“My son if you will receive my words and hide my commandments… incline your ear to wisdom ... apply your heart to get understanding, if you will cry after knowledge, … if you will lift up your voice for understanding…if you will seek for her as silver and search for her as for hid treasures. Then you will understand… and…Then you will find …God.” Proverbs 2:1-5
Any coach, mentor, or business consultant will tell you that the key to success is the ability to properly execute the fundamentals of whatever game you are playing, or business in which you are engaging. We can have all the knowledge and ability in the world. However, if we cannot properly execute our knowledge of the fundamentals in real time, then it will be impossible to succeed in any venue...especially in the game of life! The following exhortations are a "to do" list of how to properly execute the fundamentals of wisdom so that we can have the expected result we so need and desire.
“If you will receive my words…” To receive an inoculation against small pox or tetanus does not mean to hold it in your hand, carry it in your purse, or set it on the living room coffee table. To receive an inoculation means that it must get inside your bloodstream, and then take affect throughout the entire body. For truth to take effect in our lives, it must get from the printed pages, and into our hearts. The Holy Scriptures read, “As many as received Him, to them he gave power...” The Greek word used here for “receive” is “lam-ban’- o”. It means to violently seize, catch, or take hold of. In other words, God does not frivolously go around handing out blessings. Remember the story of Jacob and the angel of God. Jacob grabbed the angel and would not let him go. The angel asked him why? Jacob’s response, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” And he in turn did exactly that. He blessed him with a blessing that radically changed the direction of his family’s future forever. In order for truth to get into us...we must see its value, grab a hold of it, and hang onto it for dear life! Only then does it get inside of us...and begin its work in us! Those who succeed most in life...are those who want it most...work hardest to get it...and hold onto it's pursuit tighter than everyone else!
“If you will hide my commandments…” This is the part two of receiving. Once something of great value has been imparted that is when the real chore begins. It is not enough to become wealthy, but to stay that way, that is the trick. Therefore, the father exhorts the son to put his newly found understanding in a safe place where it will not be lost. There is only one completely safe and dependable hiding place...with God. The best way to lose a relationships children, money, ability or even wisdom… is to not entrust them into the hands of God, under his direction and oversight. God wants us to live happy and abundantly prosperous lives in every way. However, he cannot influence areas of our lives that we do not submit ourselves daily to his wisdom and instruction.
“If you will incline your ear and apply your heart…” Notice the two words that work together here, incline...and then apply. So much in life is learned through getting out and simply doing it! Will we make mistakes? No doubt. But that is part of the process. The whole point of being born again is getting God and his wisdom on the inside of us, so that he can begin to live his life through us by his grace and truth. We can listen all day to lecture after lecture, however the day comes when we have to go out...get the job...and apply the knowledge! We must be students of truth...not just for the hearing; but rather, for the doing of it!
“If you will cry after..." The word "cry" here means to summon, invite, or call out for help. Change comes into our lives only when our desire for God moves from an inward emotion to an outward expression. Many walk through life spiritually blind...stumbling around and merely grasping for support, unwilling to cry out for someone to help them...someone to lead them! But truth does more than merely lead us...it frees us! Jesus says, "You will know the truth...and the truth will make you free!" We could also say..."You will know the truth...and the truth will make you see! God wants do more than give us a walking cane...he wants to heal the eyes of our understanding!
“If you will lift up your voice…” Speaking is the door that sets life’s paths in motion. Without speaking your hope, hope remains just that; only hope. However, when we open our mouths and begin to express those hopes and communicate vision, then vision and hope begin to grow legs and become a true reality. Mere thoughts about truth in the courthouse are not true testimonies. Only when information about truth is released from the heart and spoken out-loud, or written and signed legally, do they become true testimonies. Lift up your voice, and let it be heard! Tell the world what God has done in your life! Share and give of the truth you have been given...of what light you now see...of the freedom you now live!
“If you seek…and search for her as for hid treasures...you will then understand...and you will find...God and his knowledge!” The key here is not the search...but how to search. Dig like you know without a doubt a life-changing fortune lies beneath! Treasure hunters are not impatient or impetuous about their work. They make calculated decisions...many times based on very accurate historical or geological data. They believe in those decisions, therefore, they search diligently. They are patient people that are satisfied to dig around in the dirt and mud for years, if needs be, in order to find that one artifact or jewel, whose value will change their lives forever! It takes faith to be that patient. Our patient pursuit of the greatest treasure of all will not be disappointed. To the contrary; throughout our lives there are continuous discoveries and rewards along our life’s path; rewards whose value has no price...they are eternal.
Questions: How many people in society understand the value of having guidance in life? Why or Why not? How does leadership affect our ability to consistently execute the fundamentals properly? What do you see as the "key word...or words" in the preceding commentary upon which all the others hinge?