The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
Strange as it may seem there are foolish people who despise wisdom and discipline. There are people who have wisdom without the discipline of doing what the knowledge on the matter dictates. Then there are people who have discipline but lack specific knowledge to establish their lives in this life and in God’s kingdom for all of eternity.
People can be successful at their job but fail miserably in their relationships. The divorce rate among those who pledged their loyalty to a spouse seems to have exploded. At the same time those who apply themselves to maintain their marriage have accomplished a lifetime commitment with the partner of their youth.
Success in one area of your life doesn’t guarantee success in every area of your life. Life demands knowledge applied with discipline. You might say things at your work place have procedures that are accomplished in a set order. Taking shortcuts prevents the letter “t” from being crossed and the letter “i” from being dotted. Shortcuts prevent the job from being fully completed which falls short of being worthwhile.
Proverbs 1:7 reveals to us the purpose of God’s word. When we look at this passage we see that both wisdom and discipline work together to makes one’s life more productive. Just our house needs a solid foundation to stand on, acquiring specific knowledge serves as the foundation that our life is built on. Jesus said the person who hears my word and puts them into practice is like a man who laid the foundation of his house on the rock. That rock is Jesus Christ.
Some look at the Holy Scriptures as God’s instructions on life. The bible is not rocket science but we will never build a rocket from the information contained within it. However the bible is the wisdom of God’s love to build men and women of character. The reward given to man from applying God’s wisdom is a relationship with Jesus Christ and eternal life.
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, John 5:39
The scriptures do not guarantee eternal life because they testify about the anointed one who is our Savior. Knowing our Savior and developing a relationship with Jesus Christ comes through a covenant where we choose to establish him as Lord. The importance of being known by Christ will prevent Jesus on Judgment day from saying “I never knew you” and will prevent you from seeing the streets of gold (Matthew 7:23).
The scriptures are God’s plan of salvation for mankind but in applying his plan to our life demands the discipline to shun evil. The words of insight tell us why we should avoid sin on the other hand you can see the outcome of those who have sinned in misery and ruin. For every consequence there is a cause and sin is the seed for the outcome you are guaranteed to reap.
The stories of the bible shows an outcome for sin therefore we can make plans to avoid the consequences of sin by planting seeds of righteousness. In other words the sowing of good deeds has a return of a much better life. Another way to say this is that you don’t make friends by stabbing them in the back rather friends are accepted for their character whether good or bad.
And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. Luke 6:33
The prudent life is to love one another as you would have them to do to you. The wicked do evil from their sin nature but God’s love restrains you from returning evil for evil. Learning to do what is right and just and fair to all is a basic principle of the disciplined lifestyle that God expects in his kingdom.
The bible says “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord (Isaiah 55:8). The word inspired by God gives us insight into the way God thinks and the opportunity to adopt his thoughts and ways. Just as America has laws for the public to obey there are laws in the kingdom of God that demand a disciplined and prudent life according to the thoughts and ways of God.
Without the knowledge of spiritual matters is it possible for a person make wise decisions? The overconfident make decisions off the top of their head, meaning that they haven’t a clue, but decide how things will happen from their viewpoint. Because of man’s reckless reasoning things do not always turn out the way we planned them to happen.
All too often things do not turn out the way we wanted them to because we lacked the right knowledge. The arrogant don’t want to know God or the things God planned for us. For this reason we may understand why God says my people are destroyed from a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).
What this all means is that the arrogant believe they merit going to heaven by being a good person. Although they know everything God created has a purpose for its existence they haven’t studied God’s purpose for their lives. Human beings were among the things he created but the average person assumes God will decide according to human logic rather than what agrees with divine purpose.
God’s word gives prudence to the simple or those who are easily led astray. The world lives by sight and sees the truth suppressed by wickedness and because of what they see they conform to the pattern of evil in the world. While they hate what the world does their deeds often confirms that they too are a taking a part in suppressing the truth.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
Yet the people of the world conform to the pattern of the world because they neither see nor make an attempt to understand their creator and his purpose. As Human beings we should consider that heaven is the Kingdom of God created as the divine place where God will ultimately rule as the supreme ruler of his creation. What this means is that heaven will be ruled according to the way God thinks and ways he found practical in the ages past.
The wise person listens to the wisdom of those with precise knowledge on what God expects from his creation. The careful person then listens to every bit of information that can make his decision both practical and prosperous. Ultimately success in life goes to those who understand precise dictates and use that knowledge as their guide to success.
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3
For the most part the foolish person wants nothing to do with their creator and leans upon their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). To those of the world their ways is right and they are willing to say 'Lord, Lord if it gets them what they want. Remember that no one enters your castle without you knowing them because you don’t want the peace and tranquility you have established within your home being disrupted. God has the same expectation.
Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter heaven but only the person who does the will of God. Remember that God has the option of saying away from me for I never knew you (Matthew 7:21-23). 10/02/2014
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