Mar 20 2024 13 mins 8
Podcast Introduction
Our reading today is Proverbs 4. I’m calling today’s episode “It’s Worth It."
Comments on Proverbs 4
The father is now teaching not just his son, but his children. This lesson is intended for all of his offspring.
Would that every parent had this wisdom to impart these lessons to every one of their children. But sadly, it seems as if wisdom is in very short supply, and has been for at least the last three or four generations. And yes, I include mine.
The lessons in this chapter, if well taught and well learned, would go very far in preventing the kind of near insanity that we see around the world today.
Want an example? How about this: Trading freedom for "safety" is anything but wise. I think Solomon would even call it foolish.
Here in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, our forefathers knew that freedom was infinitely better than safety. But somewhere along the way, we forgot to pass that lesson on.
In verse 5, Solomon wrote the words his father, David said to him, "Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding!"
The Hebrew word Qana, that in our translation here is Acquire, means "to buy" or "purchase". Not that you can actually exchange money for wisdom, but the idea is that gaining wisdom will come with a cost. And making that exchange is a good thing.
Also, acquiring something in this sense does not usually happen by accident, but by a conscious decision. You *decide* to acquire it. You go after it. You work for it.
Wisdom is not something that just happens. We like to think that wisdom comes with age, but if you look around you don't have to look to far to see old fools, do you?
Where is wisdom to be found? Before I answer that, let's think about where it is not to be found.
It is not to be found "within" yourself. You'll often hear people say, "What does your heart say?" Or "Follow your heart!" What does the Bible say about the heart? "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9.
This is one of the biggest blunders of modern times! Most of the problems we see today are a result of foolish people following their hearts. And by foolish, I mean it in the sense of the book of Proverbs. A fool is one who rejects wisdom.
Of course you know that I'm going to say that the greatest source of wisdom available to us is the Bible. David said to Solomon in verse 5, "Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth."
Beloved, the Bible isn't just the words of David and Solomon and Moses and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and all the other men who held a pen and wrote the words. The words came out of the mouth of God. When we decide to acquire wisdom, when we remember and hold fast to His words, we will be rewarded.
Imagine if, instead of pooh-poohing the Bible, as has been done for the last several decades, if people clung to what is in the pages of the Bible...imagine how different the world would be. It boggles the imagination.
But listen, the world is changed one person at a time. One life at a time. And each of can, with the Holy Spirit's guidance, bring change to someone in *our* world. That's what Jesus last commandment was before He ascended to Heaven. He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you..."
