Desire Proverbs 2 (Part 1)

What comes to mind when you think of desire?  Dictionary.com defines desire as: 

to wish or long for; crave; want.  One of my earliest memories of desiring something was at age 7 when I wished for, longed for, craved for a bicycle with a banana seat ( yes, I am that old).  Now my parents had just given me a brand new bike for Christmas the year before and I had just learned to ride without training wheels.  I was as happy as could be until... the bicycle with the banana seat came out on the market.  And suddenly, I just HAD to have one. ALL of my friends had one.  At least that is what I whined to my parents.  Their answer was simple.  They did not tell me no.  They simply told me if I could come up with the money, I could have one.  I did not know what a new banana seat bicycle would cost and I am not certain whether my parents realized that I would take them seriously.  Maybe they thought that was the end of it but it was only the beginning  for me.  I knew what I wanted and so at just 7 years old I set out to raise the money to get it.  

So my best friend and I decided to go into business together that summer.  Together we did odd jobs for neighbors like raking, pulling weeds, cleaning yards etc.  We also crafted rings and bracelets from the colorful telephone wire that the telephone company guys left behind and sold them for 10 cents a piece.  Each evening as I placed the coins I had earned that day in a large glass pickle jar, I dreamed of the day when I would finally bring my shiny new banana seat bicycle home.  Some of the jobs we did were difficult, dirty, and grimy but I was willing to do it in order to get my bike.  

Finally the day came when I had completely filled up the pickle jar and I joyfully presented the jar to my parents.  We dumped all of money out on the kitchen table and counted it.  I had earned a total of $13.00 in coins which at that age was quite a lot of money to me.  My parents said that it was just enough to get the bike and we went to get it the next day.  Of course $13.00 would not even scratch the surface in getting a new bike even back in those days.  I did not know that at the time but I think maybe by "just enough" my parents meant that my drive, initiative, and effort were just enough for them to want to help me make my dreams come true.  

What do you desire?  Desire especially in religious circles has sadly become frowned upon as something base and selfish.  Dreams and desires are often frowned upon in favor of self sacrifice and denying oneself.  While there is certainly a place for sacrifice and self denial, that does not make desire a bad thing.  In fact, God created desire.  One of the things God wants us to desire is Godly wisdom.  In our study of Proverbs 1 we have already established that Godly wisdom is a good thing and something that we should seek.  Proverbs 2 takes it a step further in admonishing us to not only seek Godly wisdom but to desire it as one would desire silver or hidden treasures.  To actively pursue it as something of true value just as I in my childhood ambition valued that new banana seat bike so much that I was willing to find a way to earn the money to get it.  We are to treasure it, tune our ears to it, concentrate on understanding it, and search for it with all of the fervency that one would search for a valuable treasure or prized possession.  Human wisdom is limited and even in our best efforts to do these things, we will come up short.  However as we lay out the $13.00 worth of wisdom we have collected on the table of God's grace, our Heavenly Father sees our desires and our efforts and declares that it is just enough.  Not only does he make up the difference for a reward that we even in our best efforts could never earn enough to pay for, he gives us more than enough to fulfill the destiny to which he has called us. That destiny as it is described in Proverbs 2:7-12 includes:  

• God's gift of the treasure of common sense to the honest
• God's promise to be a shield to those who walk in integrity
• God's promise to guard the path of the just, and to grant divine protection for those who are faithful to him.
• God's promise to to grant us understanding of what is right, just, and fair and direction as to the right way to go, and ultimately,
• Joy and safety in making wise choices. 

Unfortunately as with any good thing that God has created, desire can be perverted and pursuing ungodly desires also has consequences.  In the next part we will examine what happens when we desire wisdom other than godly wisdom the results of desire gone bad.  Peace and blessings to you on this last day of September, 2011, till we meet again....

Don't Miss This! Proverbs 1

"These are the proverbs of Solomon, David's son, king of Israel.  Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the wisdom of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.  These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young." (Proverbs 1:1-5).  A common musical term found in the book of Psalms is "selah" which means to pause and contemplate what has just been said or sung.  "Selah"can be appropriately advised concerning Proverbs 1 and especially these first 5 verses in that if you're not careful you'll miss the point.

I know I did for so many years of reading Proverbs.  In the past whenever I would read the book of Proverbs, I would just skim through this chapter, dismissing it as just the preliminaries leading up to the really "important stuff."  I mean who actually reads all of the minute details of a college course syllabus or the missions statement of a company you are applying for?  (Okay so maybe you do) Now admittedly, I am NOT the most detail oriented person although I was moreso in my younger years.  But somehow the addition of years, increased responsibility, deadlines, and the busyness of life have shortened my attention span, and I have by default become more of a "bottom line" person (except in my writing).  Plus in this high tech age we have gotten spoiled by instant everything, from drive through windows to instant communication. As a result, taking time to read and understand the details can become tedious.  

