Daily Bread for Jul 17, Pro 13-15
Today’s readings are Pro 13-15.
We see several words repeated
in these three proverbs. Instruction, discipline, and righteousness are
some of those most frequently used.
Recognizing this type of pattern or repetition can help us string these wise sayings together to detect an overall theme. There seems to be a summary of sorts in Prov 15:32-33.
"Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor."
We all know people who hear
the word of the Lord and choose to ignore it, folks who choose to disregard the
wisdom found in Proverbs. Whether it be an issue of pride, stubbornness, a
misguided feeling or a multitude of other possibilities, many turn their
backs on wisdom and sound biblical teaching. They justify this by convincing
themselves that their situation is unique believing His words don't apply to
them. Perhaps they believe that God didn't know what they would have to go
through and will make an exception in their case.
A common tactic for this type
of self-justification is to find a phrase or isolated verse that seems to agree
with their position and use it to claim that God permits, perhaps even endorses
anger, a particular sin, a lack of forgiveness or simple, outright
rebellion. It's easy to ignore the full counsel of Scripture and embrace only
the parts that they agree with.
Yet, the Scripture tells us that whoever ignores instruction, instead of edifying himself, despises himself. Those who embrace it become smarter. The fear of the Lord, that awestruck reverence for who God is and how He relates to us, helps us learn His wisdom.
But, to learn His wisdom, we must
admit to ourselves that there are things we need to be taught. The humble
admission that we may have something to learn about ourselves and about our God
should permeate our lives. It must plant itself in our hearts before we are
honored with his wisdom and the fullness of His blessing. Those that believe
there is nothing to be learned will continue to struggle.
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