Just a Thought! - 25 June 2012

"The naive believes everything, but the sensible man considers his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless." (Proverbs 14:15-16).

One of the big buzz words of the twenty-first century is "open-minded." The only opinion that society today tends to agree on is that there are no absolutes. It is a trend that has sadly even crept into to church. We are urged on a daily basis to be open-minded and tolerant. But is this the Biblical way to live? What does the book of Proverbs, the best book of wisdom ever written, have to say about this?

 

What Does Naivety Look Like?

The naive are open to just about anything. They will believe anything that you tell them and never seem to question whether something is right or wrong. They will take information from non-reliable sources, and what is presented as being fact when it has never been properly proved, and take it to be fact. They will make comments like, "People say ..." before they give you some kind of factual piece of information, yet are never able to actually prove who the people are. They have taken something to be fact when in reality it is not.

 

Take the evolution debate as an example. Whenever you watch a documentary dealing with nature or the universe, it is said rather mater-of-factly that the universe is billions of years old, and that certain animals have developed or evolved from other animals. It is taken for granted that this is scientific fact, when in reality, there is no way of proving those things true or false by any satisfactorily proven scientific method.

 

The naive are also gullible when it comes to god or bad advice, truth or lies, deception, manipulation, disappointment and danger. They are also particularly susceptible to falling into dangerous doctrines promulgated in the church. Many today are falling for the many false teachings in the church that are pulling them away from the true Gospel and causing division in the church.

 

The Contrast

In contrast to the naive are the sensible. The sensible person is shrewd and takes pains to verify what is presented to them. They test everything. They have what is referred to in the Bible as discernment. They do not believe out of hand what those that put documentaries together are presenting. They do not take for granted that what a pastor is saying from the pulpit is the truth. Instead they are like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who tested even the words of Paul. This is something sadly lacking in the church today, and John MacArthur is correct when he says in his book Reckless Faith that the crying need of the church today is discernment.

 

Discernment can be compared to a fly screen. In the heat of an African summer, flies and mosquitoes can become bothersome and can cause diseases. Yet at the same time, light and fresh air are welcome to provide some comfort from the heat. The fly screen's purpose then is to allow the light and air in, while at the same time keeping the pesky insects out. Discernment does the same thing. It filters out the bad that easily destroys, while at the same time allowing in the good things which enrich our lives.

 

Living With Discernment Today

Are you a sensible person? Do you protect your heart and mind from those things that can destroy you? Do the sources of the information you are given matter? Do you test what people are saying? Does it make a difference to you how accurate the sermons that you hear are, or the devotions and books that you read? How much care do you take when it comes to making decisions?

 

Take the advice of Solomon in today's verses to heart. Let them be a warning for you to not live a naive life, and so end up following the path of arrogance and carelessness. Instead, pick up your Bible, study it, and allow its wisdom to mould your theology, life, experience, knowledge, words and actions. And let it be the measure and filter by which you discern all information that comes your way.

   

Just a Thought!
© 2012

Just a Thought! - 18 June 2012

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7).

It would be amiss to do a study of the book of Proverbs without looking at verses like the one above and consider them carefully. The "fear of the Lord," a phrase repeated fourteen times in the book of Proverbs alone, is one of the subjects that many seem to avoid today in the modern church, with some even teaching that we must not fear God at all.

What Does it Mean to Fear?

The basic definition of "to fear" is reverential awe. Though this definition is correct, and due to the modern use of the word awe, the word is open to misunderstanding. The words awe and awesome are used in such a casual manner today. We sing songs at church about our God being an awesome God, and then we go to Milky Lane and call the Chocnut Sundae awesome.

The proper definition of awe, as defined by Jerry Bridges in his book The Joy of Fearing God, is "an emotion in which dread, veneration, and wonder are variously mingled." This definitely applies to God when you view Him as He has fully revealed Himself in the Bible, but it certainly does not apply to ice cream.

Why Should We Fear God?

As this phrase appears so many times in the book, let us look at some of the reasons attached to this phrase:

- It is the beginning of knowledge (1:7) or wisdom (9:10), and of God Himself (2:5).

- It causes you to hate evil (8:13) and keeps you away from it (16:6).

- It prolongs life (10:27) and is the fountain of life itself (14:27).

- It gives one strong confidence (14:26).

- It is better than the treasures of this earth (15:16).

- It gives you restful nights (19:23).

- It gives you riches, honour and life (22:4).

