Sunday, January 13, 2008
Wise or Foolish
Five women are meeting for a nice lunch and fellowship time at a local cafe. All of them are believers. They enjoy eachother's company, so they have decided to meet once a month as a way to encourage one another. They discuss homeschooling ideas...what works for them, what doesn't. They seek eachother's advice on dealing with discipline issues for a certain difficult child. They discuss homemaking topics to get ideas of how to bless their husbands and children more. They brag on their children and husbands. They talk about what the Lord has been doing in their lives and pray for one another.
Before the wonderful time is over, one sweet lady speaks up. She asks a question that makes the others a tad bit uncomfortable. She is looking for an honest answer from godly friends. She needs help. She is seeking wisdom. She asks,"Is there anything in my life any of you see that is sinful or not godly? Are there areas where I need to improve as a mother, wife, and child of God? Have I disappointed in of you in my walk with the Lord?"
Do you seek correction in your life? Are you easily offended when someone confronts sin in your life? Did you know we are actually supposed to be seeking wisdom by seeking instruction and correction? It is humbling, but needs to be done if we are to grow as believers.
Isn't it wonderful to have friends that will honestly answer these questions for you? They can see through to the real you and know where you struggle and where you fail and offer words of reprove, correction, and encouragement to do what is right. Isn't that a blessing?
Our equipping hour teacher, who is also our worship pastor, this morning spoke about this a little and how if we are human, we really like to hear the good stuff about ourselves...sure we can discuss things as long as you are telling me what I want to hear...isn't this true of all of us?
Not only do we not want others correcting us when we are in sin, we would rather others not even know about our sin.
But the Bible is pretty clear on how to be wise.
Proverbs is full of simple advice and wisdom...godly widsom, not the world's wisdom. It is very unlike the world,actually.
Proverbs 12:1 says: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Do you seek out discipline?
Do you love discipline?
Do you love and seek out correction?
Do you want to hear from others on how you are doing as a Christian?
Do you look forward to the conversations with others about the ways you need to deal with sin...face the sin and really do something about it?
Aren't these the kinds of friends and people we need in our lives? If they really love us, won't they do this for us? We really don't need more flattery, do we? I mean, we already think pretty highly of ourselves.
Can we be humble enough to accept what they are saying and honestly look at ourselves in light of what we have learned? I believe this is one way God allows for us to grow...to be more like Christ. We learn to humble ourselves and love discipline, knowing we are growing in the Lord through the process.
I want to be this kind of woman...who seeks to be wise, not foolish.
Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 3:11-18
11 My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom
13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her(wisdom) is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
Did you get that? Fools despise wisdom and instruction. We can very easily be a fool. I must always remember that pride is what keeps me from accepting correction. When my children despise my correction, they are being fools. Then we need to respond to them not as fools, but with biblical wisdom. How can we do that if we are acting as fools ourselves? When I read something in a book that steps on my toes a bit,do I want that instruction or do I think that book is too harsh? Am I wise or a fool? We can look at ourselves in every situation in life and label our actions and attitudes as either wise or foolish.
Maybe we all need to be reading Proverbs more often. I know I do. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Do we really fear Him? I will be visiting that topic next.
Have a wonderful Monday!
I am a stay at home mother to 4. I am very blessed to have a godly husband who loves the Lord and his family. I welcome the days of much needed grace,the times of sweet victories,and the tears of trials,knowing it is all for God's glory. I want my lifesong to sing to Him,the author and finisher of my faith. Soli Deo Gloria--To the Glory of God alone.
13 Comments:
Kim, definitely some great food for thought. I will be dissecting and "chewing" on that for the next couple of days in my own QT.
I've made a commitment to read through Proverbs each month this year, along with my other Bible readings.
Our school verse is Proverbs 9: 9-10, and I think that dovetails with what you've shared.
Thanks for the exhortation. I pray I am not a fool and will heed it.
Hey Kim, thanks for sharing. I didn't get to go to church today, so I can read your blog and know what Todd taught about. It is a difficult thing in our lives. I have been through seven months of hearing other peoples' corrections/judgments of me (some valid, some not) and it takes the Holy Spirit to show us what He desires us to learn from it. I know that each critism or friend pointing something out in my life means that God desires to refine me. I just pray that I would learn to respond humbly. I long for my initial response to be humility and teachable-ness. Maybe someday.........before He takes me to heaven. :D Have a great night!
Good post, Kim. We are doing a women's Sunday Schoolcalled Wisdom for Mothers and I've been studying some similar things. Thanks for another angle of seeking wisdom.
Kim, what a wonderfully challenging and vitally important post for all of us who want to grow as Christians. Thank you for putting this post out there for us to read and digest.
Hi Kim, This post is a wonderful challenge to us all. I want to be this type of woman also. Thank you for sharing and for being such a great encourager!
I have a few "good" friends that will actually tell me the truth. One, in particular, will let me know if she thinks I am doing wrong. I am thankful for her. Very thankful. SOmetimes it can hurt, but she tries to do it in a very gentle way. When it comes right down to it, I would trust her more than any others to give me the truth. Friends like that are a blessing.
This is so true, Kim! I have learned a lot about laying down pride and accepting instruction in my weaknesses recently. This is such an important reminder and challenge.
Wonderful thoughts...it's so easy to want to run from correction. Or maybe having light shed on an area, makes us feel all that more unworthy. But it's just that unworthiness that Jesus died for.
Great post...Blessings! ~Tammy
This very thing brought 6 of us together 3 years ago and we are heading into our 4th. An invitation was sent to all the women in our couples small group after the women met while the men were on a retreat. We prayed that God would send the right people to be together. Only 6 were interested and one dropped because of an aging parent and she needed to spend time assisting her parent.
We call ourselves an accountability group, although I know that term is now passe, but it is what we are. It is a time of fellowship where we share through love laughter and tears and truly hold each other accountable to the sin in our lives as well as the godly. We have a prayer we pray before each meeting and of course use Scripture to verify our HS promptings. We aren't perfect, we are ordinary and sinners in need of Jesus. This group really
The group meets for breakfast once per month,we take turns hosting, and we actually go all out when it is our turn to host. These women have taken me through some of the most joyous and trying times. These are my go to girls.
We also try to read Proverbs everyday since there are 31 of them.
I highly suggest creating an accountability partner after praying for God to put the right person [or in our case, people] in your life. How we have been blessed by this!
Oh what a prick to the heart this was for me. I need to work on listening to the people God has put in my life for this purpose. Thank you for your thoughts today!
I have been very fortunate in recent months to have a friend who is honest about where I fall short.
It has been a tremendous blessing.
Hi, I've been reading your blog for some time and love it. I have finally gotten a goggle account so I can leave comments. I'm just offically "de-lurking". :) I know a couple of people you mention from time to time from the Bible Church. I grew up there until High School. Have a great day! Shannon
Where's Menu Monday? Hope all is well!
in Christ,
angela
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