Desire Without Knowledge

For Friday, November 3, 2006
Proverbs 19:2

Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

Is this not the cause of our troubles? We desire without knowledge. The young man desires the Forbidden Woman, not knowing that she leads to death. The fool desires fortune and fame, not knowing that he chooses ignomy and destruction. The wicked desire to take advantage of others, not knowing that they are entrapping themselves. Man desires to exalt himself, not knowing that he is debasing himself. Pride, greed, ambition all serve to make us ignorant.

Then we haste to fulfill our desires and thus miss the signs that would lead us aright. Our desires not only blind us, but compel us not to look, not to use discernment. The result of this all is that we miss The Desire instilled in us - the desire for God. We substitute it with the trivial and the profane; we substitute it with desires which, if they did spring from desire for God, would be good; but now that we have made idols of them in place of God they become soiled and lead us astray.

Desire is good - desire that is with the knowledge of the fear of the Lord. Such desire leads to what is truly fulfilling, what is lasting, what raises one up to glory. Desire that springs from the love of God found in Jesus Christ - that is abundant joy.

Better to Be Poor

For Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Proverbs 19:1

(Note: After completing chapters 10-18, we returned to the beginning of Proverbs and covered through chapter 9. We are now picking up where we left off.)

Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity
than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

In this season of elections, we could paraphrase this to say, "Better is a person poor in politics..." Evidently this proverb believes there is too high a price to pay for crookedness. The lost of integrity is worse than the loss of money and position. The world considers a person not willing to "compromise" the truth to achieve a goal to be a fool. So be it. God, through his Word, declares a person who compromises integrity to be a fool. Whose judgment is more likely to be correct? In the end, who more likely will see that his judgment is vindicated?

This applies to more than politicians. It applies to preachers who are crooked with Scripture. It applies to business people crooked about their services and products. It applies to teachers crooked with their responsibilities to their students. The list goes on. Where is the person willing to sacrifice election, promotion, fame, money, job for the sake of integrity? Where is the "fool" who will counts favor with God as greater value than achieving worldly success?

There is only one - Jesus Christ, who walked in integrity even unto his death. Let us walk behind him, leaning on him, until we reach the destination he has prepared for us in our heavenly city.

The Call

For Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Proverbs 9:13-18

13 The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.
14 She sits at the door of her house;
she takes a seat on the highest places of the town,
15 calling to those who pass by,
who are going straight on their way,
16 "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"
And to him who lacks sense she says,
17 "Stolen water is sweet,
and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
18 But he does not know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Folly is presented in comparison and contrast to Wisdom. Both have a house; both call out from high places; both call to the simple. Yet unlike Wisdom, Folly is merely loud, not wise. She knows nothing. Wisdom possesses ancient knowledge from her close relation to God the Maker. Folly's sitting at the high places displays her imputence; she sits where she has no right. Whereas Wisdom calls to the simple in order to deliver them from their foolish ways, Folly calls out to the simple precisely because they are so easily led into such ways. Wisdom appeals to the simple to eat of her bread and drink of her wine, which nourish and refreshes the mind and soul; Folly not offers what does not belong to her, but presents what is stolen as sweet. It may well taste sweet for the moment, but Folly is leading her simple followers to their death. Wisdom offers life.

Who will be chosen by the fool? Verses 7-12 observes that they will choose Folly. We shake our heads at such foolishness, but we need to ask ourselves how often we have chosen Folly as well. We choose what will make our hearts palpitate; what gives us a rush. When our lives become routine, we look for some kind of adventure that stirs us, some kind of escape from our troubles and boredom. Folly understands that. That's the basis of her appeal about stolen water and bread eaten in secret.

How do we resist her? Self-control helps to a degree, but it gives in after time. What we need to do is grasp the adventure that belongs to any who would follow Wisdom. Remember, Wisdom is a companion of God who created the world with all its mysteries and awe-inspiring beauty. Wisdom leads to life, which is not mere avoidance of death; it is life abundant; it is life that has meaning, that produces what is of real value. It is a life that leads unto glory.

When we turn to Christ, we enter into the kingdom of God which moves forward in mysterious ways, winning converts and battling against the forces of evil such as Folly and the Forbidden Woman. Souls are at stake, and God gives to us the privilege to join in the battle. He gives to us the privilege to be builders of the kingdom. He gives us the joy to be explorers of his nature and of his grace; to search far and wide his ways and how his counsels are being carried out. The one who is able to withstand Folly as she calls out, is the one too excited, too busy, too devoted for Christ and for his kingdom.

If You Scoff

For Monday, October 30, 2006
Proverbs 9:7-12

7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
and years will be added to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself;
if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Why does Wisdom's effort to instruct the foolish so often fail? Because the foolish are foolish. They are not foolish because they have not received right instruction. They are foolish because they love what is folly and hate what is good. The scoffer likes to scoff. Wisdom may scoff at the foolish, but that is because she hates folly and desires what is good for the fool. The scoffer merely likes to belittle others. It makes him feel important and gives him a false sense of being wise. To learn from Wisdom, he would have to take on the humble position of receiving knowledge that he does not have. He would have to admit that others know more. He hates such a position and thus will hate anyone who tries to teach him.

Because the wise person possesses the fear of the Lord, humility is a natural and desirable position to take. Because he has some insight into the character of God; because he knows the Lord, he will love receiving knowledge and growing in wisdom. Thus, he gladly receives instruction from whoever may give it.

Pray, then, for the foolish. For they have no hope except that the Holy Spirit works in them to change their nature and give them love for what is good and hatred for what is wicked. It is pride that turns all men and women away from God, just as it was pride that led Satan to rebellion. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Humility is the key, but not alone. It is a humility that delights in the Lord, the delights in the fear of the Lord that will lead a person not only to walk in righteousness but to walk that path in devotion and joy.