31 Days With the Book of Proverbs: A Bible Study – Day 5
“I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors; now I am at the point of utter ruin in the public assembly.”
Proverbs 5:13-14
Hey folks…do you ever ask for directions? Do you start putting things together and ignore the instructions? Have you ever started to fill out a questionnaire in blue ink only to glance at the instructions and read “Use black ink only?” I could go on and on. Including recipes which we sometimes take liberties with…after all, we know how to cook! Sure we do.
Same thing goes for our conduct. We think we are self-sufficient. We aren’t. We think we know how to fill out our IRS forms. Usually we don’t. Right from wrong? Well, sometimes we need a little guidance. We need to listen. And we need to listen to our Lord. We need to do that particularly because so much of our culture and behavior today is vastly different from that of biblical days. Consequently we find ourselves applying the words of Christ in situations that resemble ancient problems but are not exactly the same. The instruction sheet doesn’t cover our problems, not exactly. And so we find ourselves prayerfully seeking to follow the Teacher without “utter ruin” but still seeking the “way.” United Methodists know to turn to Wesley’s quadrilateral and use “Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.” Notice what is last: experience. Yes, when seeking wisdom and understanding, we need to listen to “the voice of (our) teachers and incline (our) ears to (our) instructors.” Listen up folks! Jesus is still speaking!
Drew Harvey
Photo by Brody Childs on Unsplash
