Proverb of the Week
Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? Proverbs 8:1
The Meditation
Who’s Teaching You?
We’re surrounded!! Not by wolves or bears or mountain lions. Not by guns or bombs or grenades. No, by something even more dangerous! By Teachers!!
Teachers of all shapes and sizes. Teachers with wisdom in food preparation, in home improvement, in psychology and life skills, and in theology. Teachers in economics, in medicine, and in mathematics. Teachers who claim to have answers to how we might find the answers for ourselves. Teachers with as many viewpoints as there are stars in the sky.
You might not think these teachers are so dangerous. They might look like your next door neighbor. But these teachers change lives. For better or for worse, they influence every decision we make. Just ask a kindergarten student who knows more about life, her parents or her teacher and you'll see the impact these people have. Every day, even as adults, we decide which teacher or teachers we’re going to listen to and believe. Do we believe the doctor who says that everything is fine, or the doctor who says we need more tests? Do we follow the economic expert who says that we’re in a recovery or the one who predicts a deeper recession? Do we listen to the writer who says Jesus isn’t really who he says he is or the one who says He’s the Son of God?
Which path do we choose and which teacher do we follow?
That is the question Proverbs tackles today. Where does wisdom abide? This is what Proverbs says:
I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. (Prov. 8:12-13)
It follows with this first description in hand that any teacher that promotes these behaviors by his or her own actions, either pride or arrogance, evil behavior or perverse speech, doesn’t deserve our attention right off the bat. If wisdom is found in those who do such things, then how the teacher or leader behaves really speaks to how they should be followed. The teacher who acts prideful and arrogant and busies their time with evil behavior and perverse speech, really shouldn’t be followed.
But followed they are. Many young people throughout the world get caught up by such a leader. Negative peer pressure causes them to follow along and they wind up living very foolish lives because they simply didn’t choose the right teacher. I knew this one boy in elementary school. He and I both went to the same high school and when we got to high school, we each went our separate ways. He chose a crowd that hung out in one place, I in another. His peers pressured him into taking drugs. Mine shunned drinking caffiene. We each chose a different teacher and emerged from high school as different people.
Choosing a teacher who acts right and will lead by their own example is key to gaining wisdom and understanding.
But there’s more. A wise teacher is someone who himself can be taught.
Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you, rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still, teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. (Prov. 9:7-9)
There are teachers out there who are themselves unteachable. For they have, by some power, become all knowable and are unable to be instructed themselves. They are a fool according to scripture. Even the wisest man or woman in the world can be taught by someone else. In fact, wisdom is shown best in the openness to others’ opinions and insights, not in the depth of your own.
If the teacher you’ve chosen to follow cannot himself or herself accept instruction or rebuke, than maybe they shouldn’t be followed. The wise benefit and thrive in discussion and conversation. The foolish hang tight to their own opinions and cannot accept rebuke or instruction by someone else.
Though these two qualities: A good character and correctability, are fine things to look for, there is one thing more important than all the rest. The place where all wisdom and understanding begins.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov. 9:10)
The place all teachers of wisdom begin is the Lord. The fear of the Lord. This doesn’t mean of course that they are afraid of God but that they have a deep respect for God and a hunger to know about the Holy One. Seems obvious, right? But how many teachers out there have neither of these things? How many teachers, theological or otherwise, have no respect for God? These are teachers to avoid, at least according to Scripture. They are the fools leading other fools astray. And they’re out there with books and magazines and television shows leading people astray all the time. Stay away from them, Proverbs says. If you value your life, stay far far away!
Perhaps it is for this reason that we are called to look at Christ in scripture. For Christ, the wisdom and understanding of God, shows all three of these to be true. He is one whose character is flawless and who himself remained sinless and blameless before God. Christ is one who himself was taught, not just by his parents and teachers, but even once by a Gentile woman who needed healing. Christ is the one who shows us how to live in the fear of the Lord seek out knowledge of his Holy One as our understanding. Christ is our light who gives us a glimpse of what every teacher at their best should strain to be.
Are you following after a Christ-like teacher? Or someone who is merely a fool? Amen.
Questions to Answer
1) Think of two or three “teachers” you see active in our world today. Are they wise? Or foolish? Why?
2) Character, the ability to be rebuked, and the fear of the Lord are qualities of a good teacher listed in Proverbs. What more would you add to this list?
3) Think about the people you listen to and respect. Do they have these three characteristics? Or not? Why do you listen and respect them?
End With Prayer
Lord God, we are surrounded by teachers with thoughts on one thing or another. Give us the eyes of Christ that we might see them for who they truly are and fill our hearts with wisdom that we may know who and who not to listen to. Amen.
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