- Dec 14, 2004
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I often wondered how a Christian, a follower of The Way, should feel about learning. Should we be limited to only the Knowledge and Wisdom that is provided in the Bible? Should we forget that the world is round and that life evolves? Should we write of the quest for new technology and knew theories, ideas, and information? If that were the case I would quickly dismiss most of the Bible. I have never understood why some people could think that progress and the gaining of new knowledge was wrong or un-important. I love learning new things. The only way we can survive is if we are open to new ideas and new information and technology.
For a long time this question remained un-answered but the other night as I was reading through Proverbs and I discovered something that brought great joy to me. Proverbs 8, 9, and 10 (plus others) deal almost strictly with knowledge, wisdom, and the pursuit there of so I am going to share with you a little of what I found. I will also add my views. Please feel free to comment.
I will start with Proverbs 8.
In this chapter we have someone describing Wisdom as though it was a living being. The Chapter is titled Wisdom's Call and starts out with the writer asking, "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? From the first line we learn that Wisdom is always there calling out for us to notice her but often we do not listen; often we allow ourselves to move to simpler more petty thoughts. We shield ourselves from understanding the world around us either because we fear change or because we believe we already know everything. In the second line we learn that to hear the call of Wisdom we must strive to understand the world around us; we must seek knowledge and understanding. If we do not seek out knowledge; if we do not strive to understand we are left ignorant and deaf to the calling of wisdom.
In Proverbs 8:7-8 we read, "My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse." If we look deeply into this line of text and take words into account we learn that true wisdom is never directed away from what is right or good. It is not persisting in an error or fault. It is not wrongly self-willed or stubborn. True wisdom is not inconsistent. It does not oppose knowledge. True Wisdom is not perverted by wickedness, hate, lust, envy, pride, or loyalty to ideologies.
In the following lines we learn that Wisdom is something that belongs to the discerning. We learn that Wisdom is faultless to those who have knowledge. We learn that instruction is worth more then silver, knowledge is worth more then choice gold, and wisdom more precious than rubies and that nothing you desire can compare to her value. We learn that Wisdom and Prudence dwell in the same home. We learn that Wisdom hates pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. We learn that counsel and sound judgment are of wisdom. We learn that true wisdom walks in the way of righteousness and along the path of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love her and making their treasuries full (in terms of spirituality, morals, and knowledge). We learn that Wisdom was Gods first creation and his most important.
In Proverbs 8:32 and on we learn that those who keep the ways of Wisdom are blessed. We learn that those who seek her daily are blessed. We learn that through Wisdom we find life and receive favor from the Lord. But we also learn that whoever fails to find her will bring harm to himself and that all who hate her love death.
Chapter 9 starts out by the writer telling us that Wisdom is waiting for us. In Proverbs 9:4-6 we read, "'Let all who are simple come in here!' she says to those who lack judgment. Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.'" It is often said that it is good to be simple, but here we are told that we must leave our simple ways if we are to truly live. It is simple to live without seeking knowledge. It is easy to live in ignorance, but if we live in ignorance are we really living or do we just exist? When we are ignorant, when we live simply, it is easy for us to be overcome with greed, envy, lust, and hate; it is easy for others to control our lives; it is easy for our free will to be striped away from us.
In the next lines of text we are given a warning. Proverbs 7-9 reads, "Whoever corrects a *mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a *mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning". I don't know if I really have to explore that more. It is fairly easy to understand. A wise man loves and desires the chance to learn something new or to be given something new to ponder over. A *mocker will insult you for thinking differently; a *mocker will hate you for sharing your knowledge; a *mocker will abuse you for not believing as they do.
Proverbs 9:12 "If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer."
