The Memory and the Foundation

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked … The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot …  Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out … Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray … What the wicked dread will overtake them; what the righteous desire will be granted.  When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever …  The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless, but it is the ruin of those who do evil. The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land. Proverbs 10:3, 7, 9, 17, 24-25, 27-30

Ten years away from home create a fog over memories. Upon returning to the small town of Águas Claras, Valdir, now a thirty-year-old man, felt like an archaeologist of his own childhood. The town had changed, but the ghosts of the past remained. And no ghost was larger than that of Ernani Gusmão.

Ernani had been the most powerful man in town. The owner of the meatpacking plant, the largest employer in the region, he ruled Águas Claras with an iron fist. Valdir remembered him as a feared figure, a man whose desire seemed unshakable. If Ernani wanted a piece of land, he got it. If an employee challenged him, he was destroyed. His prosperity seemed to mock the idea of justice. The fear he inspired, however, was the terror that would come upon him. He lived securely in his wealth but never in sincerity. His ways were perverse, and everyone knew it, but no one dared to speak.

Valdir’s first stop was the cemetery, to visit his grandparents’ graves. As he walked among the headstones, he passed the opulent mausoleum of the Gusmão family. The marble was imposing, but it was covered in dry leaves and cobwebs. Ernani had passed away five years ago. Valdir realized something strange: in two days in town, no one had mentioned his name. It was as if, after his death, a conspiracy of silence had swallowed him. It was as if the name of that man had never existed. Ernani’s name had not just rotted; it had been buried under the weight of collective relief.

His second stop was the old library in the town square, his refuge during his teenage years. There, he found a stark contrast. On the entrance wall, there was a simple, polished bronze plaque: “Jorge Valença Municipal Library - In memory of a man who planted trees and ideas.”

Jorge Valença. The name brought an immediate warmth to Valdir’s heart. Jorge had been the opposite of Ernani. A history teacher and owner of a small bookstore, he was a man of modest means but of unshakable integrity. He walked in sincerity, and because of it, he walked securely. Everyone in town knew him not for what he had, but for what he was. He treasured knowledge and taught the path of life to generations of young people, including Valdir.

As he browsed the books, Valdir began to see the “everlasting foundation” that Jorge had left behind. The librarian, a young woman who had been Jorge’s student, spoke enthusiastically about the new book club. The gardener who tended the square was a former-troubled student whom Jorge had taken under his wing. The hope of the righteous results in joy, and the joy planted by Jorge was still blossoming throughout the town.

In the afternoon, Valdir walked to the riverbank. He remembered a great storm, years ago, that had almost flooded the town. The flood had destroyed several businesses in the lower part of town, including one of Ernani Gusmão’s front sawmills. Ernani’s empire, built on greed, had no roots.

But Jorge’s house, which stood on a small hill, remained intact. And Valdir remembered his teacher, on the day after the flood, not worrying about his own possessions, but organizing work crews to help the homeless, his righteous soul fed not by food but by the purpose of serving and helping.

At the end of the day, sitting on a bench in the square, under the shade of an ipê tree he had seen Jorge plant, Valdir understood. The fear of the Lord, which Jorge lived out in his humility and service, indeed prolongs days—not necessarily on the calendar, but in the legacy, in the blessed memory that refuses to die. Ernani’s hope, placed in his own strength, died with him. Jorge’s hope, placed in God and in people, became the joy of an entire town.

The powerful man who perverted his ways was, in the end, “known” and erased. The simple man who walked in sincerity left a foundation that neither time nor storms could shake. And Valdir, breathing the air of his hometown, felt deeply grateful, not for the man everyone had feared, but for the man whose legacy had taught him how to live.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

Some Masters

Many people say they are of Christ,

They walk around making many disciples.

This is the only and true mission,

And it must be done with total dedication.

About Jesus, they are teaching,

About the cross, they are talking.

They are saying the Lord has sacrificed,

And for all our sins, He has paid one price.

They get lost in the middle of the journey,

About the true Gospel, they forget it.

They start to notice other things.

They notice their fame and fortune are growing.

