How Stupid Can You Be? {Proverbs 12 & 13}
12:30 AM
June 12, 2018
Stupid
- lacking
ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull.
Characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish;
senseless. (According to Dictionary.com)
So
when Proverbs 12:1 says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who
hates reproof is stupid”, did the hairs on the back of your neck get a bit
ruffled? Some of us have been in seasons
of dryness or we’ve felt like we’re at the bottom of the mountain trying to
climb it and it feels like we’re never going to reach the top. Did you ever think perhaps you were ignoring
God’s discipline?
I’m
a pretty strong-willed person if you ask any of my relatives or very close
friends. I think my ideas are
well-thought out and I’ve considered everyone involved. Lately however, I’ve discovered I am caught
off guard and something unexpected seems to happen. I cannot count the number of times I have
been faced with something unexpected.
During
the past couple of weeks I took off from writing here, I knew I would be
writing on Proverbs 12 and 13, so I’ve had a great deal of time to study and
research and dig into them. Each and
every time, Proverbs 12:1 was pointing directly at me. Oh Lord, you’re telling me I have a pride
issue! Please no. I think I’ve refined pride. Okay, that’s not funny. What’s not funny is that I have six adult
children who resemble me. Please stop
laughing!
Jeremiah
4:22 says, “My people are fools (stupid), they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no
understanding.” Or as Forrest Gump said,
“Stupid is as stupid does.” That means
that an intelligent person who does stupid things is still stupid. Or you could say, you are what you do.
The
writer of Proverbs 12 is contrasting the righteous or wise with the wicked or
the foolish/stupid. As children of God,
we must learn to walk in godly wisdom.
How does that look in our daily lives against God’s word?
Proverbs
12:1 and Hebrews 12:5 teach, “For those whom the LORD loves He disciplines.” When we are being disciplined by the Lord, in
the moment it is anything but joyful – it HURTS! And we are full of sorrow. Afterward, there is joy. How can there be joy in discipline? Because we know the Lord disciplines those
whom He loves. Did you catch
that!?! The Lord disciplines those whom
He loves!!!! God’s discipline is working
in us wisdom and understanding. Ah
ha! All those entries in my journal seeking
wisdom and understanding – now it makes sense!
When complete, it yields a peaceful fruit of righteousness. The righteous love reproof and accept the
Lord’s correction.
Proverbs
12:2-12: The righteous meditate on God’s
word day and night. The righteous seek
knowledge of God’s word and use it to establish their thoughts, words and
actions. The righteous show compassion
and mercy to their neighbor and all God’s creatures. Not so with the wicked/stupid. They rely on their own understanding, by
their own lusts they are carried away and overthrown. The righteous stand in the knowledge and
understanding of the Lord.
Proverbs
12:13-23: The righteous know lying lips
are an abomination to the Lord. They
love truth, and without hesitation, speak good words and sound doctrine. They escape trouble by not giving the tongue
freedom to speak lies. Healing words are
on their lips. Though their words of
grace and love may cut, they’re meant to heal and restore those to whom they
speak. (I bet a lot of you mom’s know
exactly what this is all about)
Proverbs
12:24-28: The righteous press on in
diligence, discipline, and endurance, looking out not only for their own
interests but the interests of others.
Anxiety is far from the righteous person. We trust God with everything. When our heart and flesh fail, we seek
God through prayer, with thanksgiving, making our requests known to God. We know God is faithful and will carry us
through.
The
iworship devotional for today says, “Worshiping God is no different. It takes discipline to get our selfish souls
to acknowledge God, and it takes further discipline to learn to honor Him. That means reading, studying, observing. It means diligence. It means discomfort. It means reordering priorities. It means loving the process and accepting
correction.”
It
also says in the devotional for today, “discipline brings freedom and reward. To be prepared, to know you are ready for
whatever comes, is a wonderful thing. To
be able to respond successfully – is there a joy better than this? That is why the proverb writer exhorts us to “love
discipline.”
God
knew exactly what He was doing by having me focus on this verse for nearly a
month. He knew exactly that I was puffed
up and full of pride and needed to see that all these unexpected things were
happening for a reason.
How
about you? Summer break has begun for
most of us. Have you shut off the alarm
to sleep in a little longer and ignored your devotional time with the
Lord? Or have you ignored a nudge to get
involved in something new? I pray that
all of you will learn to love God’s discipline.
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