A Five Minute Devotional
The video shown below is the devotional from September 17th, 2020. The full text of the devotional follows the video.
WELCOME
Good morning. I am Gary Wiram and it’s my pleasure to welcome you to Today’s Good News!
INTRODUCTION
Currently, we’re teaching through the first chapter of Proverbs. As a reminder, this section of Proverbs is aimed at providing a basic summary contrasting wisdom and foolishness. Today, we will be looking at Proverbs 1:29. Before we do that, let me tell you a non-Scriptural story that may help set the stage for today’s topic.
An 86 year-old man was out in his fishing boat when he heard a voice say, “Pick me up!” The old man looked in the water and there, floating on a lily pad was a frog. The man said, “Are you talking to me?” The frog replied, “Yes, I’m talking to you. Pick me up. Then, kiss me and I’ll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I’ll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because you will have me as your bride.” The man looked at the frog for a minute then he reached over, picked up the frog carefully, and placed it in his front pocket. The frog screamed, “What, are you nuts? Didn’t you hear what I said?? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride!” The old man opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, “No thanks! At my age I’d rather have a talking frog.”
THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Whether or not you see the humor in that story, it’s pretty easy to understand. Proverbs 1:29 says, “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord,” That’s a message I found much more challenging to understand. And once I understood it, I realized, it’s not so humorous.
In order to understand the cryptic message of Proverbs 1:29, I think you have to go back to the key verse for the entire book. That’s Proverbs 1:7 that tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
WISDOM
This section of Chapter 1 has been subtitled “The Call of Wisdom”. It is God calling us to be wise. In the verses leading up to 1:29, it’s obvious that His call is made openly and it’s loud and clear. But, in our sin, we foolishly choose to not listen and even when rebuked by God, we continue to do so. That leaves God no alternative but to allow us to continue down the path we’ve foolishly chosen, a path that leads to a destination of calamity, terror, destruction and anguish. Finally, then, we may call out to God but when that comes too late, He may no longer answer, He may no longer be there. Proverbs 1:29 tells us that’s due to our choosing not to fear Him and instead, hating His knowledge.
True wisdom is always grounded in a healthy, respectful, reverent “fear” of God. When we choose not to fear the Lord, when we choose not to place Him in His proper place in our lives, we despise knowledge, and refuse to act wisely. Verse 29 emphasizes how this results in catastrophe.
FOOLISHNESS
In my eyes, there is no greater catastrophe than what’s currently going on in the U.S.A. Presently, the ever-deepening division in its population makes it seem to be on the verge of civil war. To explain this, many look to aspects of American life that are nearly the polar-opposite of the way they were in the nation where I grew up. The common thread running through all these aspects is that the vast majority of the population no longer gives priority to things they recognize as being greater than themselves. Weekly attendance at a house of worship once was nearly universal and Judeo-Christian values were the foundational qualities of most individual lives, families, neighborhoods and communities. In other words, today’s American catastrophe has resulted from ignoring true wisdom grounded in a healthy respectful reverent “fear” of God, through not choosing to place Him in His proper place in their lives, through despising knowledge and refusing to act wisely.
HUMBLE PRAYER
So, in the face of this tragic sadness, what are we to do? Well, God Himself has given us the answer in His Holy Word. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, he tells us, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” One aspect of this that can still seem intimidating is where God says, “If my people”. It may be natural to think, “What can I do to get an entire people to turn back to God?” Well it’s kind of like answering the question “How do you eat an elephant? That is “One bite at a time.” So the answer to “What can I do to get an entire people to turn back to God?” is “By setting an example, one person at a time … beginning with you and me.”
And THAT, is Today’s Good News.
