Text: Prv.1:20-29).
“Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall[a] she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: ‘How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me,”
Theme: Beware The Consequence Of Your Choice!”
The book of Proverbs is one of the five books of the Bible considered as “wisdom literature.”
Youth is the precarious period of life when a choice has to be made that will shape one’s life within the social context. There are two voices calling, luring, and appealing for allegiance that will shape youth’s future.
One is the voice of wisdom found in the instructions of the teachers, and the other is the voice of folly exemplified in youthful obstinacy.
Choices have consequences. Wisdom leads to meaningful life and follly leads to wastefulness and frivolities whose end is being dead while still alive.
New Testament writers consider wisdom as a personification of the preexistent Christ. Paul says, “Christ is our wisdom from God.”
Failure to listen to the voice of wisdom is the same as failing to heed the call of the gospel.
Wisdom says, “But since you rejected me when I called…since you ignored all my advice and would not accept my rebuke…when calamity overtakes you like a storm…then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me. Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD.”
The emphasis in “the fear of the LORD” is found throughout the book, and that’s what makes it a unity. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline”(Prv.1:7).
Christ is the wisdom from God. Choose Christ and his discipline and live!
Prayer: Holy Spirit incline our hearts to pursue the path of wisdom. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
17/06/2025.