And yet these first few verses of Proverbs are not only the mission statement of the entire book but also a call for self examination in light of God's wisdom and discipline.  So now as I read these same words I am less likely to say, "Okay wisdom, check, discipline, check, knowledge check, yada, yada yada.  Okay I got this" and have learned to respond instead, "You know what?  I don't have it altogether.  There is always room for more Godly wisdom so maybe I need to pay attention.  How do I measure up to the wisdom and discipline of God and how do these verses speak to me? "  And so I began to see that these so called "preliminaries" ARE the "important stuff"and are not to be taken lightly. 

Many of us who are adults do not see ourselves in verses 10-19 at this point in our lives though we may use these verses to exhort our children, grandchildren, younger siblings, nieces, nephews, or students to obey their parents, resist temptation, and not to hang out with thugs and hoodlums.  But what about us? We may no longer live under our parents' rule; however, how many times do we routinely break traffic laws.  And peer pressure does not stop at adulthood. While we may not be enticed to ambush and kill someone to get their loot, how many times have we been tempted to fit in with the crowd in murdering someone's reputation by engaging in harmful gossip because it makes for interesting discussion and somehow makes us feel better about our own warts and flaws.  Such behavior left unchecked never ends well.  

But God in his mercy reaches out his hand of wisdom in the next few verses calling us to come to him so that he can share his heart with us and make us wise.  God calls.  We answer.  End of story... right?  Not exactly.  Unfortunately, although God is calling, too often we are not listening... and those who refuse to listen are called simpleminded, fools, and mockers.  It is not that we are necessarily bad people.  Mostly preoccupied, distracted by earthly life, busy, self sufficient, fill in the blank_______. We believe in God yet we trudge through everyday life as if he does not exist.  We take care of family, career, school, social activities, and may even go to church regularly, living nice neat clean lives but in the most intimate recesses of our heart, God still seems to come in last place.  

There is nothing like a crisis to rock our world, get our attention, and wake us up from our complacency. This is the essence of verses 20-33. It is a fact, that many of us do not listen and will not change until all things we thought we knew and could trust in start falling apart and we are left with nothing else to do but call on God and cry out for his wisdom.  I know I have been around this mountain many times. Got the tee shirt, the hat and the banner. The good news is that when we finally let go of what we think we need so much and cannot live without, God gives us something so much better.  

As a personal example, when the man I was engaged to before I met my husband, broke off the engagement four months before the wedding, my heart was shattered. In my heart of hearts I knew he was not God's best for me, there were many red flags (which I tried to ignore) and many people tried to warn me, but it was still hard to let go and I literally thought I would never love again.  I let go of the engagement outwardly but letting go in my heart took much longer.  But I finally surrendered and decided to trust God to bring me the right person.  Now that I am married to my husband,  I am so glad that God did not let me compromise for less than his best and I cannot even remember what I saw in that other person.  And I have seem this happen in different situations time after time in my life.  One of these days I will learn to trust God on the front end instead of waiting until a crisis hits.  Can I get a witness?

Welcome

Welcome to Woman Sense from Proverbs!  If you are female of any age, race, or marital status and desire God's best for your life, to grow in wisdom, and to be all that he has destined to be, then this blog is for you.. as well as for me.  As I am typing this I realize that this is a tall order to fill and a little voice in the back of my is head whispering "How are you going to do that?"  The short answer is, I am not.  The purpose of this blog is to allow the principles of the book of Proverbs speak to us directly and guide us through this journey.  I will simply be the facilitator and it is my hope that you will be too as it is not only okay to comment and discuss these principles but also to disagree.  All I ask is that you are respectful in your comments and disagreement.  Now, I already know what some of you are thinking.  As a married woman, you may be rolling your eyes thinking,  "Uh oh.  Another study of the Proverbs 31 woman.  She was that chick who had it all together at home and still had time for gathering food from afar, purchasing real estate, gardening, running a business, creating a stunning wardrobe for herself and her family, and still managed to have her children not only appreciate but bless her.  In addition she also had servants.  I cannot possibly live up to that."  At the same time many of my single sisters have already tuned out (as I often did when I was single), thinking, "Uh oh, another Proverbs 31 woman study.  Not applicable to me since I am single."  So the question begs to be answered, is this a study of the Proverbs 31 woman so many of us love to hate?  Yes and no.  Yes, we will get there eventually, but no not yet.  All I can say is that there is so much more in this 31 chapter book that speaks to us as women in our daily lives than just the last chapter... more than I myself ever imagined.  My hope and prayer is that exploring the book of Proverbs together, chapter by chapter, we will gain valuable insights and applicable wisdom that will add a certain richness and sweetness to our daily lives, even now in the 21st century.   And who knows... by the time we get to Proverbs 31 perhaps this woman will not seem so intimidating and we might even learn to love her and see a little bit more of ourselves in her.