Every time I read Proverbs something “new” reaches out and grabs my attention. Tonight was no exception. From the first half-sentence I was caught . . .
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
(Already time to stop, re-read and reflect…) Receive and treasure . . . Do I do this? Is this my attitude?
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;
This is an ACT. We must actually make our ears “attentive.” We must be available.
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
This is an act of humility: God will give to us freely . . . but, as C.S. Lewis’ put it in the Narnia series: He likes to be asked.
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
Most of us have no problem “seeking out” things . . . we know what it means in every other area of our life. We pursue wealth, health, etc.. We understand that we must work to earn a living and eat right and exercise to stay fit . . . but we seem to forget that it is not only in our natural lives that “we reap what we sow.” Our spiritual lives work the same way: we reap what we sow. How are we spending our energy? Pursuing worldly things or pursuing Christ? Do we actually care enough or desire the knowledge of God enough to seek after it? Or do we just expect it to be automatically given to us just because we call ourselves by His name?
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God . . . then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
I think this might be the number one problem facing the American church today: we have stopped encouraging one another to actively pursue the wisdom of God. Because of this we are a confused bunch. Some of us have begun to adopt the world’s views because we lack understanding. What is dark seems like light to us and visa versa. We are shaky in our convictions and have a hard time giving straight answers when cornered about some very important issues. Some of us have left the teachings of Christ completely . . . why?
We cannot possibly understand God’s ways/commandments/teachings if our relationship with him has no foundation. If our faith has been based on hear-say and we have not pursued the knowledge of God we will find ourselves lacking and perhaps even straying from truth.
If we want understanding and wisdom we must seek it. We must make our ears attentive, we must ask. “Ask and you will receive,” said the Savior. “Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.”
For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
These are promises! He WILL speak to us and when he does, instead of misunderstanding or being offended at what he says (because it does not line up with the world’s way of thinking), his words will be pleasant to us. We will not only “know” them . . . we’ll understand them and have no problem sharing them (and we’ll make a whole lot more sense to those who hear us because we won’t just be repeating what we have “heard”!)
For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways. . . .
So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.
Let’s “keep to the path” by pursuing our Savior. Let’s humble ourselves and cry out for what we desperately need in this hour: wisdom and understanding.
