Poetry – Proverbs 2-3

One of the favourite quotes by one of my Junior College lecturers was “Ignorance is bliss”!  Of course he always said it in a sarcastic manner whenever we demonstrated our inability to grasp his lesson or whenever we simply was not interested in what he was teaching.

He always lamented that the school had set a ‘banquet’ of knowledge and wisdom and yet, there are so few who are interested to attend the feast.

He was right.  Although at that time, along with my fellow students, we were more interested in fun and games and hoped for just a passing mark to get on with life.  Unfortunatelu for many people, this attitude still continue through to our adult lives.

Many things capture our attention and we are always looking for ways to achieve success – but the larger issues of true wisdom – Godly wisdom – is often ignored.

TransSubstantiation, ConSubstantiation, Symbolization, Spiritualization

If all the above words sound foreign to you, it would have meant that you have missed out a great opportunity yesterday to know more about Holy Communion.  Preacher AQ spoke on the 2nd Contender Series organized by Jia En to address questions concerning the Holy Communion.

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Take, eat.  This is My body….”?

How is our Holy Communion different from most other churches?  Why do we believe that our way is the right way?

So many questions… so few people.

Another chance to gain wisdom and the knowledge of God.  Another chance lost.

Let’s see what the writer of Proverbs tell us today…

Bible Passage:  Proverbs 2-3

There are a few very famous Proverbs in today’s passage.  Tell me your favourite verse and why do you like it.

King Solomon is normally attributed to be the main contributer to the book of Proverbs.  When he began ruling Israel, he asked God for a “discerning heart” that he might be able to rule the people justly and prudently (1 Kings 3:9).  God heeded his prayer and before long, he gained a reputation for his wisdom.

But the life of Solomon serves us a strong warning…

Wisdom is not necessarily a permanent thing!

While he was wise in the beginning and ruled well, his latter life actions and decisions showed him to be anything but wise.

Today’s Proverbs focuses on how wisdom will bring understanding and protect us from evil.   However, we must not rely on our own understanding and if trust in the Lord, we will reap the benefits of wisdom.

My favourite part of today’s passage?

¹ My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the LORD,
And find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:1-5

It has been a long time since I have been able to spend more than a week in Church – away from the office.

But since the Spiritual Meeting till today, I have been given the grace to be in Church the whole time for a series of different activities.

And although this physically old body is tired out, the spirit within now is rekindled.

This passage that I chose reminds me to put in the effort and actively seek wisdom from the Word of God.

Wisdom is not usually acquired by accident; nor is it gained without some effort.  It also does not come about suddenly.  Even for Jesus, we read in Luke 2:52 that he “grew in wisdom and stature”.  There is a developmental process.

Somehow we may be willing to work at it when we are younger but as we get older, we think that our reservoirs of knowledge and wisdom gained previously can sustain us throughout our lives.

But this is a lie and if we want to truly understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God, we have to continually invest in studying the Scriptures and prayers.

Now… how can I find some more time off to attend the ongoing Youth Theological Seminar!

Ok… here is a video of an old song “We Choose The Fear of the Lord”.