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In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the
reading of His holy word.
Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes
the wicked incurs abuse. Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke
the wise and they will love you.
Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a
mocker, you alone will suffer.
Proverbs 9:7-12
This ends this
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Over the last four devotions, we have got to know divine wisdom who is
always calling out for us to develop a relationship, assuring us that when we
seek it we will find it and the many benefits it brings.
So what happens afterwards? How can we know that our relationship is
bearing fruit and we are becoming wise?
The middles verses of Proverbs, Chapter 9, give us the answers through
the following indicators:
1. You’ll know you are wise when you can discern the right times to rebuke.
Whoever
corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. Do
not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love
you.
The NIV translation that I use most often uses the word mocker but other
translations can give us a better understanding of what Solomon is getting at
here. Here are the other interpretations of the word as used:
King James, English Standard Version – scorner, wicked man
New Revised Standard Version – scoffer, wicked
Good News Translation – conceited, evil
New Living Translation – mocker, wicked
The point Solomon is trying to make is that those who wickedly mock,
scorn, and scoff at the Lord with malice and evil intent are not going to
receive your rebuke with gladness. Instead, they will offer insult, abuse, and
hatred. They hold no love for the Lord in their heart and this will translate
over to lacking love for anyone who comes in His name.
On one area that I post this blog, there are several atheists who choose
to post as well. They seem to take great pleasure in mocking the Lord and
anyone who believes in Him, ever trying to lure someone into debate with them
so they can insult and scoff at them as well. You know when you’re wise because
you will avoid senseless deliberation about the Lord, His existence, and what
He has done, is doing, and is yet to do. The mocker has no interest in changing
their views. They’re only interested in abusing the one who is standing up for
the same Lord they hate. The Lord is God, the Maker of Heaven and earth, the
Father of all to include our Savior Jesus Christ, the only One through which we
can be saved, the only One who can get us to life eternal with Him and God the
Father. It’s plain and simple and not up for question. Share it with others as
Jesus prescribed and if they don’t accept it, move on. Jesus put it this way
when He sent His disciples out to heal, lead people to repentance, and spread
the good news:
Then Jesus went around
teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to Him, He began to send
them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his
instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no
money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a
house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome
you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a
testimony against them.” Mark 6:6b-11
Jesus didn’t want His disciples delayed in the process of carrying out
His will and way. If the good news was shared and people weren’t willing to
listen, then the disciples were to move on and find someone who would listen.
Wise discernment, granted to us from the Holy Spirit, will ensure we only
rebuke and correct those who are willing to receive it, those who will be grateful
for our efforts and show us their appreciation through love.
2. You’ll know you are wise when you are able to teach the wise and the
righteous.
Instruct
the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to
their learning.
I remember when I first began teaching adults on Sundays. I was a little
intimidated as I respected the degree of Bible knowledge and life application
experience in the room. There were many men and women who had lived a lot
longer than I had, that’s for sure, and had spent much of that time as students
of the Bible. The seeds of doubt would try to creep in regularly, convincing me
that I was out of my league.
But then something awesome happened. As I prepared my lessons, I had an
epiphany. Why was I worrying about teaching adults? For it wasn’t really me
teaching if I was approaching it right (and I was). No, it was the Lord
teaching through me. I was just an extension of Him, a vessel He filled with
His wisdom and guidance, a mouthpiece through which He spoke.
That day, I recognized that I was wise well beyond my years because of
the Lord being in my heart, mind, and soul, and I could, through Him, instruct
the wise to make them wiser still and teach the righteous so they might add to
their learning.
Never underestimate that the Lord can’t do the same with you.
3. You’ll know you’re wise when you have developed a fear of the Lord and
a thirst for knowing Him more.
The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding.
I don’t know about you but I can’t get enough of the Lord in my life. There
is nothing that can compare to Him, nothing that can give you anywhere near the
return on your time investment than what you reap when you invest it in Him.
Only a fool, or one who is unwise, would choose to not show the Lord
Almighty the respect, honor, and glory that He and He alone is entitled to. And
the fool is anyone who chooses to not relate to the Lord and get to know Him.
I’m glad to not be counted in that number and pray you’re not as well.
4. You’ll know you are wise when you invest yourself in divine wisdom and
reap the benefits of healthy spiritual living.
For
through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.
I’ve often been asked how I could have little to no gray hair even though
I served in the military for twenty-eight and a half years, have been married
more than twenty years, and raised two children into adulthood.
My response is always centered on the power and peace that comes when you
dedicate yourself to the Lord spiritually and make it a daily commitment. Every
day you commune with the Lord Almighty, the Maker and Creator of all things,
you become stronger in faith and your ability to successfully handle with the
pressures that life inevitably brings. You see how fortunate you are to have
such a powerful God with you, ever interceding for you, ever watching over you,
and ever loving you as His own.
When you are wise enough to devote yourself to Him as much as He is
devoted to you, then you will develop this simple life attitude – “I am too
blessed to be stressed” – and this attitude will serve you well in extending
the gift of life that the Lord has granted you, a life that He wishes for you
to have in abundance.
How is your spiritual health? If it’s poor or non-existent, I can almost
bet that your physical health is being impacted and in a negative way. My
prayer is that if you need to improve your relationship with the Lord, you’ll make
the wise decision to do so today, making it part of your daily discipline.
There is no doubt in my mind that if you do, you will begin to feel better,
both spiritually and physically, and will be taking deliberate steps to try and
ensure years will be added to your life.
5. You’ll know you are wise when you are experiencing the rich rewards
that come with being so.
If you
are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will
suffer.
The scriptures are clear here.
Pursue, embrace, and receive divine wisdom and you will reap the rewards
of doing so. Choose to not do so, and you will experience suffering for opting
against wisdom is opting for sin, and God will not tolerate those who shun Him
in favor of transgression.
You will never be left void of blessing when you seek divine wisdom for
the Lord will always fill you with the Holy Spirit who will ever lead you in
the ways of righteousness. The riches you gain from this are abundant and priceless.
Friends, this is a great word of the Lord for it calls us to assess where
we are in life and how well we grade out on the wisdom scale. I think it’s also
incredibly valuable in that it exposes the places where we may need to improve
on our wisdom and we all need it. No one is perfectly wise except the Lord who
willingly imparts discernment on those who seek His will and way. The rest of
us are works in progress, ever striving to be a little wiser today than we were
yesterday.
Thanks be to God for the chance to live and love and grow through every
day He blesses us with. And let’s give additional praise for a God who chooses
to walk alongside us, a God who is always with us, guiding, protecting, and
loving us every step of the way.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
Send any prayer requests to ourchristianwalk@aol.com
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