21-day-old patient with Jeune syndrome (Asphyxiating Thoracic Dystrophe) who had marked hyperbilirubinemia, intense bile ductular proliferation associated with poital febrosis, inflammation and edema was found.  The hepatic ultrastructure revealed lysosomal rentention of bile pigment…  Other changes included proliferation of the membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum with glycogen body formation, mildly dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum.”

What!!  I felt as if I were reading a foreign language.  No doubt, I was in over my head.

So it is with a fool when it comes to wisdom.  He is in over his head.  He cannot comprehend words which are wise.  Therefore, he cannot take part in the conversation.

There is an old saying that goes like this, “It is better to

Say nothing and appear to be a fool than to speak up and reveal that you are a fool.”

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Be wise in your conversations.

✞Always remember silence may leave people wondering about your wisdom -  speaking removes all doubt.

Ouch!!

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 23

Key Verse: Verse 32 - “At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”

Key Words: it biteth like a serpent 

According to Russell Ash in his book, The Top Ten of Everything, the number one reason for arrests in the United States, id driving under the influence.  Each year more Americans are arrested for that reason than any other, larceny and theft being the second highest volume of arrests while drug abuse violence comes in third.

Did you know that alcoholic beverages are a product of amazing versatility?  It will remove stains from clothes, but it will also remove clothes off your back.  If by chance it is used in sufficient quantity, alcohol will remove furniture from the home, rugs from the floor, food from the table, lining from the stomach, vision from the eyes, and judgment from the mind.  Alcohol will also remove good reputations, good jobs, good friends, happiness from children’s hearts, sanity, freedom, spouses, relationships, man’s ability to adjust and live with his fellow man, and even life itself.  A a remover of things, alcohol has not equal.

Also a recent survey found that the average college student drinks thirty-four gallons of alcoholic beverages a year.  Freshmen drink the most, followed by sophomores, then juniors, and seniors drink the least.

Grade point averages show the same hierarchy of ranking.  Those who drink the most have grade point averages of less than 2.0.  Those who have 3.0 rank second in their alcohol consumption, and those who make A’s drink noe t all on an average.

Now , the moral of all this appears to be; the smarter you are, the less you drink.

As believers, we should abstain from drinking.  This can be accomplished by being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

                                                                           Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

            ✞If you drink alcoholic beverages, stop.

✞If you are addicted, seek help.

            ✞As believers, be filled with the Spirit. (See Ephesians 5)

Influencing Your CHild

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 22

Key Verse: Verse 6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Key Words: Train up 

Discipline is not a list of “do’s” and “do not’s.”  Discipline is control.  The reason we discipline our children is because they refuse to control their own behavior;; so we attempt through punishment to give them the right desire to bring their behavior under control. But years of experience have taught me that proper discipline in our children is not just taught, it also caught by children from parents who live a Christ-centered life.  We as parents cannot lead beyond our own example.  We often hear the motto, “Christ is the Head of this house.” But as Christian parents this should also be the motto of our hearts. As parents our “self-control” should be to let Christ rule in our hearts, and then we can lead our children to a proper code of conduct for their lives.  The following are ways which we can influence children for Christ.

1.       Be honest.  If we are not hones in our daily tasks, how can we expect our children to be honest?  You should not expect your children to be honest with you and others if you lie and cover for your children’s absences, or if you attempt to cover for them when they misbehave.  Be honest. You cannot expect your children to be honest unless you lead the way (Ephesians 4:25).

2.      Be consistent.  You cannot expect your children to put God first in their lives if you do not put God first in your life.  Lead the way (Matthew 6:33).

3.      Be respectful.  When my granddaughter, Audra, was fourteen months old she was in the room (unbeknownst to me) while I was working.  I was admiring my work and simply let out a loud “ooh-wee.”  From the corner of the room I heard this loud cry, “Ooh-wee, PaPa.”  Children repeat what they hear.  You can’t expect your children to give proper respect unless you lead the way in it (Hebrews 13:17).

4.      Be realistic.  Don’t expect perfection from your children.  Believe me, they see your mistakes, and when you require them to be what you are not, lit leads to misbehavior. The key is not perfection, but a 100% effort on both the parents’ and the child’s part.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Remember, discipline is not just taught, it is caught!  God bless you as your children catch what you have got.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                            

What to do:

            ✞Apply the principles outlined in this definition.

Safety

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 21

Key Verse: Verse 31 - “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.”