In Proverbs 13-18 we learn about the lack of knowledge and what that means for people. We learn of the Woman Folly. She is loud, undisciplined, and without knowledge. Just as the Women Wisdom waits and calls out for us, so does the Woman Folly. Her call however is different. Proverbs 9:16- "'Let all who are simple come in here!' she says to those who lack judgment. Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!' But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol (Sheol is translated in this part of the text as meaning "the grave"). We learn that those who do not have wisdom are undisciplined and they speak without knowledge. They are loud and often over power those who speak with wisdom but they lead the weak of mind to death; to a shallow life of suffering, fear, and depression.
Proverbs 10 (Proverbs of Solomon) is not completely dedicated to wisdom as the past two chapters were, however there are many good things to learn from the text. I will cover a few of them and give my interpretations.
Proverbs 10:6 "Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." The mouth of the wicked conceals violence? What I get from this is that you do not have to commit an evil or violent act to be unrighteous. All you have to do is mislead those around you into believing that violence is not wrong or that it has not taken place when it has. Your hands could be clean, but if you hide the sins of others with the words you speak you are just as guilty as they are. Do you agree? This one is tough so there is a good chance I am wrong.
Proverbs 10:11 "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." This is very much like the text we just visited. But here I believe it is stated that those who are wicked will support violence and those who seek righteousness (peaceful, nonviolent, justice) will bring true life to not only himself but to all around him.
Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." I gather from this that hatred only divides us and that love is the only thing that will bring us together because love is forgiveness and acceptance and selflessness. Am I wrong?
Proverbs 10:17 "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." To live a righteous life we must discipline ourselves and not give into error, hatred, lies, and the desire for power over each other. We must listen to those around us so that we can gain understand and so that if we are faulted we can correct our mistakes. Those who do not challenge what they say and live in ignorance; those who do not seek knowledge but still preach to those around them, will lead them also to ignorance.
Proverbs 10:19 "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."
Proverbs 10:23 "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom."
Proverbs 11:3 "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."
* A Mocker is someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls out in derision ... or it is a long-tailed gray-and-white songbird of the southern United States able to mimic songs of other birds... I will let you decide which one we are talking about. =)
It is the duty for all to seek out knowledge in every form so that we do not fall pray to ignorance. It is our duty to live every day mindful of the world around us and always attempting to understand and to expand our knowledge, ideals, and faith. Wisdom, Knowledge, and Love are the only tools that can bring true peace of mind and joy.
For a long time this question remained un-answered but the other night as I was reading through Proverbs and I discovered something that brought great joy to me. Proverbs 8, 9, and 10 (plus others) deal almost strictly with knowledge, wisdom, and the pursuit there of so I am going to share with you a little of what I found. I will also add my views. Please feel free to comment.
I will start with Proverbs 8.
In this chapter we have someone describing Wisdom as though it was a living being. The Chapter is titled Wisdom's Call and starts out with the writer asking, "Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? From the first line we learn that Wisdom is always there calling out for us to notice her but often we do not listen; often we allow ourselves to move to simpler more petty thoughts. We shield ourselves from understanding the world around us either because we fear change or because we believe we already know everything. In the second line we learn that to hear the call of Wisdom we must strive to understand the world around us; we must seek knowledge and understanding. If we do not seek out knowledge; if we do not strive to understand we are left ignorant and deaf to the calling of wisdom.
In Proverbs 8:7-8 we read, "My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse." If we look deeply into this line of text and take words into account we learn that true wisdom is never directed away from what is right or good. It is not persisting in an error or fault. It is not wrongly self-willed or stubborn. True wisdom is not inconsistent. It does not oppose knowledge. True Wisdom is not perverted by wickedness, hate, lust, envy, pride, or loyalty to ideologies.
In the following lines we learn that Wisdom is something that belongs to the discerning. We learn that Wisdom is faultless to those who have knowledge. We learn that instruction is worth more then silver, knowledge is worth more then choice gold, and wisdom more precious than rubies and that nothing you desire can compare to her value. We learn that Wisdom and Prudence dwell in the same home. We learn that Wisdom hates pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. We learn that counsel and sound judgment are of wisdom. We learn that true wisdom walks in the way of righteousness and along the path of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love her and making their treasuries full (in terms of spirituality, morals, and knowledge). We learn that Wisdom was Gods first creation and his most important.
