God's Word in Proverbs tells us that if we seek wisdom and understanding with all our heart....and value it more than gold and silver.....then God will grant it to us. The question therefore that we should ask ourselves revolves around what....'with all our heart'....entails? I want to consider in this post this concept of wisdom and understanding....specifically as it relates to the level of difficulty that this world and America are in. In other words....some might say something like....'the problems are immense with serious consequences if we do not find the answers.' Others...such as myself....would elevate the problems and particularly the consequences exponentially. In other words extraordinary catastrophes are just ahead of us....there are no answers beyond possibly delaying the consequences for only a short time. That's my secular response anyway as a more accurate description would be biblical in that God is judging this world and America....thus tribulation....Revelation's Tribulation....is near if it has not already started.
It's my contention that Proverbs in the first eight or so chapters is alluding.....more than alluding but veiled right now....to biblical prophesy more than helpful hints on living this life of ours. So which might be more correct....the former assessment that these are just the latest of difficult situations the world has always experienced....or the latter where God is finally bringing all things to a conclusion?
I think that the latter is the wisdom and the understanding that Proverbs is speaking to. If that is the case....or even if the first scenario is the case....wisdom and understanding depends on how much we really desire it.....as opposed to fooling ourselves while desiring and formulating our own verdicts and prescriptions. What percentage of time is spent on meditating on God's Word as opposed to time spent on enjoyments and even hard work for honorable goals? Are we using any introspection and displaying any humility....or is there no self-examination....only prideful peripheral contemplation given?
No one can answer these questions for anyone else. We all have to choose what woman's invitation we will respond to....the one who beckons us on the streets....that one leading to death....or the one who offers wisdom....both of these described in those chapters of Proverbs? Joshua famously and wonderfully declared...."And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15) That choice is also ours today. We need wisdom and understanding to make such a decision. Just how....and to what extent....and with how much sincerity and honesty....are we seeking that wisdom and understanding?
It's my contention that Proverbs in the first eight or so chapters is alluding.....more than alluding but veiled right now....to biblical prophesy more than helpful hints on living this life of ours. So which might be more correct....the former assessment that these are just the latest of difficult situations the world has always experienced....or the latter where God is finally bringing all things to a conclusion?
I think that the latter is the wisdom and the understanding that Proverbs is speaking to. If that is the case....or even if the first scenario is the case....wisdom and understanding depends on how much we really desire it.....as opposed to fooling ourselves while desiring and formulating our own verdicts and prescriptions. What percentage of time is spent on meditating on God's Word as opposed to time spent on enjoyments and even hard work for honorable goals? Are we using any introspection and displaying any humility....or is there no self-examination....only prideful peripheral contemplation given?
No one can answer these questions for anyone else. We all have to choose what woman's invitation we will respond to....the one who beckons us on the streets....that one leading to death....or the one who offers wisdom....both of these described in those chapters of Proverbs? Joshua famously and wonderfully declared...."And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15) That choice is also ours today. We need wisdom and understanding to make such a decision. Just how....and to what extent....and with how much sincerity and honesty....are we seeking that wisdom and understanding?
