The Source of Wisdom

I have two major points today. The first centers on Proverbs 2:1-4, which states:

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. 

Most college students (myself excluded) will say that they worked hard to attain the knowledge they accumulated. I basically slept through college except for the material that engaged me, which was usually business case studies and statistical analysis. I wasn't that interested in learning what marketing was as opposed to implementing it. Myself aside, most people work hard in school, and are rightly proud of their accomplishment upon graduation.

Verse 4 above tells us that we should study God's word just as diligently, which is quite a challenge. We're told that just sitting in church, and even sitting in a Bible class, isn't enough. We're told we need to work HARD at understanding the Lord, with a clear payoff for our efforts. I won't ask you how you're doing, knowing full well that many are indeed doing this daily, but offer it as a reminder of what the Lord wishes of us.

In Proverbs 3:11-12, Solomon writes:

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

One of the more enlightening moments I've had as a pharmaceutical sales representative was at a management training exercise, where the leader asked us who we would spend more time with, the good employees or the bad ones. After some discussion, he suggested we spend time with the good ones, with the expectation we would try to make them better, as opposed to the bad ones, who he implicitly suggested we replace. It was an eye-opening thought, and we see it described here. The Lord disciplines us because he loves us, not purely for punitive reasons. Consider the opposite--if the Lord DIDN'T love us, he wouldn't discipline us, because he wouldn't care enough about us to do so. It won't help us with our children, and we sure don't like it when it occurs in our lives, but these are excellent words, ones that should give us all the hope we need.

Scott