Thursday, February 14, 2013

Proverbs Chapter 14




Last night in the Ash Wednesday sermon on Jonah chapter 3, I commented that the Ninevites who repented in sackcloth and ashes (in true Ash Wednesday fashion) demonstrated something that seems to be lacking in our day and age: The fear of the Lord. Several times in Proverbs we have heard, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This absence of "the fear of God" in our society may explain why there also seems to be a definite lack of wisdom. The following verse from chapter 14 reminded me of another reason why "common sense" seems to be so uncommon in our culture:

A simple man believes anything,

    but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

One of the things I've noticed is that most of us have a tendency to believe what we hear. Especially if it was spoken by someone who is well known - or just well-known to us. We don't check out the message for logic or accuracy or against what God has told us. We simply think something like "They should know what they are talking about." But if we would simply take the next step and put an ounce of thought into what we heard, we'd quite frequently come to the conclusion that "They really have no clue what they are talking about."

I guess the choice is ours. Would you rather be known as "simple" or "prudent," "gullible" or "discerning,"  "foolish" or "wise"?     Think about it!

God will continue to bless your reading,
Pastor David

1 comment:

  1. Verse 3: "By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back, but the lips of the wise will preserve them."

    This is absolutely true. I cannot count the times I have brought trouble down on my head with my mouth. Even when saying something that I felt was innocent.

    Lord, help me to keep my mouth shut!

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