Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”
Our Bible verse for today: “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “A wise person seeks to learn and grow and improve, a fool does not.”
As Solomon explained right at the beginning of Proverbs 1, and which he has then reemphasized over and over again since then, the intention of the Proverbs is to encourage us to seek Godly wisdom and then apply it to our lives. The literary device he chose to use to help make his point is that of contrast. All throughout the Proverbs Solomon contrasts the thinking, decision-making, and lifestyle of a wise person who seeks and lives by Godly wisdom, and the fool who does not. That’s what he does again in Proverbs 12. The entire Proverb is a study in contrasts between what happens when a person is wise, and what happens when a person is a fool.
In verse 1 Solomon tells us that if we love Godly wisdom we will discipline ourselves in order to develop more of it. The fool won’t be willing to exert the effort or invest the time to do that. That right there is the key to developing and living by the wisdom Proverbs – you have to want it and you have to be willing to work for it. We have to train ourselves to live this way and that takes discipline and effort.
Discipline and effort is required for any improvement we want to experience in life. If you want to be physically fit and healthy, you have to discipline yourself to exercise every day and to eat right. If you want to make your living as a professional musician, you need to discipline yourself to practice your craft every day and to continuously improve. That’s true whether we’re talking about getting good at baseball, bowling, carpentry, or yodeling. You have to be disciplined and you have to invest the time and effort. Spiritual growth is no different.
And just like with all of those other endeavors, there are rewards for the investment. The health nut ends up physically fit; the musician becomes increasingly accomplished; the baseball player hits home runs; the bowler makes strikes; the carpenter builds beautiful furniture; the yodeler wins trophies for being a world class yodeler; and the person with Godly wisdom reaps spiritual benefits and rewards. But it all took work and effort.
I love the way the Living Bible phrases 2 Peter 1:5-8:
“But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desire so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become faithful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ.”
A wise person seeks to learn and grow and improve. They invest the time and make the effort. The fool does not.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 