Skill for Living
"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning" Prov 1:5a
A wise man is a skillful man. The original word for "wise" is the Hebrew word "châkâm" and it simply means skill. We all need skill for living. However, not just any advice will do. We need God's instruction. Who is there better to know the created better than the Creator?
To increase in learning we must hear. To hear we must be willing to abase our pride and put ourselves under those who have something to say. The first verb "hear" advises the wise in what actions to take. The purpose statement "increase learning" is why we should listen. Those who diligently study the scripture and put it forward plainly and clearly are our friends and gifts of God to the church. Wise living is a target we hit when we listen & apply a precept from God. Solomon is being our teacher by writing for his son inspired proverbs that are Scripture from mouth of God. And what is his advice? Listen and learn! The wise sage knows that God's wisdom is full of relevance, and by obedience and practice, the reader will be led on a prudent and skillful path. The results of skillful living are: no self inflicted consequences because of personal folly, and positive cause & effect in our life. What a treasure we have to be ever learning from our Lord.
Those who stop up their spiritual ears produce little or no fruit. As the Proverbs indicate, such a person is not wise. One of the greatest tragedies the devil has succeeded in is convincing even Christian people that listening and learning is irrelevant or even a bad thing. People like this are satisfied in wading in the shallow end of the pool. It is more comfortable there. It is safer there. We never have to face reason there or have our misconceptions challenged. Some are in the shallow end because of deception. They have been adamantly told there are dangers in the sea. Others are there because they have little interest in going any farther. And, some are there because they don't yet know God's Word has great depths. They have yet to open God's Word in such a way that it takes them past the foundational things of Christianity. However, it is in the deep things of God where we build our spiritual endurance swimming to new depths. As Charles Spurgeon stated, "Those who travel into the deep behold the mighty works of God." We can never discover another feature of our Savior that will not bring us immense joy. It is true we must be forever carful of who we listen to, because the devil has his teachers also. Even so, just as craftsmen are always honing skills and perfecting craft so should we be always "increasing" by God's Word.
