My wisdom level keeps shrinking. I thought I would be at least an adequate college student until I failed the first test I took. I thought I could figure out how to be a good husband -- until I had a wife who wanted some "changes" in me. I thought I could learn to be a good father. Plus, I could see other parents doing things that I would definitely not do. But, then my children found creative ways to disobey and I found myself trying some of the same things that I had thought were bad ideas when used by other parents.
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. (Proverbs 2:2)
Young people are notorious for having the attitude that they already have all wisdom. Mark Twain said, "When a boy turns 13, put him in a barrel and feed him through a knot hole. When he turns 16, plug up the hole." Probably from his own experience as a young man, Mark Twain knew that young men often come to believe that they are the holders of all wisdom and one must plug the hole to stop the flow of that wisdom. In reality, this is a temptation we all face until, through experience in the School of Hard Knocks, we begin to discover the true limitations of our wisdom.
Sadly, most of our usual sources of knowledge have divorced themselves from the One who is the source of wisdom. We can not tune our ears to true wisdom by looking for it in the Evening News, in our music, in our high school, at most doctor's offices or in a history book. And even if we happen to hear it at one of those places would we recognize or reject it? Before we can digest true wisdom, we must prepare our inner ears to hear it.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. -- Jesus
Frequent listening to and thinking on God's thoughts, ways, and words will help us develop receptors in our souls where we can begin to plug in true wisdom. As a result, our thinking will begin to change. It is important to ask ourselves whether our ears are tuned to Godly wisdom or worldly wisdom because, as our thinking changes, our life will tend to change in the same direction. We all want good fruit, but the ultimate effect and even the relatively short term results of our life are going to be determined by whether we desire, recognize, and apply wisdom from above. The more we try to tune our inner radio to wisdom, the more we will grow ears capable of hearing the voice of God's Spirit.
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Isaiah 30)
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. (James 3)
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