Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
The difference between the wise and the foolish is not that the wise know a lot and the foolish don't. That is how the world defines wisdom and foolishness. The difference is that the fool will no longer learn and the wise will.
Listen to Solomon, the wisest of all men before Christ, as he describes a wise man in these sayings from Proverbs:
"A wise man will hear, and will increase
learning" (1:5).
"Rebuke a wise man and he will love thee"
(9:8).
"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser"
(9:9).
"The wise in heart will receive commandments" (10:8).
"He that hearkeneth to counsel is wise" (12:15).
No one who is proud can learn because pride makes it so difficult to confess need, or to admit error, and to change. Pride, in other words, makes a man a fool.
When Solomon refers to learning or instruction, he is referring to instruction from God. Many a fool has the human intelligence to learn a multitude of earthly things. Many a fool holds a prestigious educational degree. Many a fool is a college professor, a scientist, a doctor, an engineer. Many a fool measures on the genius level when taking one of the tests by which men measure wisdom. But when God speaks, how do they measure up? How do they respond when the sweet story of Jesus is told. That is the true measure of wisdom.
Many a wise man, who heard and knew God's gentle voice, never saw the inside of a school building. Many a wise woman died in poverty and obscurity here among men but were rich and well known in heaven. Many a wise man has been the janitor in buildings owned by fools. They were the servants here, but they will reign as kings with Christ in the kingdom of God. What did Paul say?
"Consider your calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many of noble birth. But God has chosen what is foolish in the world to humiliate the wise [of the world]; God has chosen what is weak in the world to humiliate the strong. God has chosen insignificant, despised people of the earth! He has chosen things that don't even exist to put an end to things that are now."
Wisdom is the ability to recognize God's voice and to believe it. It is the ability to recognize and believe the truth. If you have the humility to change when God's Word comes your way, then you are wise. If your confidence is in your own understanding, or in those of earth who appear to be wise, you are a fool.
Jesus said, "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And every one who hears these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it."
If you are willing to listen to God's voice, you are already wise. Stay that way. Fools in the kingdom of God are they who listened to God's voice in the past but became proud because they heard His voice and believed. Now, that pride prevents them from listening again.
God has more to tell His children than the they already know. Stay humble and stay wise.