In Proverbs 8:32 and on we learn that those who keep the ways of Wisdom are blessed. We learn that those who seek her daily are blessed. We learn that through Wisdom we find life and receive favor from the Lord. But we also learn that whoever fails to find her will bring harm to himself and that all who hate her love death.
Chapter 9 starts out by the writer telling us that Wisdom is waiting for us. In Proverbs 9:4-6 we read, "'Let all who are simple come in here!' she says to those who lack judgment. Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.'" It is often said that it is good to be simple, but here we are told that we must leave our simple ways if we are to truly live. It is simple to live without seeking knowledge. It is easy to live in ignorance, but if we live in ignorance are we really living or do we just exist? When we are ignorant, when we live simply, it is easy for us to be overcome with greed, envy, lust, and hate; it is easy for others to control our lives; it is easy for our free will to be striped away from us.
In the next lines of text we are given a warning. Proverbs 7-9 reads, "Whoever corrects a *mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a *mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning". I don't know if I really have to explore that more. It is fairly easy to understand. A wise man loves and desires the chance to learn something new or to be given something new to ponder over. A *mocker will insult you for thinking differently; a *mocker will hate you for sharing your knowledge; a *mocker will abuse you for not believing as they do.
Proverbs 9:12 "If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you; if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer."
In Proverbs 13-18 we learn about the lack of knowledge and what that means for people. We learn of the Woman Folly. She is loud, undisciplined, and without knowledge. Just as the Women Wisdom waits and calls out for us, so does the Woman Folly. Her call however is different. Proverbs 9:16- "'Let all who are simple come in here!' she says to those who lack judgment. Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!' But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol (Sheol is translated in this part of the text as meaning "the grave"). We learn that those who do not have wisdom are undisciplined and they speak without knowledge. They are loud and often over power those who speak with wisdom but they lead the weak of mind to death; to a shallow life of suffering, fear, and depression.
Proverbs 10 (Proverbs of Solomon) is not completely dedicated to wisdom as the past two chapters were, however there are many good things to learn from the text. I will cover a few of them and give my interpretations.
Proverbs 10:6 "Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence." The mouth of the wicked conceals violence? What I get from this is that you do not have to commit an evil or violent act to be unrighteous. All you have to do is mislead those around you into believing that violence is not wrong or that it has not taken place when it has. Your hands could be clean, but if you hide the sins of others with the words you speak you are just as guilty as they are. Do you agree? This one is tough so there is a good chance I am wrong.
Proverbs 10:11 "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked." This is very much like the text we just visited. But here I believe it is stated that those who are wicked will support violence and those who seek righteousness (peaceful, nonviolent, justice) will bring true life to not only himself but to all around him.
Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." I gather from this that hatred only divides us and that love is the only thing that will bring us together because love is forgiveness and acceptance and selflessness. Am I wrong?
Proverbs 10:17 "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." To live a righteous life we must discipline ourselves and not give into error, hatred, lies, and the desire for power over each other. We must listen to those around us so that we can gain understand and so that if we are faulted we can correct our mistakes. Those who do not challenge what they say and live in ignorance; those who do not seek knowledge but still preach to those around them, will lead them also to ignorance.
Proverbs 10:19 "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."
Proverbs 10:23 "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom."
Proverbs 11:3 "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."
* A Mocker is someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls out in derision ... or it is a long-tailed gray-and-white songbird of the southern United States able to mimic songs of other birds... I will let you decide which one we are talking about. =)
It is the duty for all to seek out knowledge in every form so that we do not fall pray to ignorance. It is our duty to live every day mindful of the world around us and always attempting to understand and to expand our knowledge, ideals, and faith. Wisdom, Knowledge, and Love are the only tools that can bring true peace of mind and joy.