The disciples who were for the Lord,

They start to see them as a way to get a favor.

The disciples became the source of everything,

And they must be dedicated to the master in all things.

The greed of the person grew a lot,

And they do not care about God.

Each one lives to promote their lives,

Each one thinks about what they can acquire.

The disciples get lost because of the master’s ways,

From this kind of person, they want to move away,

The disciples do not agree about it,

They want to see the Lord Jesus Christ.

If they are disciples with good understanding,

They will not lose the way they were following.

A new leader from God, they will search for,

Someone worthy of trust.

But if they are people not fortified,

They will put the Lord aside.

They will come back to their previous state,

Because they are too frustrated.

They trust in people who are too shaken.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume IV.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/bpMr16

Contaminated Heart

Often, we see someone lost and we want to judge them,

We do not extend our hands to help them.

Our hearts want to show superiority,

We think we are free from guilt and responsibility.

We are hypocrites! We make no difference in society,

We claim that we are already saved and rulers; we have no piety.

Our hearts are taken by arrogance and selfishness,

We say that we are children of God, but we are not Christ’s likeness.

We are dominated by pride, arrogance, and presumption,

We live our lives without and never preach about salvation.

We prefer to let the lost die and then mourn,

We weep for the dead, but the living, we did not help, we scorn.

Every day, many people are cast into hell,

Due to our omission, in eternal torment, they will dwell.

They are people like you and me, who could have a chance for salvation,

But due to our negligence, they were thrown to condemnation.

The hearts of many Christians must be torn out,

They need to be replaced with new, renewed, and transformed ones.

Hearts that would give their own lives to save everyone,

Hearts that see within and do as Christ has done.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume VI.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/4EBjBl

The Spring and the Storm

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked … The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin … Whoever winks maliciously causes grief, and a chattering fool comes to ruin. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense. The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin … Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense … A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes, but a person of understanding delights in wisdom … From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced … The lips of the righteous know what finds favor, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. Proverbs 10:6, 8, 10-14, 18-21, 23, 31-32

The “Altos da Boa Vista” Condominium was, on the surface, a peaceful place. But beneath the facade of well-tended gardens, hatred, like an invisible leak, was beginning to stir up strife. And at the center of it all were two men: Otávio, the new building manager, and Gilberto, the resident of 503, a man whose mouth was a storm waiting to happen.

Gilberto was a master of veiled malice. To him, sowing discord was a form of entertainment. He concealed his hatred with flattering lips, approaching his neighbors with a feigned concern.

“Did you see the amount of Otávio’s new budget? It is absurd! Who knows where all that money is going…” he would whisper in the elevator, winking maliciously, planting the seed of mistrust. He had foolish lips, and every word he spoke was another shovel digging at the ruin of the building’s harmony.

Otávio, a retired engineer who took the position out of a genuine desire to serve, soon felt the impact. People would stop him in the hallways with veiled accusations based on Gilberto’s half-truths. He could have reacted with anger, but he was a wise man. He accepted the criticism, even when it was unjust.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention,” he would respond calmly. “I will prepare a detailed report of every expense and present it at the next meeting. Transparency is the best policy.”

Otávio’s mouth was a spring of life. Where Gilberto threw gasoline, Otávio brought the water of sensibility. He knew that in a multitude of words, sin is not lacking, so he measured every announcement, every response. His lips, like those of the righteous, knew what was pleasing: the truth spoken with respect. He began to hold open monthly meetings, not just to present the accounts, but to listen.

“What can we improve together?” he would ask, treasuring the knowledge that came from the residents’ experience.

Gilberto’s smear campaign intensified. He created a WhatsApp group called “Watching the Manager,” which quickly became a digital inquisition, a source of imminent destruction for Otávio’s reputation. Gilberto would post photos of a burnt-out lightbulb in the hallway as proof of “negligence,” interpreting every one of Otávio’s decisions as an act of tyranny or corruption.

The situation reached a critical point when a main pipe burst in the garage in the middle of the night, flooding several cars. It was chaos. Otávio was woken up at 3:00 AM and, within minutes, was already there, in rubber boots, coordinating the maintenance team, calming down desperate residents.

