- (AMP) How long, O simple ones [open to evil], will you love being simple? And the scoffers delight in scoffing and [self-confident] fools hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 1:7 (NIV) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Psalm 103:5 (NIV) He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
- Psalm 1: 1- 3 (NIV) Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Sometimes things don't go as we planned. People disappoint us. We often disappoint ourselves. Life does happen. Sometimes we have no part in the unraveling. Sometimes we do. There are times when we are, well, we are the simpletons.
I have to admit, when I first read those verses, I thought of "them." Not me. But I came back and asked myself, "When have I wallowed in my ignorance and feed my cynicism (however small) and indulged in self-confidence? When have I trusted a "foolish" person instead of the Lord? When have I lived in denial because I refused to learn?"
And I realized that too often I have "loved my simple ways" and "hated knowledge." Study of Scripture was not what came to my mind. Do you relate? I have not always, in every way, been 100% delighting in the law of the Lord or meditating on it day and night. I have not been always a "tree planed by streams of water." I have been like chaff. I have been double-minded - and as James says, a double-minded person is unstable in all his ways.
So, how does a Believer prosper? How do we avoid wallowing in our ignorance?
It begins where we "hang out" and who we look to for guidance and direction. Scoffers and mockers don't all wear signs identifying them. They hide behind good manners. Even often appearing full of care and concern. Filled with seeming generosity. But "they" do not have wisdom. Yet, there are times we foolishly hang on to their words. We want them to be right, despite what God says.
Gaining wisdom is a matter of obedience. Fools abhor obedience. Simpletons do too. The wise understand that the gaining of knowledge is a matter of submitting to the Word and to counselors who are grounded in The Faith. Wisdom is not a consequence of a quick prayer or "rubbing the heavenly genie bottle." It comes by being "planted." It comes from "walking" with the right folks - From choosing where to "stand." From being intentional about where I "sit."
Trust foolish people - experience disappointment. Trust the faithful Father - expect delight. Should be an easy choice.
Copyright (c) 2006 by P. Griffith Lindell 3/1/2006
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