Wednesday 13 November 2013

Read Ecclesiastes  10:1-3.Proverbs 4:23

Just as Solomon talked about the blessings of wisdom in the previous section, he now talks about the bane of folly. Throughout this chapter the word ’folly’ is used some 9 times, making it the key theme here.

Solomon makes the opening observation that a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. We saw this yesterday in Adam’s sin, the sin of 10 of the 12 spies who went into the Promised Land and in Achan’s sin etc. A little sin and foolishness can undo much good work brought about through wisdom and honour. We can build up a great work for God, only to have it destroyed by one little act of foolishness.

Solomon reveals to us (vs 2) that folly and wisdom come from the heart. In ancient days, the right hand side was the side of power and strength while the left hand side was the side of weakness. The wise man inclines his heart to the right while the fool inclines his heart to the left. Biblically speaking the modern day assertion that you can neither control nor tame the heart is absolute rubbish. We choose to give our heart away, whether it’s to wise or foolish pursuits.

As you and I know full well, when Solomon talks about  the “heart’ he is not talking about the physical organ that pumps blood around the body. He’s talking about the human control centre, the inner person where judgments and values are formed. We choose to give our heart away. We choose which treasure we let into our heart. We choose what we find attractive and what we don’t.

This is why Proverbs 4:23 says

Above all else, guard your heart for it is the well spring of life.

Today more than ever we have to guard our control centre for it is bombarded constantly with sexuality, perversion, immorality, sinfulness and by a constant pressure to lessen our stand on the Word of God. In our world of multi-media saturation and instant access to everything, we need to put up a rigid and solid guard for our control centre.

We can guard our heart by being careful of what we see, what we listen to and what we speak about and what we think about. We guard our heart by renewing/transforming our mind through the constant input of Scripture and by growing in the knowledge of God. We guard our heart by meeting together and by encouraging one another daily, as Scripture commands. We guard our heart by going cold turkey in the sins we previously indulged in and sought pleasure from.

Since a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour, guard your heart for truly it is the well spring of life.

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Is there a situation in which you need wisdom from God? Spend time seeking God and His wisdom re that situation. Ask Him to show you or reveal to you a biblical passage that is relevant to you and your situation.

ª Pray that the leaders of your church would be wise and godly. Pray that they would apply the Word of God firstly to themselves and that they would be guarding their hearts consistently.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Imagine yourself being with John Huss just hours before he is tied to the stake. What advice would you give him?

2. Have you experienced the power of wisdom in your life? Explain and encourage the group.