Wisdom

Guard your heart...
Listen...
Pay attention...
Gain understanding...
Get wisdom...
Do not forget my words...
Do not forsake wisdom...
I guide you and lead you...
Accept what I say...
Hold onto instruction...
Do not set foot on...
Avoid it...
Do not travel on it...
Fix your gaze...

These are some of the directives from Proverbs 4, which talks about wisdom. I believe it speaks loudly to a situation in my life right now.

At least once a year, I get my carpet shampooed. There is something so beautiful about my brown carpet turning to it's original cream color after a good steaming. I keep EVERYONE off of it, and NO shoes, WHAT-SO-EVER! are allowed on it. I even put up a sign on my door commanding visitors to "remove shoes at the door". I go to all kinds of extremes, even offending some people, because I DO NOT bend on keeping shoes off of my nice, clean carpet.

Ahhh...with my rigid rules, my carpet stays clean ALL YEAR...

Right???

NOT!!!

Well, what happened? I had strict rules and enforced them well...

...for awhile at least...

After a couple weeks, I just had to "very-quickly-go-into-the-kitchen-and-get-just-one-thing-before-I-leave-the-house-and-if-I-take-my -shoes- off-I-am-going-to-waste-time-I-don't-have. This-one-time-won't-hurt-it."

Within three weeks, I am sailing across that floor quite often.

After about two months go by, I have ripped my threatening sign off my door, everyone has embedded mud and dirt back into the carpet, and my carpet begins it's "browning" process.

The same is true with sin. We say, "just this once won't hurt anything", and before we know it, we are in knee-deep of another mud trap the enemy set up for us. It's easy to justify that first step into that area which we are not to tread into, but sometimes, all it takes to fall into that trap again is one step.

There are things that God has literally said, "no" to in my life, and if I even barely step into it, I know that I be entangled in those things once again. It goes back to trusting that God knows the why's and the how's and we are simply to obey. It's not because of "rules" or "regulations", but rather, because He knows the trap set before us, and He wants to protect us. It's because of love...

Proverbs 4 has many "nuggets" on wisdom worth finding. I recommend you read the chapter on your own or you can click here to read it on-line at Biblegateway.

¹³ Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.