Good Advice

There is an old adage that says, “If you want knowledge, go to college. If you want wisdom, go to God.” Solomon understood this truth when he asked God for the gift of wisdom over and above all other gifts.

I’ve learned that knowledge can take a lot of time and work to attain while wisdom is more like a gift that is bestowed upon you.

The Carpenter’s File

Common sense can be intuitive or it can come from experience and pain. That’s why it’s so important in raising children to help them learn through a combination of both instruction and experience. When I was a young boy, it seemed that I often had to learn lessons the hard way.

Learn Common Sense

How many of us have heard our parents’ advice but not followed it? Perhaps that is why the writer of Proverbs 4 begins with a forthright plea to his young son that he listen closely, learn common sense, and not turn away. Such admonitions are usually given because the propensity for doing just that is all too common. Human nature is perverse. Tell a child to go one way and he will want to go the other.

Foolish Talking Points

We see lots of fools today. Oh, not the court jester-type of fool with a funny face and a silly hat. And not a comic either. Humor has its own wonderful place. A comedian can help us face deeply disturbing truth about our foibles and failings. But the fools I have in mind are more the mocking cynics. They come on with sophisticated and disturbing analysis. It is often biting, but leaves you empty.

Keep Learning from your Elders

“Do not trust anyone over 30.” This opinion surrounded me when I was young. We were confident we could remake the world and do a “better job” than our elders had done. It is closer to the truth that we made many mistakes the older generation warned us about, but we refused to listen. We had to learn the hard way.

Read More parents, advice, paying attention

“Don’t Listen to Them!”

Jesus said, “You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thorn bushes. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-17) These proverbs make a similar point. Some people ask just anyone for input when they face a quandary. The quality of advice they receive, however, can vary immensely.

Where Does Your Help Come From?

Although it was once their place of captivity, the people of Israel still looked often to Egypt for help and protection. Yet Isaiah tells us that swift judgment is coming to Egypt. The Lord himself will come “riding on a cloud” to punish them.

Just as Israel sought help from Egypt, the Egyptians will turn to various sources for wisdom and guidance.

Following the Wrong Crowd

Do our parents really understand us? Is their advice at all useful?

Every young adult has wondered whether their parents really “get it.” When we are young, they make us obey rules, and when we become adults, their rules seem arbitrary and encumbering.

Fools Need Not Apply

Have you ever been warned about something, did it anyways, and paid the consequences? Maybe it was ordering “spicy” at a restaurant when your friend told you to go for “medium” or better yet “mild” at this particular place. After the initial pain, did you join your friend in laughing at your refusal to heed the warning?

Learn Common Sense

As I was about to graduate from high school my mother advised me to become a teacher. “You’d be good at that,” she said. I ignored the advice. It was years later that I discovered I was not only good at teaching others, I loved doing it. I wished I had followed my mother’s advice and gotten the education that would have meant a lifelong profession that I enjoyed.