Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
2 A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
5 The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
6 The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
8 A man shall be commended according to his wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be despised.
9 He that is despised, and hath a servant, is better than he that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread.
Are your thoughts right? In the journey to righteousness, one of the hardest and yet most essential lessons we can learn is to control our thoughts. Our thoughts are the very beginning of what is called the Tree of Destiny: Thoughts create feelings which produce actions. Actions repeated form habits which make up our character. And our character ultimately determines our destiny. So in a very real way, what I think influences my eternal destiny.
But you can't really control your thoughts, can you? It's like adds on the internet someplace. You have no control over what adds you are shown but as you select and browse the links of interest to you, the server or whatever it is, learns your preferences and begins to tailor results to your interests.
That's the power you have over your thoughts. If you continually select right thoughts, it will become a holy habit and pretty soon the wrong thoughts will be paler and weaker than the right and the right thoughts will the be ones you automatically think. And in choosing right thoughts you're choosing righteousness.
Right thoughts -> Right feelings
Right feelings -> Right actions
Right actions -> Right habits
Right habits -> Righteousness
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