Fearing God in the way that the Bible tells us to, as per Jerry Bridges definition above, truly has its rewards. Rewards that so many seem to be seeking in the wrong places and in the wrong manner today.

Living Fearfully Today

We are living in a world where people are tormented by fear of one kind or another. Fear of being a victim of crime, of bad drivers, of terminal illness, or the loss of loved ones. Fear grips people and cripples then to the extent that they cannot move forward in life. This is not the fear that we are to have.

When you know God and fear Him in the way described above, one gains a deeper knowledge of God, of who He is and what He does. One gains a clearer picture of what the Kingdom of God will be like. As one draws closer to God through Biblical fear, one's life starts to fill with hope and peace that cannot be described. A hope and a peace that allows one to move forward in life. It causes one to truly believe that the things God allows in one's life, and may even be causing Himself, will ultimately work together for good (Romans 8:28).

Start to think seriously about whether or not you fear God or if it is just a knowledge of Him like some friendly grandfather miles away from you. When you call Him awesome, do you truly know what that means? Do the descriptions of Him in the Bible leave you speechless where all you want to do is bow before Him and give Him the honour due to Him? Does your knowledge of Him make you want to live a life free of sin and evil? Do you want to please Him and Him alone and stop seeking your own desires?

Learn to fear God today and seek to gain the knowledge and understanding of Him and His ways. When you do, your life will begin to make sense and will truly be blessed by God. Both today and for eternity.

Just a Thought!

© 2012

Just a Thought! - 11 June 2012

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5).

I bet all of us have a similar picture in our minds of what a wise man looks like. He is possibly old, bald, with leathery skin, a long white beard, short, carries an oversized book and probably dressed in some kind of robe or tunic. If you are like me and are picturing characters that you may have seen in movies, chances are he is sitting under a tree or on a mountain top, and speaks in weird sentences that require interpretation.

But what is wisdom? Especially, what is wisdom as the Bible teaches us? And how do we apply Biblical wisdom to our daily lives? Over the coming weeks we will look at these and other questions as we look at some of the wise sayings in the book of Proverbs.

The Meaning of Wisdom

The picture alluded to above of a wise man has absolutely nothing to do with how the Bible portrays wisdom. Rather than it referring to knowledge of tangible things or philosophical applications to life, to have those things means nothing if you do not know God. Psalms 14:1 and 53:1 both state that a fool declares that there is no God, therefore, though a person may seem wise, his denial of God makes him a fool.

So if wisdom is not knowledge alone, what is it? In Hebrew, the word for wisdom is "hakam" which means skillful or practical. We see this word used in Exodus where God gave people certain wisdom in terms of skills in order to make the garments for Aaron and the high priest (see Exodus 28:2-3). We see this again later in Exodus 35 for those gifted with the necessary skills to build the tabernacle.

However, when you reach the book of Proverbs, wisdom, or skill, is not limited to hand crafts, but goes as far as looking at skillful living. More importantly, it implies living skillfully according to the knowledge we have about God and His desires on how we should live.

We see this connection in the introductory verses to the book of Proverbs where Solomon flanks the word wisdom with several parallel words. He uses words like instruction (which includes the idea of correction and discipline), understanding (implies looking at the heart), prudence (which can mean shrewdness or cleverness), knowledge (not limited to merely knowing, but also applying), discretion (focusses on prudent planning) learning (to grasp the truth) and guidance (wise counsel) (see verses 1-6). Later in Proverbs 2:7-22 through a whole series of proverbs about morality, we see the direct connection between wisdom and righteous living.

Therefore, we can clearly see that wisdom goes beyond knowledge of a subject, but includes application of the things of God and His desire for righteous living.

Living Wisely Today

We are living in a day and age where wisdom seems to be devoid of morality and correct behaviour. People seek out others who have a head knowledge about things, but are lacking in the heart knowledge. Even the church has not escaped this as we see many people in the church who have a head knowledge about Scripture, but do not seem to be living according to the Word of God. There seems to be more worldliness creeping into the church because true Biblical wisdom has not penetrated the heart.

You may think that you are wise, but does your lifestyle match up to what God desires? Are you blameless, just, and living righteously? Are you a person of integrity, purity and humility? Is your life free of things like pride, evil speech and bad deeds? If you cannot say that these things define you, then there is a mismatch between your claim to being wise and your lifestyle. And as a result, you are not truly wise according to God's view of wisdom. If that is the case, come before God today, ask Him for His wisdom, and He will give it as promised.

Just a Thought!

© 2012