Gilberto, from his apartment, watched the scene from his window. And his amusement was cruel. He began to film, to send audio messages to the group.

“Look at this disaster! It is incompetence personified! Years of paying condo fees for this! Where is the preventive maintenance money he promised?”

However, the crisis that should have been Otávio’s ruin became his redemption. While Gilberto’s mouth spouted criticism, Otávio’s mouth produced practical wisdom. He organized a rotation of parking spots for the cars that were not hit. Through a contact, he managed to get a discount with a repair shop. Within forty-eight hours, the situation was under control.

At the emergency meeting called the following week, the hall was packed, the tension palpable. Gilberto stood up, ready for his accusatory speech. But before he could speak, Matilda, a lady who had lived in the building for many years, asked for the floor.

“I just wanted to thank Otávio,” she said, her voice firm. “In the midst of chaos, he brought us calm. In the midst of confusion, he brought us solutions. For months, we have heard many words that only served to set us against each other. But when things got tough, we saw that the words that truly matter are the ones that build, not the ones that destroy.”

One by one, other residents began to agree. The people who had been poisoned by Gilberto’s mistrust now saw the truth. He was caught by surprise, tried to argue, but his words now sounded empty, hollow. He fell, not from an attack, but from the weight of his own foolishness.

Humiliated, Gilberto fell silent. That day, the community began to heal. They learned to discern between the noise of confusion and the voice of wisdom. And Otávio, the man whose words were precious, continued his work, proving that a spring of life can, eventually, extinguish any fire a fool’s mouth tries to start.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

Apostles

Jesus chose twelve men to preach,

His word, these men must announce it.

They were to preach the baptism of repentance,

And proclaim the coming of the Messiah and his Kingdom, with reverence.

They would seek the lost sheep of Israel.

About their path, Jesus gave them clear instructions,

Christ said they should not care about possessions.

Neither gold nor silver nor riches should they carry,

They would carry only the gifts that were given to them,

They would preach, heal, and cast out demons wherever they went.

This is the work of a true apostle of the Lord,

To be a humble servant and do everything the Master ordered.

Going to all places and preaching the truth faithfully,

Practicing the principles of commitment and loyalty.

This type of apostle became extinct two thousand years ago,

Nowadays, the new “apostles” do not follow the Father.

Each of them seeks only their personal greatness,

They are talking about God but are filled with wickedness.

They think of gathering all the wealth they can,

We are on another level; all of them proclaim.

They are so powerful that they do not explain their actions,

They think they are above the laws of God and the nation.

Their word and will cannot be questioned,

Because the “anointed of the Lord” cannot be touched.

They claim to be anointed by God to proclaim salvation,

But in truth, they are the first who need healing and liberation.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume VI.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/4EBjBl

Casino’s Machine

The Lord is not a casino’s machine,

Where you put your money,

Waiting for something to change in your destiny.

God does not work with betting.

The Lord works with new life and changing.

 

God is not a God of joking,

In any way, you cannot follow Him.

With God, it needs much sincerity,

To save you, He wants your fidelity.

 

The Lord does not accept to be recompensed,

Offering too much does not indicate will be blessed.

Before you think about being financially blessed,

You need to think about being spiritually saved.

 

All the wealth of the world will have no use,

If your life, you do not change.

What the use of being here and winning everything,

When you die, in hell, your soul they will be throwing.

Think about how you are following the Lord,

Is it for self-interest or love?

To walk with the Lord and be saved,

It needs to wholeheartedly adore Him,

It is necessary to dedicate your life to Him.

And do not stay offering,

For your money to keep multiplying.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume III.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/3nG5R5

The Two Heirs

A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother. Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death … Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son … The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death … The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it … As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so are sluggards to those who send them. Proverbs 10:1-2, 4-5, 15-16, 22, 26

The death of Mário Medeiros left his sons, Tomás and Vicente, with more than just grief: it left them “Medeiros Woodwork,” a company with fifty years of history, sawdust in the air, and a reputation as solid as the oak they sold. On his deathbed, Mário made one last request to his wife, Ester: “Make sure they honor our name.” Ester, now the silent matriarch of the family, felt the weight of that promise.

