Read
Wisdom and Bad Friends
1My child, you must follow
and treasure my teachings
and my instructions.
2Keep in tune with wisdom
and think what it means
to have common sense.
3Beg as loud as you can
for good common sense.
4Search for wisdom
as you would search for silver
or hidden treasure.
5Then you will understand
what it means to respect
and to know the Lord God.
Reflect
“The more I live, the more I’m convinced that common sense is becoming a lost art, and that if I fail to keep up with what’s going on in the world around me, I can be part of the problem!
In the age of modern technology, the buzzword is “intuitive.” A tablet salesman told me, “This piece of technology is intuitive. Just follow your common sense and it will be easy to use.” At home, trying to set up the various programs on my new device, I heard myself saying, “It might be intuitive for you, but it’s very complicated to me.” I called tech-support, only to be spoken to by what seemed to me to be a young child, telling this old man how simple it should be to follow these complex instructions.
Common sense and wisdom are twins. They travel together. Where you see one, you see the other—they are inseparable. Solomon appeals to us to use common sense in everything we do. Like the young computer salesperson, he instructs us to be intuitive. If it doesn’t feel right, if it doesn’t seem right, don’t do it! Call on the instruction of wisdom and make decisions that are wholesome and good. Crave wisdom as the morning commuter craves Timmy’s double-double or a Starbucks latte
Respond
Dear God, give me an unquenchable thirst for your wisdom. Teach me to apply common sense to every decision that I make. May the way that I live, the choices I make and the paths that I take show my deep respect and honour for your Lordship in my life.
Barry Slauenwhite
Dr. Barry Slauenwhite is Canadian Regional Director for Best Christian Workplaces Instiute. He is also President Emeritus of Compassion Canada where he has served since 1983. Barry's advocacy for the poor has taken him to 61 countries. From his experience as a pastor and a ministry leader, he passionately works to promote holistic child development through the local church as being the most effective kingdom-building strategy available to the Christian world. Barry's latest book, Strategic Compassion, addresses the theological implications of poverty and draws a conclusion that the gospel is the most effective tool the church has to eradicate poverty.