Read Proverbs 1:20-33
I hate it when something happened and people said, “I told you so”.
Number one, it hurts to know that you are wrong and the other person is right. Ego bruised! Ouch!
Number two, it hurts to know that you blew the chance of being right by not listening to good advice. Double ouch!
Number three, sometimes the thing you are wrong in has a huge price tag. Ouch and double ouch!
Number four and worst of all, some people just loves to rub it in – that they are right and you are stupid; which you obviously already know, through the hard way and humbling way.
Today’s passage exhorts us to respond to wisdom’s call by heeding its advice and rebuke or pay the consequences for folly. It is clear from Scripture that fools hate instructions while the wise will never dismiss advice and discipline.
Pride rejects advice and often leads us down the path of stubborn disobedience. Everyone can and has experienced that before. However, real folly becomes of us when we refuse to respond humbly to rebuke. When we recognise that we are wrong, it can be humiliating but we are given an opportunity to turn around if we choose to listen to the warning and chastisement. However when we reject that second chance, we are left with the consequences of choosing to remain foolish.
Psalm 14:1 reads, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
When we choose not to listen to God or others in humility and lean on our own understanding. We are then no different from the fool who may acknowledge God with their mouths but in their heart, there is really no God.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Friends
Proverbs 1:8-19
I will be looking at the Book of Proverbs this spring.
First, it is important to note the genre of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is a wisdom literature. It is the gathering of general wise sayings and not absolute commands. They consist of principles and must not be taken therefore to apply to all situations.
Proverbs 1:8-19 talks about friendship with a particular group of people.
When we are young, our parents play the important roles in our decision-making. As we gradually mature, especially during our teens, our friends’ advice and opinion tend to influence us more than our parents. Friendship becomes the most powerful, influential voice in our lives.
Solomon lay out two advices that are universal of all parents’ advice to their children regarding friendship.
First, stay away from friends who are greedy for ill-gotten gains. Stay away from them, our parents cry. Regardless of race, culture or religion – all good parents would mete out this caution to their growing teens. These are people who will sweet-talk, persuade and try to convince you to their values.
I Corinthians 15:33 is clear: "Bad company corrupts good character."
But what if you did not know that the company you are keeping are wayward and evil till later? The Bible advises us to not just ‘do not give in to them” (v10) but not to “go along with them” (v 15). Sin has a gradual process – once you are lured into it, entrapment becomes inevitable. Thus, all parents would advise their children to cut off from such unhealthy friendship upon discovering the characters of these associates.
My take as a parent and as a pastor is while we love our friends; we need not associate and go along with them when they are clearly going down the wrong path with open eyes. Our job is to warn them, love them but not to go along with them. In fact, if they are not listening, we are to avoid them so as not to be entangled in their lifestyles.
I will be looking at the Book of Proverbs this spring.
First, it is important to note the genre of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is a wisdom literature. It is the gathering of general wise sayings and not absolute commands. They consist of principles and must not be taken therefore to apply to all situations.
Proverbs 1:8-19 talks about friendship with a particular group of people.
When we are young, our parents play the important roles in our decision-making. As we gradually mature, especially during our teens, our friends’ advice and opinion tend to influence us more than our parents. Friendship becomes the most powerful, influential voice in our lives.
Solomon lay out two advices that are universal of all parents’ advice to their children regarding friendship.
First, stay away from friends who are greedy for ill-gotten gains. Stay away from them, our parents cry. Regardless of race, culture or religion – all good parents would mete out this caution to their growing teens. These are people who will sweet-talk, persuade and try to convince you to their values.
I Corinthians 15:33 is clear: "Bad company corrupts good character."
But what if you did not know that the company you are keeping are wayward and evil till later? The Bible advises us to not just ‘do not give in to them” (v10) but not to “go along with them” (v 15). Sin has a gradual process – once you are lured into it, entrapment becomes inevitable. Thus, all parents would advise their children to cut off from such unhealthy friendship upon discovering the characters of these associates.
My take as a parent and as a pastor is while we love our friends; we need not associate and go along with them when they are clearly going down the wrong path with open eyes. Our job is to warn them, love them but not to go along with them. In fact, if they are not listening, we are to avoid them so as not to be entangled in their lifestyles.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Our God is not a terrorising God from whom we must cower in fear. Those who know God will not hesitate to testify that we are not emotionally blackmailed into following His commands.
What then does this verse mean? What does it mean to ‘fear’ God?
To fear God is to not take His Being, His Name for granted or lightly. It is to revere Him and to esteem Him as who He is. It is to take His word seriously and not to make light His being.
You see God is a being apart from all of us. He is not created but the creator. He is life Himself from whom all living creatures, including you and I, draw our breath. He is the being APART from this world. Though deeply concerned and involved in our world, He stands apart from us. He has no beginning and no end. You do not take such a being lightly. You should not and dare not.