Tomás, the older son, was the son who brought shame. Not out of malice, but out of a chronic laziness, an aversion to work that was a direct affront to his father’s memory. He saw the woodwork company not as a legacy, but as an ATM. He was the one who slept during the harvest, arriving late, delegating his responsibilities, and spending more time at long “networking” lunches than in the yard with the employees. His hand was negligent, and under his brief management, orders began to be delayed and quality to decline. He was his mother’s sorrow, a constant reminder of her husband’s absence.

Vicente, the younger son, was the wise son. He had his father’s fire in his eyes and a love for wood in his hands. To him, every plank of mahogany, every beam of peroba, was a story to be told. His hand was diligent. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave. He spent his days on the factory floor, alongside the employees, with the smell of sawdust ingrained in his clothes. He was the one who gathered in the summer, closing new contracts, optimizing inventory, ensuring that the name “Medeiros” continued to be synonymous with quality. He was his mother’s joy, a living reflection of the man she had loved so much.

The tension between the brothers was palpable. Tomás, feeling diminished by Vicente’s work ethic, began to look for shortcuts.

“We need fast money, Vicente! To modernize, to expand!” he would argue.

The “fast money” came in the form of a dubious supplier who offered illegally sourced wood at a price far below the market rate. These were the treasures of wickedness.

“No one will know. It is our chance to take a leap forward,” Tomás insisted.

Vicente was adamant.

“Dad never worked with people like that. Our name is worth more than an easy profit. Honest labor gives us a quiet life, Tomás. What you are proposing will lead us to crime and ruin.”

The argument culminated in their separation. With Ester’s mediation, the company was divided. Tomás got the main yard and the newer machinery, changing the name to “Medeiros Prime.” Vicente got an old warehouse and some old machines, founding “Medeiros Legacy.”

In the first few years, Tomás’s path seemed to triumph. Using cheap wood and aggressive business practices, he secured contracts with large construction companies, flooding the market with low prices. He bought a luxury car, a beachside apartment. His wealth became his stronghold, a fortress of arrogance from which he mocked his brother. Tomás’s riches, however, did not come without sorrow. The anxiety of being discovered, the sleepless nights, the constant threats from his business “partners.”

Vicente, for his part, faced hard times. The ruin of the poor is their poverty, and he had to fight to get back on his feet. But he had something Tomás’s money could not buy: a spotless reputation and the loyalty of his employees, who followed him out of admiration, not necessity. He focused on a niche market: high-quality furniture, certified wood, personalized service. His wealth grew slowly, but it was solid, built on the blessing of the Lord, and it did not bring with it the sorrows of illegality.

The storm came, as it always does. A major police operation against illegal logging swept through the sector. The name “Medeiros Prime” was at the center of the scandal. Tomás’s accounts were frozen, the yard was closed, the machinery was seized. His “treasures of wickedness” profited him nothing. On the contrary, they became his ruin. The stronghold he had built was a castle of sand, and the tide of justice washed it away in a single night.

Desperate and penniless, Tomás sought out his brother. He found Vicente in the warehouse, now renovated and bustling, supervising the delivery of a large order. The smell of honest wood filled Tomás’s lungs, and it was a scent he had not smelled in a long time.

Vicente did not greet him with an “I told you so.” He greeted him with the sorrow of a brother.

“I’ve lost everything,” Tomás said, his voice choked.

“No,” Vicente replied, looking around his prosperous, though modest, company. “You lost what was not yours to begin with. What is built in righteousness… that delivers from loss and destruction.”

There was no financial bailout. But Vicente offered Tomás a job. A new beginning. A place to work with his hands and, perhaps, rebuild not his fortune, but his honor. That afternoon, Ester visited the warehouse and saw her two sons working side by side for the first time in years. One who had brought her sorrow, and one, joy. And in her mother’s heart, she felt the hope that the blessing of the Lord, which brings wealth and adds no sorrow, could, finally, reach her entire family.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL