Viewfinder

Proverbs 17:24

       One of the things about people who accomplish a lot by the world’s standards is their ability to keep their focus on a goal. They doggedly stay focused. They are able to not get sidetracked by non-important, non-essential tasks that don’t contribute to the goal. They can look at what needs to be accomplished and prioritize everything in view of the goal. Distractions don’t seem to draw them away.

      For us as Jesus-followers our goal is wisdom. Of course this is not an abstract set of knowledge, things we memorize and can regurgitate at a moment’s notice. Wisdom starts with an intimate relationship with the LORD and flows from there. Without this living, vital, growing relationship, all else is futile. But with this relationship, everything else in life finds meaning.

      One of the basic skills of soldiers is being able to keep their eye on their target when firing their weapon. Snipers, the most elite marksmen in the world, will train staying still for days in order to obtain their target. They are some of the most discipline people in the world. They know how to focus! Distance, wind speed and direction, temperature, barometric pressure, the particular load and round type, breathing and squeeze. Nothing distracts them when their target is in view.

      We are to keep wisdom in view, as our proverb states. It does not consume our complete view as there are other things in life, but it is always in the picture, center stage. We can have a family, goof off, go on a vacation, buy a nice car, decorate, watch a movie, play a game, tickle, get a degree, travel, and still have wisdom in view. We don’t have to become cloistered individuals, cut off from the world. We can live full lives.

      But so few people live their lives with wisdom even in the picture! They get distracted and spend their lives moving in multiple, aimless directions. They chase rabbits! We are called to have focus, direction, purpose. Jesus provides us that, if we will listen to Him.

      Notice that it takes a discerning person to keep wisdom in view. It is easy to get distracted. There are so many shiny objects that can pull us away. We are an over-stimulated people. We have been trained to take in information in 30 minute blocks of time with seven and a half minutes of entertaining breaks interspersed. Images in most entertainment change every four or five seconds. If the angle doesn’t change, we get bored. Count it next time you watch a TV show or a movie.

      We must learn to stay focused, focused in life. We must choose to keep wisdom in our view and not allow it to be kicked out of the picture.

Mentorship

Proverbs 16:31

      If our proverb is true, and I am sure it is, then I am one splendor-crowned guy! In a society that doesn’t value gray hair, and the wisdom and experience that can come with it, these words seem silly. We dye our gray hair. We work hard to hide any sign of those changing follicles. Instead of bringing honor, they bring a sense of shame. We are getting “OLD,” the pariah of our times.

      So why was gray hair seen differently during the proverb writer’s day? For starters, the life expectancy was much shorter. They didn’t live into their 80’s as so many Americans do today. Disease and a hard way of life took their toll.

      I think the reason our culture lost respect for older people is simple. The older generations were wise enough to regard the follies of the 60’s and 70’s as just that, folly. They didn’t buy into the lies that academia were propagating. They realized that sex without marriage would lead to decline in society. They knew that there was no such thing as “recreational” drug use, volleyball maybe, but not drugs.

      So when the younger generations saw their rejection, they rejected the gray hair. They rejected the wisdom and knowledge of lifetimes of living. They thought they knew better. Political correctness pushed against millennia of wisdom. All universal values were rejected except the value that there are no values.

      This meant that instead of learning to avoid mistakes that had been learned previously and passed from one generation to the next, they had to make the mistakes for themselves. This led to lots of mistakes, and costly mistakes that could have been avoided. Divorce rates skyrocketed.

      I want to encourage each us to seek out the wisdom of the older generations. Find people who have been successful at living a life of righteousness and volunteer to become their mentee. Allow them to provide guidance. Give them the honor of being your mentor. I will save you many pains.

Goldline

Proverbs 16:16

      In our greed-filled society, the words of today’s proverb could not be more appropriate. When was the last time you heard a commercial that encouraged you to make the best out of what you already owned, to not buy the newest, but be satisfied with what you have? I didn’t think so. We always want the newer, bigger, shinier, more enticing products. The packaging is almost as important as the product.

      I am sure you have heard the advertisements for gold and silver. They might be valuable, but wisdom is even more valuable. Wisdom can’t be stolen! Insight can’t be faked. Wisdom is a commodity that is in very short supply these days. Because our society has such a ‘quick fix’ mentality, and wisdom takes time to develop, few are patient enough to acquire it. And those that do have it generally don’t have wealth falling out of their pockets.

      Wisdom does not have the glamour of a new car. It is quiet and unobtrusive. It is there when asked for, but rarely pushes its way forward. That is because it is often rejected until it is sought.

      Wisdom would say that we need to pay our current bills and not borrow from the future, but not many people listening to this these days. Our grandchildren will be paying for our foolishness!

      We listen far too much to the young and inexperienced. We give power to the one who can speak well and convince the crowds. That is not wisdom. We need to make room for and value those who have experience at doing what we want to do, successful experience. New ideas are not necessarily wisdom. Often they are just new ideas that lead to failure.

Pigpen

Proverbs 15:2

      I love the character Pigpen from Charles Shultz’s Charlie Brown. Remember him? He is the one with the cloud of dust that surrounds him. Everywhere he goes that cloud that goes with him. For him it isn’t such a good thing. His reputation precedes his arrival. And after he leaves there is a little bit of him that stays behind. When he is in the room, people know he is there. He isn’t the center of attention, but his presence is felt.

      This picture of Pigpen gives us a good way to picture our proverb. What we say is like that cloud. It spills over onto everyone in earshot. And the content of our speech stays around for a while.

      Speech that is filled with wisdom adds value to everyone who hears it. This is what we are supposed to be exuding in our lives. We are supposed to be filling our hearts and minds with God’s wisdom, so that when we speak, His wisdom comes out. If we only have a little bit of wisdom, then only a little bit can come out.

      This is where the wise person creates a cloud of wisdom that precedes and follows them. Wise people speak wise words. It is what they do. And their wisdom benefits the people around them. We all want advisors whose wisdom will help keep us out of a jam.

      The fool, the person who doesn’t have a relationship with Christ, also has this cloud that surrounds them. Their cloud is filled with folly. People around them who have wisdom, look at each other in disbelief as they hear what the fool has to offer. You know the look, rolling eyes, the look that says, “Brother! That was dumb!” But unfortunately, the fool has no idea just how foolish they are being.

      Part of the equation that often gets forgotten is that our reputation precedes and follows us. Each time I have moved to a different job assignment, people have heard about me and, so far, they say it is good things that have been passed along. This reputation has helped buy smooth transitions. When you have a good reputation, people give you credits based on that reputation.

      But the fool can also have a reputation that precedes their arrival. People have given a “heads up” about the fool, and are already on guard, watching for the folly to come. Human wisdom only has so much potential. There are very wise non-Believers in the world. They have gathered wisdom deposited by the LORD for all to see. That wisdom is deposited in the hopes people will understand that there is a Wisdom behind it all.

Thoughtful

Proverbs 14:8

If you have ever been around wise people, they seem to have one thing in common: they don’t make hasty decisions. They seem to think about life and the direction they want to take. They consider the consequences of their actions carefully. They gather information and weigh the options.

It is not that they can’t make rapid decisions, but that their decisions don’t seem rushed. They have a pool of wise decisions options always at their fingertips. They know what wise decisions look like because they have experienced so many themselves. They can rapidly eliminate foolish options.

By contrast the fool has seen so many bad decisions that they look normal. When a good option comes to mind, if it does come to mind, it seems so different that it just wouldn’t get chosen. They don’t know what wisdom looks like. It is a foreign language, an unknown commodity.

We are so similar in so many ways. We like the familiar. We generally don’t like to risk, to venture into the unknown, unless of course we choose to step out. Then we go at it with gusto! We jump out of airplanes, hang glide, jet sky, snow board, run marathons, and a thousand other things that push the adrenaline into our systems.

Fools like being fooled, especially when they are doing it to themselves! Wise folks don’t like any shade of folly. In fact, wise people don’t even want tints of truth or falsehood. Wise people want full fidelity. We want wisdom. We want it all the time.

There is also the difference in the pace at which decisions are made. Fools seem to rush into things. They often don’t take time to consider the consequences. Impulse buyers fall into this category. So do people who always need the latest gadgets, even though the ones they have now work perfectly fine.

One other thing about fools: they are seldom satisfied. Because they don’t think about their decisions, they flit from one thing to another hoping the next thing will bring them satisfaction. And of course it doesn’t.