January 8

Jan 8 - Today from Proverbs 8 we look at verses 1-3
"Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud."

Even though this passage can easily stand alone, I am persuaded that it is a continuation of chapter seven. In chapter seven we just 'watched' an unsuspecting young man become lured and ensnared by an adulteress. There was no one person there to call out to him and warn him of the trap he was entering. The writer anticipates the question of the reader; "Doesn't wisdom raise her voice?" The question is, "Isn't there some sort of 'guidance system' available, even when there is no one around to alert and counsel you when being confronted by temptation?"
The answer is, "Yes". But, in order to benefit, one must 'listen' (verse 6). 'Where paths meet' are places where decisions must be made. 'Besides the gates leading into the city' is where the city elders sorted out information. Wisdom calls for one to 'stop' and think through the situation. Again, not simply seeking the pleasure of the moment, but looking far ahead. It is a determined action, a practiced skill. Even though there was no person around to warn the young man in chapter seven, had he stopped and carefully listened, wisdom was right there where the paths met. He didn't bother to listen. His ear and senses were tuned into the folly of pleasure for the moment.
Children can be trained in wisdom. They can be taught to think through a situation. It takes patience and repetition, but it can be done. Once the patterns are in place, dad and mom don't have to be there at every 'intersection' to warn the child of consequences. The child has learned to listen for wisdom's voice. I wish I had been more proficient in training my own sons in wisdom - but I wasn't that good at it myself in those days. I think one of the best ways is to learn how to ask good questions and let the child think through to proper answers. In my early days as a disciple, I was more prone to give all the answers first. It kind of conditions a child to either let you do the thinking, or to tune you out. Children need to be stimulated and challenged. In relating to my grandchildren, I am amazed at the incredible lines of logic they display. Because of their limits of knowledge, they don't always arrive at the correct conclusions, never the less, they use surprisingly sound logic to get to their conclusions. Just by interspersing thought-provoking questions in regular conversation, I have been entertained, delighted and sometimes shocked at their processes of reasoning. By equipping them with good information, they come to the correct conclusions more and more. They want to know the answers, but they like to find their own way to them. As I said, it takes patience and repetition. As a dad, I guess it was easier for me to drag my sons to the conclusion than it was to guide them to the conclusion. As a granddad, I have developed more wisdom and patience.
Fortunately it's never too late to learn to listen for wisdom's call. It wasn't too late for me, and it wasn't for our children. It's just much better to learn it earlier than later. Our heavenly Father is always there to guide us into wisdom. "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt." (James 1:5, 6) When do we ask God for wisdom? When we are at a place where paths meet. Just the process of stopping to ask helps us to enter into a reasoning process. When we ask, then we must listen. We must think past the momentary and look to longer-range conclusions. If the young man in chapter seven knew God, and had stopped and earnestly asked for wisdom, "God, what should I do here?" and then thought through what was happening and what would be the possible (probable) long range effects of entering into the temptation he was facing. . . the story would have turned out much differently!