Gold Nugget
Verse 12: “If you are
wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff,
you will bear it alone.”
Commentary
As much as we may want
to share, some things cannot be gifted. I can receive or give good advice, but the wisdom is in the person
that receives it. Wise people take advice and are wiser for it. Notice earlier
in verse 9, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will
be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will
increase in learning.” It says, “GIVE INSTRUCTION” and a wise man
will be wiser still. It doesn’t say GIVE WISDOM. Again, wisdom is in the receiver.
A foolish man can be exposed to instruction all day long and it has no bearing
on the giver’s status. A fool will despise instruction and remain a fool; a
wise man will receive instruction and increase in wisdom. The point of today’s “gold
nugget” is, “If you are
wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff,
you will bear it alone.”
You will either be wiser or continually foolish of your own accord. Maybe it’s
better said, of your own choice. What is the key element that makes the difference?
The key is humility. Many of us would rather give instruction whether we
posses wisdom or not. As a matter of fact... if we
are more focused on giving instruction than we are receiving it, we exemplify
foolishness. In the act of choosing to give instruction rather than receiving it
we, by definition, scoff wisdom and inherit foolishness. Humble
yourself, receive instruction, gain wisdom and exemplify the character that God
has intended for us. The ironic thing is, the more we do this, the more we will
be put into positions of giving instruction.
Prayer
Lord, help me to be more receptive to
instruction and open to correction. Help me to be humble without having to be
humiliated. Amen
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