Seeking Knowledge

For Friday, February 3, 2006
Proverbs 15:14

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

The point here is that the wise earnestly desire knowledge. Reading is not something they do, when there is nothing good on TV. They do not catch up on the latest news in order to be conversational. They do not learn trivia to be competitive in games or make themselves sound interesting. They love knowledge because it gives them further understanding about things that matter.

Fools feed on folly because their heart is not into knowledge for wisdom's sake but for their own ego. They then reveal their foolishness by the way they spout off information that either is inaccurate or irrelevant.

What is your heart into? What do you seek: knowledge that is of value or information that you think will make you appear knowledgeable? What are you seeking when you read Scripture? A verse here and there that you can quote or truth that will lead you to a deeper relationship with God and a fruitful life in service to him? What are you seeking?

Cheerful Heart

For Thursday, February 2, 2006
Proverbs 15:13

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,
but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

This proverb can be taken as both descriptive and prescriptive. It describes the effect of the heart on the outer being and welfare of its owner. A glad heart cheers up the face and the spirit. It promotes well being. Sorrow, on the other hand, crushes the spirit, makes the face downcast, and adversely affects a person's health. We can read the same information in scientific studies.

The proverb is also, then, prescribing what is good for us. It is good for us to be cheerful. We cannot manufacture cheer, but we can choose to focus on what is encouraging rather than what weighes us down. We can be guilty of dwelling on our failures and losses, refusing to acknowledge the blessings that God has given. We can be guilty of focusing on the negative - what is wrong with others and bothersome in our lives - rather than looking for the good. We can choose cynicism over observing what is good.

What will you see today? There is always both good and bad. What will you look for?

Receiving Reproof

For Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Proverbs 15:12

A scoffer does not like to be reproved;
he will not go to the wise.

The cynic, or scoffer, thinks he is wise because he is able to find fault in others, especially those in authority. And the greatest scoffers are those who have never held position of authority or responsibility. They despise reproof, they think because of the faults they find in authority figures such as parents and teachers. The reality is that they hate reproof because of their unwillingness to face their own faults.

Everyone has faults. Even the wise are not wise about some things, including their own behavior. Such is the doctrine of sin. But wisdom lies in recognizing one's own shortcomings and in recognizing the insight of others, whoever they may be. Even a fool can be right sometimes, and the wise person will recognize the rare time he is.

The wise also have the humility necessary to be discerning. Because they are not caught up in their egos; because they are not focused on looking wise, they can spend the effort on gaining further wisdom. All this the scoffer dismisses to his own loss.

And thus the reason so many never come to Christ. For such requires humility to be discerning, to hear and understand the gospel, to be cut to the quick, and to turn to the Wise Son of God.

The Open Heart

For Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Proverbs 15:11

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!

For the writer, Sheol and Abaddon represent the places of the dead, that which is beyond human sight and knowledge. They are the uttermost places, far from human existence. If Sheol and Abaddon, then, are open before the Lord as though meadows under broad daylight, how much more then are our hearts open before the Lord.

God is not watching us from a distance. He sees our actions; he hears our words; he knows our very thoughts, even the motives from which all these things spring. Such knowledge should sober us and encourage us. We "get away" with nothing; we may fool even ourselves at times, but never God. Therefore it is useless to wear masks before him; useless to pretend what we do not feel. Our hearts lie open before him. All the more reason, then, to confess our sins and to express to him what we feel. Confession is good for the soul because God already knows our guilt; what he waits for is our coming to him honestly.

But be also encouraged. God knows every burden we bear; he knows whatever we suffer; and he knows whatever good we have done, even when we do not know. And he commends us for everytime we honor him, however quietly and secretly. He knows and he blesses.

And because we are in Christ, know that God watches our hearts with love and compassion. He is not angry with you today. He is not looking for that sin in you for which to punish you. He looks upon you with love, knowing you fully as you are, fully as you are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and adopted as his child.

Receiving Discipline

For Monday, January 30, 2006
Proverbs 15:10

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
whoever hates reproof will die.

Not many of us like reproof. A child who is confronted with misbehavior often insists that he wasn’t misbehaving at all. He wasn’t really roughhousing with his brother; making loud noises didn’t really violate his parents’ instruction not to talk. And it isn’t only children who resist reproof. How often we make excuses when our boss points out a mistake, or a spouse suggests that perhaps we could be neater or more considerate.

It’s the easy way out, dodging reproof rather than accepting correction. But it really isn’t an easy way out at all. Perhaps we can keep our parents or boss at bay for a time, but where does this get us? Resisting correction simply makes things worse. The Scripture tells us that whoever hates reproof will die.

But this dire warning also points the way to blessing. The author of Hebrews tells the rest of the story: Our earthly fathers “disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:10-11).

David Skeel