The best way is to think about approaching a king in charge of the entire kingdom. By his command, he can bestow pardon or death on his subjects. If you are a subject before the king, you better fear him. However, that is not the full picture when it comes to our relationship with God.
What if this King is also your Father? Would you disobey him and dismiss his command because of the blood relationship? No. But what if this kingly father also loves and is endearing toward you, will you want to respect and honour him even more?
This is what it means to fear God. To see Him in a dual image – the High King in whom all authority rests and the loving father from whom we derive all our favours.
Hold those two images of God in our minds and that will enable us to fear him – to choose the wise ways of listening to His commands and truly liberate us to love Him wholeheartedly; thereby fulfilling the first Great Commandment.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Our God is not a terrorising God from whom we must cower in fear. Those who know God will not hesitate to testify that we are not emotionally blackmailed into following His commands.
What then does this verse mean? What does it mean to ‘fear’ God?
To fear God is to not take His Being, His Name for granted or lightly. It is to revere Him and to esteem Him as who He is. It is to take His word seriously and not to make light His being.
You see God is a being apart from all of us. He is not created but the creator. He is life Himself from whom all living creatures, including you and I, draw our breath. He is the being APART from this world. Though deeply concerned and involved in our world, He stands apart from us. He has no beginning and no end. You do not take such a being lightly. You should not and dare not.
The best way is to think about approaching a king in charge of the entire kingdom. By his command, he can bestow pardon or death on his subjects. If you are a subject before the king, you better fear him. However, that is not the full picture when it comes to our relationship with God.
What if this King is also your Father? Would you disobey him and dismiss his command because of the blood relationship? No. But what if this kingly father also loves and is endearing toward you, will you want to respect and honour him even more?
This is what it means to fear God. To see Him in a dual image – the High King in whom all authority rests and the loving father from whom we derive all our favours.
Hold those two images of God in our minds and that will enable us to fear him – to choose the wise ways of listening to His commands and truly liberate us to love Him wholeheartedly; thereby fulfilling the first Great Commandment.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Knowledge and wisdom
Proverbs 1:1-6
Wisdom is not to be mistaken as knowledge. While one can have great knowledge, knowledge may not have any effect on their lives. Not so for wisdom. Being wise has to do not so much with what you know as compared to how your life is lived and empowered by what you know.
There are all kinds of knowledge. My son could go into a torrent of speeches and debates and arguments on the Stanley Cup and Ice hockey. But how does this knowledge enlighten or empower him in his life? Not much.
Acquiring new knowledge stimulates our mind. As humans, we should be learning new things and we are programmed to do so – nothing beats the exhilaration of finally understanding something. Therein lays the purpose of education – to grow our minds. But if education is just for that, then we have missed the greater purpose of knowledge acquisition.
A learned mind must result in responsible living, responsible to us and others. An informed life must result in a transformed life.
That is what King Solomon, famous for his wisdom, sees the connection between knowing and seeing. Wisdom and discipline goes together. If someone has lived well, it is because he is wise. If someone is wise, his life will not be reckless but all he does will be right, just and fair.
The book of Proverbs has been used by many missionaries as a textbook to teach English in countries hostile to Christianity. It is a timeless book with gems and instructions on practical living.
Proverbs 1:5
“Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance— “
But it will require attentive listening. Jesus often says, “Let those who have ears listen” – it will starts with the first action on our part – to listen.
Wisdom is not to be mistaken as knowledge. While one can have great knowledge, knowledge may not have any effect on their lives. Not so for wisdom. Being wise has to do not so much with what you know as compared to how your life is lived and empowered by what you know.
There are all kinds of knowledge. My son could go into a torrent of speeches and debates and arguments on the Stanley Cup and Ice hockey. But how does this knowledge enlighten or empower him in his life? Not much.
Acquiring new knowledge stimulates our mind. As humans, we should be learning new things and we are programmed to do so – nothing beats the exhilaration of finally understanding something. Therein lays the purpose of education – to grow our minds. But if education is just for that, then we have missed the greater purpose of knowledge acquisition.
A learned mind must result in responsible living, responsible to us and others. An informed life must result in a transformed life.
That is what King Solomon, famous for his wisdom, sees the connection between knowing and seeing. Wisdom and discipline goes together. If someone has lived well, it is because he is wise. If someone is wise, his life will not be reckless but all he does will be right, just and fair.
The book of Proverbs has been used by many missionaries as a textbook to teach English in countries hostile to Christianity. It is a timeless book with gems and instructions on practical living.
Proverbs 1:5
“Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance— “
But it will require attentive listening. Jesus often says, “Let those who have ears listen” – it will starts with the first action on our part – to listen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)