Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.
And do not neglect it.
Proverbs 8:33 New American Standard
Bible (NASB)
We gain wisdom by listening
to instruction. It is not enough to hear or read it, we must “heed” it. We have
to pay attention to, regard, or obey what we are told. The Bible is the book of
greatest wisdom for it is God’s own word, the source of all true wisdom. We
should read it regularly, daily, so that we may gain the wisdom within it, but
when we read, we must heed it. Simply reading without being influenced or
affected is not enough. It must transform us by the renewing of our minds. What
is said in the Bible should shape our thoughts and hearts. We should seek it,
to learn from it. That is how we become wise, and doing that shows wisdom. To
read or hear instruction and not heed it is foolish and prideful. Often when
Proverbs talks about the fool it is actually referring to someone rebellious,
not simple minded. To hear wisdom and not listen to it is rebellion because it
stems from the belief that we know better. Refusing to be changed by what we
read in the Bible (or refusing to go to the Bible in the first place) is
arrogant and rebellious because we are rejecting God’s wisdom assuming we know
better. That is why Proverbs also says that wisdom and arrogance cannot
coincide. In order to be wise we must be humble, willing and even eager to
listen and to learn. We should not neglect wisdom, rather we must seek it. Do
you listen to the instructions of the Bible or of those more godly than
yourself? Do you seek to learn from God? Be wise, do not neglect instruction.
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