“A [flippant, arrogant] fool rejects his father’s instruction and correction, But he who [is willing to learn and] regards and keeps in mind a reprimand acquires good sense. 

Proverbs 15:5 AMP

A word of warning from King Solomon about rejecting the wisdom of our elders! We have all heard the saying “live and learn.” That statement could not be full of more truth. As a young man I thought I knew it all! I may have had knowledge, but I seriously lacked understanding. 

Dreams are the stuff that life is made of yet, we must know where the lines of reality start and our wishes end! If it wasn’t for imagination, we would not have ever put a man on the moon. We would have never invented a computer or a cell phone, or even discovered the secrets of DNA. While it is important to imagine there comes a moment when we have to put or dream to the test. We must research, develop, and test the possibility of our vision to see if can come to life. That means we must adhere to the facts of science and engineering principles if we want to succeed. So it is with living our lives.

There are to options in front of us; live and learn or learn and live! I personally would take the second option over the first any day! If I can accept the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before me than I can save myself a lot of energy and grief! Life’s lessons are usually hard. We can however avoid the mistakes of those who have walked the road ahead of us! I love this verse of Scripture,

“but these have been written so that you may believe [with a deep, abiding trust] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of God; and that by believing [and trusting in and relying on Him] you may have life in His name.”

John 20:31 AMP

“These things were written…” God has provided a written record of who He is, what He has done, and what He expects now form those who call Him Father! Like any father, God is please when His children obey Him. He loves to see them successful and prosperous becoming everything the He had imagined them to be! Like any children, we must be willing to learn and obey the commands of the Father! Our verse today tells us straight up that if you reject the ways of the Father you are a fool! Now a fool is someone who knows and yet does not accept the reality of truth. In the Hebrew it is the word meaning “one who is without understanding, often because of a stubborn will and stupidity.” In the book of Jerimiah we read,

“For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the LORD to Jeremiah]; “They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good.” 

Jerimiah 4:22 AMP

Ouch!!! That hurts! Now remember that “My people” includes all of the people! Not just those who may call themselves by His name for God is the creator of all mankind! I can imagine that God is crying this out for this generation today! Romans tells us that “proclaiming to be wise they became fools! This is exactly the warning of our verse today. One cannot simply close their eyes and expect everything to be the way they want it to be. Notice that our verse has two conditions, instruction, and correction! Like any good parent, disciple must be administered in order for the lessons to be learned. It is the tension of the penalty that keeps us from going astray. This is why it is so dangerous when we see the courts and laws of today downplaying and in some cases discarding the penalty for breaking the law. If however one is willing to learn the lesson the mistake will not be repeated. The key to all this is humility! We sing songs like “I surrender all” while we hold on to the things that God is asking us to surrender! The promise of God is,

“and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 AMP

Why not take time today to say, “Lord I surrender” and begin to see the hand of God moving in your life! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken