Words of the Wise: Wayne Barthus
As part of our “A Word to the Wise” series, we thought we would take some time and hear from Wayne Barthus as he shares his thoughts on the book of Proverbs and what it means to live practically according to God’s wisdom.
Q: For those who may not know you, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
My name is Wayne Barthus and the best way to describe me is as a family man, easy-going and very practical. I’m always up for a good laugh and I love serving and entertaining people. Above all else, I am a worshipper and lover of God.
Q: One thing that we know for sure is that you love God and you love people. Is there a proverb that helps you to live this out practically?
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
Q: Why is this proverb special to you?
It reminds me to stay focussed, not to be distracted by trivial things and it serves as a reminder to always know where I am and what I’m called to. Racehorses wear blinkers during races – it is the reason they don’t look sideways and get distracted. When they are distracted they lose speed and momentum. The objective is that they compete, stay the course, and win the race. That’s such a big lesson for us at this time: For the church, Lockdown level 4 can be a distraction. We had such great momentum and that can be discouraging. Serving teams gathered pace, Life Groups started meeting again, and the church almost got back to normal; and then Lockdown Level 4 hit. But we are called to stay focussed and continue to run the race.
Q: I love that analogy of a racehorse wearing blinkers so that it doesn’t get distracted by things around it, but sets its gaze on the goal ahead. What have you put in place in your daily life to live this proverb out?
Every day I set a target and make a list of things that need to be done. This helps me to say no to distractions because if I am honest, I am easily distracted. When I walk into my office at home, I have my mind set on doing a task and completing it. The moment I open my email I am all over the place. I go into maintenance mode instead of task mode.
This scripture has allowed me to do things differently; such as check my emails after I completed what I set out to do and not before.
Q: It is amazing how practical the Word of God can be and how relevant it is still today. For those who maybe haven’t read the book of Proverbs, why would you encourage them to dive into these scriptures?
Firstly, it is a teacher of good wisdom and secondly, it’s a stark reminder of the lack of wisdom we have without Christ. Where wisdom on paper came to tell us what wisdom is, wisdom in the flesh came to show us what it looks like. My advice is, in order to hold fast and live what you read in this book, one has to increase in the knowledge of who GOD is. Pursue Christ.