Key Words: safety is of the LORD 

It is said often enough so we certainly can’t forget that we live in dangerous times.  We are reminded of that tidbit of discouraging news by the media, medical and ministrial professions; so in the midst of all this discouragement and danger, what is a guy to do?   Well, he should…

• Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents;
• Avoid staying home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home;
• Avoid walking and exercising because 14% of all accidents occur during these events;
• Avoid, if at all possible, traveling by air , rail or se-going vessels as 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation;
• Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in hospitals.  Above all else, it would appear hospitals must be avoided.

So what’s left?  Well, interestingly enough, only .001% of all deaths occur in church services and those are usually related to previous disorders.  Therefore, common sense tells us that church is a safe place to be. 

The Bible is certainly safe as well.  The percentage of deaths during Bible study is enormously small.  Therefore, I have reached the conclusion that for safety’s sake, attend church and read your Bible.  It could save your life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse                                                What to do:

            ✞  Where do you believe your safety comes from?

            ✞  Ask God for safety each day.

            ✞  Pray for the safety of others. 

Integrity

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 20

Key Verse: Verse 7 – “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”

Key Words: The just man walketh in his integrity 

In Proverbs 20:7a we are told that, “The just man walketh in his integrity.”  The word integrity comes from the Latin word integer.  It’s a math term meaning whole number.  The idea behind integrity is that we are whole, that our walk and out talk are one.  We do what we say we will do and we are what we say we are.  Today so many people freely attribute integrity to others, but are you aware that in the entire Word of God only three people were ever said to have integrity,  Abraham, David , and Job.  The reason so few people have integrity is because of the pressure placed on them to lose their integrity.  For example, Job was attacked by Satan so he would lose his integrity.  His wife put family pressure on him, and then his friends pressured him, all so that Job would lose his integrity.  No wonder so very few people keep their integrity.  Now integrity is not so much what I say about myself as what others say and see about me.  I remember for one of my college final exams we had twenty questions.  Numbers one and twenty were blank but numbers two through nineteen had questions our beside them.  The professor asked us verbally question number one, “Do you have integrity?’  Yes or no was the only  acceptable answer.  Then he told us to answer questions two through nineteen and turn our papers over on our desk.  After everyone was finished, he took our exams and then passed them out and said, “Now look at the name on the exam you have before you and look at question number one.  If you believe they were truthful about their integrity, give them five points.  Integrity is not what you think of yourself, it is what others see in you.”

Today when others look at you, they’ll reach a decision about your integrity.  What decision will they reach? 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Always practice integrity.

      ✞Parents, remember integrity is not so much taught as caught. 

      ✞What would others say about your integrity?.

  

The Priority of Integrity

Bible Reading: Proverbs 19

Key Verse: Verses 1 - “ Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”                    

Key Words: Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity 

As you read the beginning verses of Proverbs 19, you read about:

·         Knowledge and hastiness in verse 2,

·         Foolishness and fretting in verse 3,

·         Wealth and friends in verse 4, and

·         False witnesses and punishment in verse 5. 

But it’s verse one I want you to see with me today, and the priority of integrity.  An unscrupulous salesman was delivering a bid that his company had made for an engineering firm.  He was ushered into the office where he would present his bid  to the firm.  After a brief introduction, the firm’s representative politely excused himself for a minute.  The shady salesman quickly noticed the bid of his competitor lyning on the desk.  Unfortunately, there was a cold drink covering the total amount.  He gazed out into the inner office and noticed ther was nobody to see him sneak a peek.  He lifted the Coke and got the surprise of his life.  Rather than a cold drink, it was a bottomless can filled with BBs.  The quiet office was filled with the sound of BBs racing across the desk and spilling onto the floor.  The firm’s representative then returned to the office and showed the dishonest salesman the door.  Integrity is demonstated more when people are not looking than when they are. 

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Make integrity a part of your daily life.

      ✞Remember it’s better to be poor and have integrity than to be rich and have no integrity.

To Have One, Be One

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 18

Key Verse: Verse 24 - “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”

Key Words: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly 

In a book by Henry Durbanville, the author underscored the importance of friends as a means of overcoming the dreaded enemy of loneliness.  He included the following excellent quotes that are worthy of repeating.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.”  A small boy defined a friend as “someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same.’  And an old Arab saying goes like this: “A friend is one to whom we may pour out all the contents of our hearts, chaff and grain together, knowing tht the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping , and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.”  Durbanville himself made this observation: “A friend is the first person to come in when the whole world goes out.”

