Putting the I into WISDOM
The Christians who have most influenced me for good have had a fully functional familiarity with the book of Proverbs. They were (and are) able to take their considerable knowledge and apply it to their lives, providing both godly examples and godly advice. Join with me as each one of us endeavors to put the I into WISDOM. Let us seek to exemplify God’s wisdom in our daily lives. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Proverbs 2 builds to a specific warning against adultery. The advice leading to that specific application, however, is essential to all aspects of the Christian life. For example, the teaching of verse 1 is quite common throughout the Bible: in simple terms, it tells us to read God’s Word. Now that the Bible is complete (obviously, it was not fully written in Solomon’s day), we have more to study. We are called to accept (“receive”) and treasure (“hide”) each verse. Many Christians struggle with remembering Scripture; I can still do quite well with memorizing verses, but I find myself sometimes forgetting the specific numerical reference. I can often remember exactly where a verse is on the page in the Bible that I have regularly used for thirty-six years, but occasionally the chapter and, especially, the verse numbers escape me. I would like to think that I am putting the age into sage, but more likely I am putting the age into hemorrhage, as in hemorrhaging information! How do we deal with this frustration? Years ago, a pastor friend of mine used a simple analogy that has encouraged me. He pointed out that most of us cannot recall the food that we have eaten in days, and, especially, weeks past. However, we did eat, and we did receive needed nourishment and sustaining strength. Similarly, our study of Scripture provides immediate benefits and strengthens our long-term spiritual health. Don’t be discouraged! Keep reading and studying God’s Word. If we do, we will grow wiser in the ways of God.