Wise Living and Discipleship
(Proverbs 27:8-13)
1. This is a true story: For the second week in a row, my son and I were the only ones who showed up for his soccer team’s practice. Frustrated, I told him, “Please tell your coach that we keep coming for practice, but no one is ever here.”
My son rolled his eyes and said, “He’ll just tell me the same thing he did before.”
“Which was?”
“That practice is now on Wednesdays, not Tuesdays.” [rd.com].
2. Even kids typically connect the dots better than this boy.
3. Being wise is not the equivalent of being a useful disciple, but it is part of the equation.
Matthew 10:16, ““Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Luke 2:52, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
How we live everyday life, the choices we make in business, our mental attitudes – all of these things are, at heart, spiritual matters. Part of being a disciple is learning wisdom.
Main Idea: Everything is connected when you are a true disciple of Jesus.
Solomon gives us several recommendations, all of which affects not only we ourselves, but – directly or indirectly – the Kingdom of God.
I. We Should Place A High Premium on FRIENDSHIP (9-10).
A. Friends offer caring COUNSEL and direction.
• It is wise to get advice for situations from a third party who is not involved buy who has your best interests at heart.
• When pastors get stuck, we call our pastor friends for advice.
B. Be a FAITHFUL friend yourself.
C. Your friendship should span GENERATIONS.
An ideal is to have friends who are older to guide/advise, your age to do things with, and younger than you to mentor.
D. Cultivate nearby friendships: you may need help in a PINCH.
II. One of the Best Ways to Bless Your Parents is to Practice WISDOM (8, 11).
When we choose the path of foolishness, we destroy what could have been. We discourage & dishearten those close to us. Everything is connected when you’re a disciple of Jesus.
A. Some children grow up to become ROLLING STONES (8).
1. This could be understood similarly to the Parable of the Prodigal son, only without a happy ending. The LXX reads: “As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a man is brought into bondage whenever he estranges himself from his own place.”
2. I grew up watching the TV show, The Fugitive. I felt sorry for David Jansen. For some, however, this sort of existence is their chosen manner of life.
3. Cain complained about his punishment in Genesis 4:14, “I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth…”
B. Parents can point to WISE children before their critics (11).
1. This is not to say that upbringing has no influence – it affects the odds.
2. When parents are blessed with wise children, people tend to assume they did something right.
3. Godly parents can have ungodly children. Look at the kings of Judah.
4. Bad parents can have godly children. Look at the kings of Judah.
III. Chose to Be Alert to Danger– Not Oblivious – and then ADJUST (12)!
We have been bought with the blood of Christ. If we foolishly walk into danger and folly, we are not just hurting ourselves – we damage our ministry for the Lord.
Oblivious: Unrecognizing, unobservant, unaware, overlooking
A. Caution is a TRADEMARK of a truly wise person.
Prov 14:16, “One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and careless.”
B. The opposite of being oblivious is being AWARE.
Sometimes, we just don’t hear things right; one woman writes: “Although my daughter wasn’t much of a bowler, when her friend’s bowling team was down a player, my daughter agreed to fill in. “So how’d you do?” I asked a few days later.
She rattled off her scores: “One sixty, one sixty-seven, and one fifty-five.”
“Wow! That’s great.”
“No! One game sixty, one game sixty-seven, one game fifty-five.” [rd.com]
C. It is tempting to keep one’s head in the SAND and proceed as usual.
Illustration: we have a bird that has a condition known as “stargazing.” But some people are distracted with life, stargazing, and don’t see what is before them.
D. Some people keep REPEATING mistakes and walk right on into disaster – again!
IV. If People BORROW from You, Take Dependable Collateral or Be Willing to Lose What You Loan (13).
How we handle money is a spiritual matter – the Bible says much about this. We not only want to work to have enough, but we want to be able to be generous to help others and further the Kingdom of God. Everything is connected when you are a true disciple of Jesus.
A. So many people are intentionally SCAMMED.
1. At least 107 million dollars were lost in the U.S. in 2018 through scams. That doesn’t include those that were not reported.
2. I have known people who lost everything through associating with a new friend from out of town who had a great business venture idea, after building confidence.
3. This verse suggests not loaning to someone of questionable character or not well known to you without full security.
B. So many people are sincere when they BORROW, but…
Proverbs 27:1 can come back to bite you: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
C. There is no loan repayment or investment that is a SURE thing.
1. Matthew 6:19-21 implies that our only safe investments are those invested in heaven: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
2. I have known undertakers that went out of business; the Christian bookstore industry is collapsing. Zondervan Family chain went out, and now Lifeway, the second biggest. Who would have thought Sears could collapse?
Conclusion
1. None of us lives for himself. The choices you make affect you, they affect your family, they affect your church family, and they affect our country and world.