Solomon  wrote in Proverbs 17”17, “A friend loveth at all times.”  We can’t improve on that definition.  To have someone who remains true to us under all circumstances. Is indeed one of life’s choicest blessings.  The support and encouragement that only an intimate personal friend can offer is sorely needed when the burdens and pressures of life weigh heavily upon us.  But today’s Scripture makes a very important point.  It says that “A man who hath friends must show himself friendly.”  The implication is clear – Friendliness must begin with us.  We must take the initiative in developing relationships with others.

Let us be to others what we desire for ourselves.  When it comes to friends, to have one you must be one!

                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞There is an old saying that goes like this: “I went out to find a friend and could not find one nowhere; but when I went out to be a friend, I found friends everywhere.” 

            ✞You want a friend? Be one first.

A Loving Friend

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 17

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Key Words: A friend loveth at all times 

Proverbs chapter seventeen deals with the subject of contentment.  We see in verses one through five that Solomon deals with contentment from possessions.  In verses six through ten, he deals with contentment from having right priorities.  In verses eleven through twenty-one, he talks about being content with people, and sometimes being content in spite of people.  Then in verses twenty-two through twenty-eight, he talks about contentment that comes from being prudent.

But in verse seventeen, Solomon touches on being content in our friendships when he says “A friend loveth at all times.”  A real key to loving someone is in really being their friend,.  Let me explain.

On July 29, 1981, Britain’s Prince Charles married Lady Di in a grand royal wedding.  The glamorous wedding was a “fairy tale comes true” for both Prince Charles and Lady Di, or at least that’s what we were led to believe.  For their wedding London was a city dressed like a large stage.  City busses were painted the color of the wedding.  There wee 4,000 pots of flowers tht lined the wedding route of Lady Di.  All the flowers were, there again, the color of her wedding.

That day it is said tht three million people lined the streets of London to get a glimpse of Lady Di.  The wedding was carried live on television in seventy-five countries.  Approximately one billion people watched the wedding. 

It was indeed a glamorous wedding, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a glamorous marriage.

Fifteen years and one month after Prince Charles and Lady Di said “I do,” they were divorced.  Someone asked Prince Charles why the marriage failed.  His answer was, to say the least, shocking.  He said, “Lady Di and I were lovers and admired each other, but we were never friends.”  Oh!! The Word of God is so true.  “A friend loveth at all times.” 

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, a friendship that can’t endure trials can’t be trusted.           

✞Don’t just marry a lover, make sure you’re friends.

            ✞Don’t just want friends, be a friend.

God Is In Control

Bible Reading: Proverbs 16

Key Verse: Verse 33 - “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.”

Key Words: The lot is cast into the lap 

Flipping a coin, drawing straws, or even taking a number out of a hat have always been ways of resolving a disagreement when other ways have failed.  One of these methods was recently used to decide the winner of an election.  It seems as though two men tied with 140 votes apiece in a city council election in a small town outside Norman, Oklahoma.  Rather than go through the expensive of another election, city officials used a chance method to decide the winner, and apparently everyone accepted the outcome.  In case you are wondering, they actually drew straws to decide the winner.

Many people view all of this as nothing more than a matter of chance, of gambling and playing the odds; but Solomon said that ultimately the whole matter would be decided by God.  In bible times this was not an unusual way of resolving situations. For example, remember in Jonah where they wanted to cast lots to see who had angered God and caused the storm (Jonah 1:7)?

So should we resort to casting lots or flipping coins to resolve conflicts, or to find God’s will, or to seek His direction?  Absolutely not!  We have His Word, His Spirit, and His assurance that He is guiding us.

Then what does all of this say to us?  I believe it says that from the Christian perspective there is no such thing as chance or luck.  God is either directly or indirectly involved in everything that happens to us.  He can, therefore, be trusted and obeyed in any circumstance because God is in control.

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

             ✞Turn everyday and every situation over to God.

             ✞Follow God’s direction as He speaks to you through His Word.

            ✞And remember, lots would never had been cast in Jonah, had Jonah been in God’s                 will.

A Soft Answer

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 15

Key Verse: Verse 1 - “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”

Key Words: A soft answer turneth away wrath 

            The best way to unarm an angry man is with soft words.  The soft word doesn’t carry near the sting or the pain as something hard does.

            Chapter fifteen deals with our words.  On at least seven occasions you find the words tongue, lips, mouth, and words.

