Scripture Verse that Caught my attention today: Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Observation: This verse is essentially the first of Solomon’s proverbs and a fitting perspective with which to begin.
Application: I was thinking about ministry as a pastor the other day and the following thought came to mind: “A minister should probably spend most of the week listening and then spend the weekend (during worship) speaking about what he or she has learned.” Seriously. Effective preaching begins with observation (What is going on? With what are people concerned? How are they responding? How might the Lord be at work? Etc.) which is, really, a form of listening.
Fools don’t want to listen. They don’t want to learn. They foolishly assume that they already know enough and therefore don’t need to learn more. But when we understand ourselves to be under someone far greater (i.e. the Lord), we realize that we have plenty to learn. We don’t have to learn it all at once. In fact, we couldn’t do so even if we tried. But we can steadily learn more. Life is indeed one great big lesson, not just about facts but also about feelings and human nature and relationships and facing disappointments and receiving divine grace. How could we ever feel like we’ve learned it all? As a pastor I can only hope that each week I can share just a little more about what I’ve learned (or am learning) in terms of what our Lord has done and is doing.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be more and more open to the lessons you share. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Readings today included: Proverbs 1-3 and Romans 7)
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