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 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.)
As we saw Saturday, lying and flattery are dangerous in that they alter perceptions, but they cannot change facts. Truth remains truth, just as Jesus remains “the truth” (John 14:6). Proverbs 28:24 furthers this thought: “Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, ‘It is no transgression’; the same is the companion of a destroyer.” Simply saying that an obvious wrong is right does not make it right. In fact, it adds another level of wrongdoing. Similarly, Proverbs 24:11-12 warns us of the spiritual danger of attempting to excuse our bad behavior: “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, ‘Behold, we knew it not’; doth not He [Who} pondereth the heart consider it? And He [Who] keepeth thy soul, doth not He know it? And shall not He render to every man according to his works?’ Justifying our behavior may fool people, for humans do not have complete knowledge. However, God knows all, and there is no fooling Him. Thus, actively doing a wrong and calling it right remains wrong, and passively avoiding the right and calling it right also remains wrong. No amount of ‘splainin’ is going to transform falsehood into truth. The wise will speak honestly before man and God.