            Solomon says that our words should be wise (verse 2), wholesome (verse 4), knowledgeable (verse 7), timely (verse 23), pleasant (verse 26), controlled (verse 28), and lastly soft (verse 1).

            As in elderly woman prepare to park her large expensive car, a young college student cut her off and stole her parking spot.  Now that was neither chivalrous nor wise, but it gets worse.  The young driver jumped from his car and sarcastically said, “Oh, to be young and fast!” poking fun at the elderly lady.  Later when the student returned to his car, he was appalled.  The elderly woman was using her big car as a battering ram to demolish his little car.  The lady powered down her window, smiled and said, “You may be young and fast, but Oh, to be old and rich!”

            Don’t you think his words stirred her anger?  I remind you, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.”                   

                                                                                             Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Keep your answers soft, and I might add, brief.

            ✞Remember, “A fool uttereth all his mind.” 

What to do with Anger

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 14

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated.”

Key Words: He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly 

We are not told in the Bible that getting angry is sinful.  What we do read, however, is that we must never allow anger to cause us to sin.  Instead, if the pent-up power of our wrath were directed into constructive uses, we could help right some of the wrongs of our evil world.

In Matthew 21, Jesus cast the money-changers out of the temple, but He controlled His emotions and accomplished something good.  When the hard-hearted Pharisees brought Him a man with a withered hand, hoping tht Christ would break the Sabbath by healing him, he “Looked round about on them with anger” (Mark 3:5).  But then He healed the man.  On the two occasions when His wrath was raised against the money-changers in the temple, He expressed it in a purposeful way by driving these religious frauds our of the Lord’s house.

Leslie B. Flynn tells that after the American Civil War the managers of the infamous Louisiana Lottery approached Robert E. Lee and asked if he’d let them use his name in their scheme.  They promised that if he did he would become rich.  Astounded, Lee straightened up, buttoned his gray coat, and shouted, “Gentlemen, I lost my home in the war.  I lost my fortune in the war.  I lost everything except my name.  My name is not for sale, and if you fellows don’t get out of here, I’ll break this crutch over your heads!” Anger can easily lead to sin, but it can also help us to take a strong stand for righteousness.  The next time an angry spirit rises in you, ask God to help you direct it toward purposes that honor the Lord. 

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Be angry at sin, not the sinner.

✞Remember anger can lead us to sin, so guard yourself; but it can also help us stand for

    righteousness. 

✞There is an old saying that that goes, “Keep your temper, no one else wants it.”

Truth

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 13              

Key Verse: Verse 6 – “Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.”

Key Words:  Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way 

Chapter thirteen of Proverbs deals with the subject of truth.  There is a truth about listening (verse 1), a truth about living (verse 2), a truth about laziness (verse 4), a truth about lying (verse 5), and a truth about limits (verse 6), and so it goes throughout the chapter.

It’s the truth about limits I would like for us to look at in today’s devotion.

If you would look again at the word righteousness in our text verse, it is a judicial word meaning to make Godly decisions.  Then notice the word upright, it carries the idea of being whole, not divided.  I believe the principle is clear – Godly decisions keep you whole.

Every one of us needs to set some limits for ourlife: things we will not do, places we will not go, words we will not use, clothing we will not wear.  Without limis we find ourselves in a constant quandary.

As a boy growing up in south Alabama, I lived in an area that allowed me the space to run in open fields, but I also was able to hide in the woods.  It was certainly a good life for a young boy.  One of the things I would do was to catch the field larks that would fly into th fields for their early morning breakfast.  I would put a cardboard box out, stick a stick under it to hold it up, tie a string around the stick, and then I would take the string and hide.  In order to lure the field larks into the box, I would put one of Mother’shomemade biscuits under it.  Sure enough, when they flew in, they couldn’t resist Mom’s biscuit.  I would occasionally tag the birds I caught with a little band around their leg.  You know, I was continually catching saome of the same birds oven and over again.  You know, the same thing happens to us.  Satan constantly puts out the lures and because we have not limits, we continually find ourselves trapped and in distress.

Today I challenge you to live your life with limits.  The only other option is to live a life of spiritual defeat.

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

✞Write down your limits an dstick to them.

✞Pray for God’s power daily to stay within those limits.

           ✞Stay away from compromising situations. 

The Work of Deceit

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 12

Key Verse: Verse 5 – “The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.

