Tuesday,
April 25, 2023
The Proverb-writer
has purposefully described the open-handedness of God in a universal invitation
to gain wisdom. There’s a great banquet
of wisdom, and an army of messengers to spread the open offer to come close to
the source. It’s a house
of life-giving good judgment; it’s a place to grow strong, leaving the
simplicity of childish ways, for the strength of providing for others.
The “front door” of
wisdom’s house arrived early-on in the introduction Solomon gave the Proverbs…where
to begin if you wish to live a life of disciplined success, knowing how to do
what is right, just, and fair.
Fear of the Lord is
the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
The foundation of wisdom’s
house is fearing God…being reverent, respectful, and obedient to our Creator. It is a small, but exceedingly-meaningful and
important step to begin any journey. If
that step is in the wrong direction, the end of the journey will not be what
one hoped. That first step (surrendering
every aspect of your life to reverencing God all through the journey) cannot be
over-valued.
John was a retired
Naval officer I met many years ago. He attempted
to side-step that first step. He had
seen much of the world and experienced many different cultures, but neglected
Solomon’s advice about wisdom’s front door.
He had his own agenda, and that was his god. Now, I do not say that with prejudice, or lightly;
it’s simply an observable fact. Whatever
you do reveals that to which you give your allegiance. If I go fishing 12 hours a day, it’s a
reasonable assumption my behavior means I’m devoted to fishing.
A living, breathing,
passionate thirst for God’s Kingdom indicates you have (at least) begun the
journey towards wisdom. The retired Navy
man craved experiences that pleased him.
When we met he was ready to “experience” faith. He went through the motions, profession of
faith, baptism, and church membership. But,
for John, it was like a field trip, another experience. Soon, that brush with religious activities
became boring, and then turned hostile.
In the end he became a sad footnote on the evening news, committing
suicide in a stand-off with police in front of the local K-Mart store.
I cried privately over
John for months. He had made the choice
of a foolish and anguished moment, after trying to live life on his own. In the end, experiences and the
pleasure he thought they ought to bring him, just weren’t enough.
For You Today
“Be still, and
know that I am God! I will be honored
by every nation. I will be honored
throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10
There are about 2,500 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper explore
some of these: Standing in the Sweet Spot and Learning to Use Good Judgment
Title Image: via Pixabay.com Images without citation are in
public domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted
from The New Living Translation©
