PROVERBS 9:9-12

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2007
 

THE WISE WANT TO LEARN

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.  10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 11 For by me your days will be multiplied, And years of life will be added to you. 12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, And if you scoff, you will bear it alone." Proverbs 9:9-12 (NKJV)

I always wondered why the people who have achieved success in their fields are the ones who write the most books. When I started writing devotions a few years ago, I discovered the answer. It is a simple answer - the more I write, the more I learn. This is because I have to look up a word in the Dictionary or I have to see what others have written about a particular passage. What I realized was the knowledge I gained became of such value that I wanted to write more and more.

I am not saying I am wise as the world would interpret the word "wise." That is, I don’t have a Ph.D. and I don’t know the meaning of words so long that I would trip over them. I am no smarter than anyone else. I hope that I am wiser than many. You can be wiser also.

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." A wise person is one who knows that there is always something more to learn.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." To truly fear and love God, to be in awe of God, will compel us to be wiser, to want to learn more and more. As we discover that no matter how much we know about our Lord, we find out how little we know, and that is when we begin to understand the majesty of God.

The last two verses speak of the blessings of our growth in wisdom. The most important blessing is in the last verse, "If you are wise, you are wise for yourself." Do you see the importance? The more you grow in wisdom concerning your faith, the more you know and rejoice that you are not alone; whether you are in joy or in sorrow, God is with you. The last part of the verse says you will scoff alone. You will not be wise enough to call upon God who is waiting to be with you . My hope is that you will be wise enough to want to know more of the Love and Grace of God.

WE PRAY: LORD, send your Holy Spirit upon me that I might feel a strong urge to learn more and more of your Love and Grace. Teach me to read each passage as if I have never read it before, and as I read each word, open my eyes and heart that your WORD might permeate all that I do. AMEN

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION

Select the 23rd Psalm. Go to your Church or Public Library or a friend and borrow any book that you can on the Psalm. Don’t forget some excellent Devotional books. Read them and make notes about all of the various thoughts on the Psalm. You will be amazed at how much wiser you will be.