Jump Start # 3633

Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.”

I was in a local ice cream shop the other day. Hard to stay out of those places on hot summer afternoons. As I was sitting at the counter eating my treat, a couple of the workers were chit-chatting to each other nearby. The young female was complaining to the young man that he drove his car like her grandma. Since I’m in the grandparent league, I perked up and thought this will be good. I was surprised the young man had a license, he looked so young. He told his co-worker that he had been pulled over three times last week for speeding. That is why he was driving like a grandma. Three times—in ONE WEEK! Since I wasn’t invited in that conversation, and they had their backs to me, I kept quiet, but I wanted to scream “THREE TIMES IN ONE WEEK!!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????” I’m surprised he was still driving. I expect his insurance rates will go through the roof. He acted as if it was no big deal and that the police were always looking for him. The thought occurred, he learned nothing through all of this.

And, that takes us to our verse today. A person of wisdom learns. He learns from the Lord. He learns from others. He learns from his mistakes. And, as sad and ridiculous as this young man’s driving story was, it only becomes worse when we think about us.

Consider:

First, some never learn from the mistakes they have made in their marriage. Marriage is a growing process. Two young people learn. They learn about each other. They learn about life. They learn to compromise. They learn to communicate. But sadly, some never learn. They bring the baggage of selfishness into a marriage and after a few long and sad years, the marriage falls apart. They divorce. They go their separate ways. They each find someone else. And, with no lessons learned, it’s the same song once again.

Second, some never learn from their experiences with a congregation. A family moves into town and places membership with a congregation in the area. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that this congregation is different from the one they were used to in their home town. They notice that people don’t cater to their every whims. They are not the center of attention and because of that they complain that the congregation is not friendly. The leadership doesn’t allow them to do everything that they want. And, as hard as they try to change this congregation into the congregation back home, it fails. Frustrated this family leaves. They leave with no lessons learned. They leave not understanding how fellowship works and how brethren are to be united. They leave upset because they are not the center of the picture. They find another congregation and with no lessons learned, the same sad story is repeated again.

Third, some never learn from their own sins and mistakes. A weak faith allowed them to make superficial choices based upon feelings and not faith. They succumbed to the lies of the devil and seeking pleasure over the glory of the Lord they messed up. Their sin led them to seek the forgiveness of the Lord, yet, they learned no real lesson. They confessed, but they really didn’t repent. Down the same path again, the same mistakes and sins occur. Like being stuck on a merry-go-round, the same sins keep coming back, over and over and over. Now, there are ways to break that sin cycle. Change your choices. Change the environment. Change your friends. Change your habits. Get stronger spiritually. But, many never do that. So, around and around, up and down, in and out they go. Never feeling confident for very long. And, never learning anything and never none the better.

The wise man listens, learns and will do better. Maybe it’s time for us to do the same.

Pulled over by the police, three times in one week. Any lessons learned?

Roger

Jump Start # 1336

Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel”

  Learning, education—it’s not something that is only restricted to school age children and college students. Learning is a life long process. The more we learn, the better we become. The opening pages of Proverbs is devoted to acquiring wisdom. This wisdom is not mathematics, or text book lessons but instead, wisdom from God. Learning life from the one who designed life, God. Learning what works from God.

There are a couple of lessons I see here:

First, we need to approach our Biblical studies with a more academic approach. Just showing up for Bible class without having a clue what was taught the week before nor what the current lesson is going to be about and then offering comments that just pass through our brain probably isn’t the best method or means to learning. This feeds shallow thinking and superficial questions and answers and little depth and little application and mostly little changing. It’s beyond me to see folks show up to a Bible class without even a Bible. They just sit there and stare at the teacher. They have brought no pen and paper, so no notes will be taken if by chance they do learn something new. The teacher must work hard to try to engage the class and spoon feed them on the simplest themes. Sharing ignorance is often what is accomplished in the class. More time is spent chasing rabbits than it is in learning the text of God’s word.

What’s the solution? Two fold: First, the teacher must teach. Challenge the class to think. Give quizzes. Lower the nets to deeper levels. Second, the students, the class, must come prepared to learn. They ought to do some homework ahead of time. They ought to give some thought to what is being studied that day.

A person who has been a Christian for twenty years ought to have a massive understanding of the word of God. The number of classes he has sat in, the number of sermons he has listened to, and then his own private studies, should have given him a greater understanding and insight in God’s word. But far too often, that’s not the case. The guy has been sitting in Bible classes for twenty years, but he has never learned much. He has never applied himself. He has never been prodded to use what was being taught. Twenty years of teaching went in one ear and out the other. There is a great failure in what happens here. This man doesn’t grow. He doesn’t change. He doesn’t become better. He’s just about the same as he was twenty years ago. He ought to be teaching, but he doesn’t know. He ought to be leading God’s people, but he doesn’t have a clue. More classes. More sermons. He stays the same. The bad in all of this, his character, his heart doesn’t become more Christ-like. He stays pretty much the same. Worry, doubt, fear, are always near by. He relies upon old thoughts and old things he heard people saying a long time ago, never realizing that those things were not accurate, helpful nor Biblical.

A second lesson that is found here is the understanding that all of God’s people need to always be learning. Preachers need to be growing. They need to feed their souls and be learning. The books that they read help them grow. Preachers need to always be looking at how to be better. We train young preachers where I am at. They receive a notebook—it’s grown into two large notebooks. These notebooks are packed with articles about preaching. All kinds of interesting things such as how to teach classes and when is it time to move. Before the articles make it to the notebook, Mr. Roger here reads them first. I read them for myself. I read them to be a better preacher. If they are good, they make it to the notebook.

The same ought to be said of the shepherds within a local congregation. They lead, but they are not finished learning. The more they grow the better they will lead. They need to learn about leading people. They need to understand people. Again, this is something that tends to fall off today. Some have the idea that they know all that they need to know. So there is a ceiling to their knowledge. It won’t take long until the congregation will be ahead of them and progress will slow down. Leaders need to grow. They need to spend time learning. They need to spend time looking at how Jesus led people. They need to understand why sheep tend to wander off. They need to see what is bothering sheep today. The methods of the 1960’s may not be the best methods for today. There is a growing segment of society today that considers it’s self to be spiritual but not religious. Do leaders understand that? Are they in tune that what is bothering folks today? Learning these things will help them decide what classes to offer and what the congregation needs. Leaders who are not growing will find the church drifting after a while.

Ignorance is one of Satan’s greatest tools. Without knowledge, we get scared easily. Without knowledge we will never try something that is different. Studying the same topics, in the same manner, over and over gets to be mindless and tedious. Depth. Challenge. Learn. Grow. Become. That’s the answer.

This all starts with me. It starts with me turning off the mindless TV and picking up my Bible and really blowing the dust off it and getting into some unique studies. See Jesus. Ask yourself, “Why, did He do that?” “Why did He ask that?” Peel the layers back. Chew on it a while.

For instance, when we read about the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. He was reading from Isaiah when Philip came to him. Have you ever thought what it must have been like to have his own copy of Isaiah? Back then? Hand written. Few copies. Philip most likely did not have his own copy. Chew on that a while and that tells you a bit about the Ethiopian’s faith and love for the Lord.

Little things like that are on every page of the Bible. We over look them because we go too fast, repeat the same thoughts we have always heard and we don’t look with insight. They are there. Fresh. Interesting. Challenging. Faith building.

Wisdom—it’s more than knowing facts. It’s living what we have learned. It’s a life long experience and a wonderful journey.

Roger