Key Words:  the counsels of the wicked are deceit 

Recently two slick “con” men boarded a train that runs between New York and Boston and singled out a prosperous looking individual as their “patsy.” Sitting down next to him, they invited him to play a game of cards.  Soon the unsuspecting victim was several hundred dollars in the red.    The winner  agreed to take a check, but once he had it in his hands, he acted conscience-stricken and tore it up.  “ I never thought you’d lose so much money.  Let’s call the whole thing off,” he said.  Impressed with their apparent generosity, the loser insisted on writing out a new one.  Later, when his vouchers came back from the bank, he found that not only the second but also the first check had been cashed!  The crook had quickly slipped the first one into his pocket and had torn up a blank one instead.  The loser was hooked twice.

We despise that kind of deception even though gambling is wrong in the first place.  But do we fail to recognize in our own lives the same tendency to deceive?  Have we fawned over others, inflating their egos to gain personal favor, or winked at wrongdoing to advance up the ladder of success?  We may try to assure ourselves that we do these things “to win friends” or to be “diplomatic,” when actually we ar motivated by self-interest, not kindness.  Yet because our hearts are evil, we constantly seek to justify ourselves (Jeremiah 17:9).

Beware of deceitfulness.  It originates with the devil, the “father” of lies (John 8:44), and is one of the seven things God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19).

                                                                      Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Always remember the words of Walter Scott, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”    

✞Again remember, your sin will find you out.

Values

Bible Reading: Proverbs 11

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “ A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.”

Key Words: A false balance is abomination to the LORD 

There are at least ten different values found in Proverbs, chapter eleven.

There are commercial values (verse 1), conceited values (verse 2), Christian values (verses 3-9), city values (verses 10-15), comparative values (verse 16), contrasting values (verses 17-21), confused values (verses 22-23), congenial values (verses 24-26), concerning values (verses 27-28), and character values (verses 30-31).

But I draw your attention to verse one and the importance of dealing with others with honesty and integrity.  During Solomon’s day, the merchants would often cheat the consumer by tipping the scales in their favor.

A housewife went to the local market and asked the butcher for a chicken weighing four pounds.  The butcher had only one chicken left and it weighed three pounds.  “I’m sorry,” the woman said, “its isn’t quite big enough.  I’ll have to go to another market.”

The butcher, who was not scrupulously honest and didn’t want to lose a customer, stopped her.  “Madam,” he said, “I just remembered that I may have one more chicken in the freezer.  Please wait one moment.”  He then carried the three-pound chicken to the freezer in the back of the store, waited a minute, then came back holding the same chicken.  “You’re in luck, madam,” he said.  “I found another chicken.  He placed it on the scale and, unseen by the customer, slightly pressed the scale with his finger so that it indicated four pounds.  “ There you are , madam.”

The customer thought for a second.  “Tell you what,” she said.  “Since you were so helpful, I’ll take both chickens.”

The story makes us smile because the dishonest merchant was caught in his fraudulent scheme.  “A false balance is abomination.”  Be honest in all your dealings.

                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse  

What to do: 

             ✞Be honest.

            ✞Be sure your sin will find you out.

A Multitude of Words

Bible Reading: Proverbs 10

Key Verse: Verse 19 -  “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”  

Key Words: In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin

 Proverbs, chapter ten, deals with a number of subjects.  Many call this chapter the “things” chapter.  It deals with family things in verse one, financial things in verses two through five, final things in verses six and seven, foolish things in verses eight through fifteen, fruitful things in verses sixteen and seventeen, fundamental things in verses eighteen through twenty-eight, and fatal things in verses twenty-nine through thirty-two.

The thing I would like for you to see is the importance of keeping our tongue in cheek.  The truth is the more we talk, the more the likelihood of us saying something we wwill regret later.  I read a humorous story that illustrates this point.

“Jim was not a good golfer,but he wanted to fit in with the guys who did golf well, so Jim began to invent stories about his prowess on the golf course.  After listening to Jim’s tales, some of the guys invited him to join them for a round of golf.  Now no amount of practice would prepare Jim for the big day so, as usual, he used his mouth more than his clubs.  On the first tee, he addressed the ball three times and missed each time.  After missing the ball for the fourth time, jim turned to the foursome and remarked, “This is really a tough course!”

“In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.”

                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                                                     

What to do: 

✞Ask God to help you “guard your tongue.”

✞Never fell the need to “say something.”

✞Never let pride make you brag about things you have never accomplished.