Proverbs 18:13-16 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 18:13-16, which read,

v.13 - He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him.

This is a good proverb because you and I have probably seen it in action or we have done the acting!  How many times have I said something when I should have been listening.  The answer was coming, I was just not patient to wait for it.  I didn't put my focus on the other person and kept it on myself and therefore the answer I got was my own and not a wise one.  As I heard Pastor Jack say in the YMCA Bible study the other day, "That is why God gave us 1 mouth and 2 ears."  

A quick look at the words reminds us that "hears" means to listen with the intent to obey.  "Folly" means foolishness and to be foolish.  "Shame" means disgrace, reproach, and an insult upon.  When we speak before using our ears and mind to hear to listen, then we are being foolish and it will result in putting us in a very undesirable position.  Again, this is a proverb that I have seen in action because at times it has been I.

v.14 - The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but as for a broken spirit who can bear it?

The human spirit is very resilient.  God created it that way.  It can take a lot and recover from it by following His words and ways.  It is when we do not seek God's wisdom and rather we follow after ourselves that something that was resilient become broken.  The cross reference to this proverb is another, Proverbs 15:13 which says, "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken."  Being a fool puts us in a vulnerable position and at a disadvantage when faced with a sick situation to bear.  

The sickness is whatever is wrong with you and when your spirit is intact; when your spirit is focused on the fear of God because you have such respect and awe of who He is; and your when your spirit is listening rather than always speaking then it can stand up under your sickness.  The spirit is broken when we shut out the God of all wisdom and we will come upon our sickness that has no answer other than Him.  The answer to the question, "Who can bear it?"  is, "no one, no not one."

v.15 - The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Solomon connects the mind and the ear together with the quest for knowledge.  The mind of the wise acquires knowledge by using his or her ears to be in a place to hear it to obey it.  Acquiring and seeking knowledge is a never ending activity of the prudent and wise.  They are putting themselves before God in prayer and before God in His Word and before godly people who are following after God to listen and therefore possess to put into action that knowledge.  

We are in the practice of doing this when we say, "Well, we will just Google it."  We are seeking out knowledge but many times it is just to know the fact rather than to put it into practice.  Also, many times we just accept the first response, the top response, the one most popular on the web rather than looking at the source of the information.  The wise and the prudent will look beyond the quick answer to find the one that is true and solid.

v.16 - A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.

Sometimes the word "gift" is translated or meant to mean "bribe" but not in this case.  Gift is a gift given in the sense of a birthday gift or a Christmas gift, something given to another out of love and for the wholesome benefit of another.  When wisdom is given to us from another godly person, it does make room for us to be in front of others who will help us with more wisdom.  I am thankful for godly people to open my eyes to more godly people who follow after God.  Those great men or women, if they are truly great because they know "the" capital "G" Great will use their position to honor God by loving Him and loving others which includes you and me.  

I have used this term a lot lately of opening up doors for others and creating a platform for which they can stand to use their gifts for God.  One phrase I used in the "State of the Union" for the church last year was, "It is our time to make it their time."  It is a tremendous gift to receive from another the opportunity to know more.  Someone opens up the door for you to go where they have been, meaning that they are making space for you to be there where they have been.  Many times we are selfish with that space and we need to realize that we have an opportunity to glorify God by showing it to another who may live on beyond us and take it to those we will never meet.  You will not be at a deficit for doing this.  Let us pray.

"Lord, You did not hold back from us.  You gave us salvation.  You gave us eternal life.  You gave us forgiveness.  You gave us the Holy Spirit.  You gave us Your very life to take upon of our sin of ultimate destruction.  You gave and gave and gave and You are not less for it but more.  May we follow Your example and be wise people who give to others what we have received.  May we wait for Your answer and see how the spirit You gave us can endure anything the world throws at us because that spirit is in the palm of Your hand.  Amen."

Pastor Adam