relationships (Proverbs 2:1-22) Gleaning Wisdom in Truth

(Proverbs 2:1-22)

1   My son, if you will receive my words 
     And treasure my commandments within you,
2   Make your ear attentive to wisdom;
     Incline your heart to understanding.
3   For if you cry out for insight,
     And raise your voice for understanding;
4   If you seek her as silver 
     And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5   Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
     And discover the knowledge of God.
6   For the Lord gives wisdom;
     From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7   He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
     He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8   Guarding the paths of justice,
     And He watches over the way of His godly ones.
9   Then you will discern righteousness, justice,
     And integrity, and every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
     And knowledge will be delightful to your soul;
11 Discretion will watch over you,
     Understanding will guard you,
12 To rescue you from the way of evil,
     From a person who speaks perverse things;
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness 
     To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who delight in doing evil 
     And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are crooked,
     And who are devious in their ways;
16 To rescue you from the strange woman,
     From the foreign woman who flatters with her words,
17 Who leaves the companion of her youth 
     And forgets the covenant of her God;
18 For her house sinks down to death,
     And her tracks lead to the dead;
19 None who go to her return,
     Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of good people 
     And keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
     And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be eliminated from the land,
     And the treacherous will be torn away from it.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The world will say they appreciate those with integrity, yet their ideas of what that looks like can get very twisted, especially where they themselves are concerned.  And things can get twisted by the most innocent-looking sources.  Just yesterday, there was a country singer advertising herself on television, and this young woman declared, "Right or wrong, I'm just going to live my truth."  I suppose to many, this sounds awesome.  It certainly does take the pressure off of anyone trying to live with integrity.  Somehow, we can just make up our own truth, in order to not do or do exactly what we want?!  Right or wrong - whatever we do - is "right" for us?!

I'm the kind of person who likes to know "WHY"!!!  If I'm going to do something, there has to be a really good reason.  It has to make sense!  And this is not based on my own feelings or thinking - because - I do not determine truth.  God is truth!  And we can even look at it scientifically.  Something is either true, or it is not.  And let's not confuse things by saying that there are "gray areas".  

I'll use the example of drinking alcohol.  God's word never says that drinking alcohol is wrong.  In fact, Jesus drank (Luke 7:34).  The truth is, as God says in His word, it is wrong to be controlled by drinking (or anything else, for that matter).  We are told to have self-control while being Spirit-led.  As well, we are to submit to the laws of our land, so if you are under the drinking age, it would be wrong for you to drink.  For those of age who struggle with portion-control, drinking will be wrong for them.  This is not a contradiction, but rather a practical and logical discipline of choice that God gives us.  

So, we see God's truth in the Bible.  His word includes true historical events (which lend valuable information of how things were and how things unfolded, some events being examples of what NOT to do, and some as examples of what to do).  There are prophecies, most of them already fulfilled.  The ones remaining will be fulfilled in the future.  We can study all of these in order to keep the entire Bible in context, in order to understand His plan and purpose for all ages.  Plus of course, God's truth includes doctrines, commandments (instructions) and guidelines, which are there to help guide us through life while finding, having and enjoying a close, personal relationship with the Lord God.  

The Holy Spirit will help us understand all of these things, as well as help us put these into practice.  For some guidelines (like whether or not we should drink), these require wisdom in order to apply these appropriately to ourselves.  And when we teach God's truths to others, we better be handling His word accurately... NOT to manipulate people into behaviors that suit our preferences or thinking, but rather, studying and teaching what God actually says.

While raising our children, we tried to have a lot of teachable moments all along the way in order to equip them for life.  For example, instructing them to look before crossing the street - BECAUSE - there could be a car coming and you could get hurt very badly.  And even with something as simple as telling them that they cannot go outside to play (right now).  When they ask "why" (and they probably will), don't just reply with a "Because I told you!";  give them your reason, which might be, "Because we'll be leaving soon and you need to be ready.".

It helps to give instructions along with appropriate explanations in order to develop good reasoning skills, and instill a healthy respect towards God, people and life.  Another lesson that should go hand-in-hand with this is that God, and we as parents, teach them these things because we love them and care for them.  Also as important, it is not wise for parents to burden a child with many do's and don'ts.  And equally frustrating is when parents are inconsistent with the rules.  If we read through the Bible and take notes on all of God's instructions, they are consistent, and there are not that many!  If we give our children too many rules, especially rules that verge on being unreasonable, a child will begin to ignore and disregard them.  It's very difficult to respect anyone or the rules when they are unreasonable and/or inconsistent - and/or don't practice what they themselves preach.

Once a child understands that they can trust the instructions that come from God, and parents, they will be more likely to listen and obey.  Continuing on with the example above... if we have taught our children the whys and the importance of heeding our advice, then if and when we yell out to them, "STOP!" when they are about to cross a street, they will be less likely to disregard us and charge straight ahead into the face of death.

Now let's consider the instructions that come from the Lord God - our heavenly Father - who loves us and cares for us, and has a much better way for us to follow.  When He gives us commandments that maybe don't make sense to us at the time, it is to our benefit to simply trust that He knows what He is talking about, and just do it!!!  Then, proceed to continually search and study God's word, and pray and ask for wisdom and understanding.  The more we know and understand God, the more things will make sense!  The more we put our faith into practice, the more we will see God working in our lives.  The most important thing to keep in mind is that with God, there is always a good reason, and it is always for good!