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.)
Within the specific prohibition against adultery in Proverbs 2:10-22 is a more general application in evaluating all of our choices. Verses 12 and 15 speaks of “froward things” and people “froward in their paths”; verse 14 adds “the frowardness of the wicked.” The Hebrew words could be translated perverse or perversity. Literally, these are “things turned around.” We are thus warned of anything that turns us from the right. A couple of historical examples are instructive. First, the majority of churches in Nazi Germany supported Hitler: can anyone suggest that that decision was anything but perversity? Second, in our own nation, most Protestant churches backed abortion when it was illegally legalized in the 1970’s; some still do. Twisted teaching appeals to our sin nature and gives justification to our basest desires. Such despicable and degraded doctrine should be obvious to anyone with discernment, but we must be vigilant. A frightening passage that details the dangers of diseased dogma is found in II Thessalonians 2:1-4. Please take the time to read these verses which prophesy “a falling away first” – a great apostasy, one which will help to prepare the way for the froward world ruler called the Antichrist. Perilous and perverse times lie ahead. Our good God has prepared us for what must come.