Considering Proverbs 8:10-13

¹⁰ Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹ For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

¹² I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.

¹³ The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Today, my thoughts are mostly directed towards my own self. I have a long way yet to go in this Proverbs study, and I committed to posting these on social media and on my new blog page.

Is this arrogance? Is this wise in well doing, or is this foolishness?

Not many people seem interested in what I have to say. In any other instance, I would say, yes. To continue is a blatant disregard for what other people value in favor of what I value. That is arrogance. That is not wise in well doing, but foolish.

However, these are not normal circumstances, and it is not my judgments that are being rejected—but God’s. If you ever want to seem arrogant, that’s the way to do it; claim that you receive insight from God concerning today’s Christianity in the United States.

I was feeling tempted to back off, even though each time I do something happens to pull me back. I am a faulty human like all of us. I understand why the disciples fled when Jesus was being led away to His trial and death. That is the kind of feeling I have (to a smaller degree, of course) when I am tempted to stop these writings.

I am glad to know that it is not some strange thing for the Lord to use His words to answer our prayers. This morning I was reminded of something Jesus said:

³⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.

³⁶ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

³⁷ Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸ Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:35-38).

What will I give in exchange for my soul? The Kingdom of Heaven and the wisdom that Jesus offers is indeed more valuable than any earthly treasure, as stated in the above section of Proverbs.

I cannot neglect or be ashamed of Jesus and the words He gives me for this generation.

I do fully sympathize with the temptation to do so.

I know how that sounds, and although I appreciate a direct approach, I do try to be tactful and I do not enjoy upsetting people. I care a great deal for the feelings of other people. But it is needful, in some small way, to be an example of loving Jesus more than man. Yet, in doing so, I find that loving Jesus means loving my fellow man—especially my Christian brethren.

It is not love to sit by and watch the deception and destruction of my brethren—to know full well what is coming and who we are welcoming. If we love death and destruction so much, we will have him.

So, I do my best to “dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions” by seeking Jesus often in these things.

What does it mean to dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions?

I could be wrong, but I think it means that wisdom gets to the bottom of things. I think of a Messianic scripture that wrote this of Jesus: “he shall not judge by the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing of the ears.” Jesus teaches us that we should judge righteous judgement, and this often goes against what we immediately see or hear.

I seek Jesus so that I can avoid judging “according to outward appearances” so that I might find His “righteous judgement.” I have found that these judgments or perspectives cut to the core, and people do not like that.

However, we must get past all of the superficial layers of Christianity we have clothed ourselves in so that we can stand before Jesus fully clothed with Him and His righteousness. That is essential.

People do not like feeling exposed, and neither do I. So, I do try to expose somewhat of myself in these writings too. I do not want anyone to go through a difficulty that I am not willing to go through myself first. That is what Jesus does for us, so I think that is fitting. Jesus also freely gives all things that He received to us, and He suffered to do so.

It is fitting that Christians should do the same for one another. All things He gives me, I must give back to my brethren. If they don’t want it, I will keep it for myself, but the offer must be made. Otherwise, I am the one who is being unfaithful.

That is my current situation, but what do I hope others will take away from the above scriptures in Proverbs?

The instruction of the wisdom of Jesus is far more valuable that any earthly riches, but we must seek them out. We must seek Jesus out, and there are many things standing in our way. The number one thing is fear of man over fear of God.

Who are we loyal to? Are we most loyal to our denomination or pastors, or are we most loyal to Jesus? Do we worship the act of going to church, or do we worship Jesus?

It is easy to say that because we worship Jesus, we will hold our pastors in high regard and we will go to church. That was true for a time, but that time will come to an end—and there is a lot of corruption in mainstream Christianity already that we need to get away from. That does not mean we have to stop going to church, but we need to be willing to question some things. We need to get our priorities right.

This will not happen, but this is food for thought: If Jesus were to return again in the flesh as He did in His first coming, would he approve of Christianity in the United States? If the apostles were to return, would they approve? Would we not receive some correction?

Jesus will return, not in the flesh, but in glory and in victory over all things that are exalted above Him. However, before that day, He will send The Destroyer and Death. Why? Because we welcome him already. We love him. We will have him.

Everything I try to teach is centered around life according to He who IS LIFE. Shouldn’t it be so for Christians? Yet, in so many ways, we bring death.

Stand by Jesus above all else and He will show you life—and not the life that the enemy brings which is death disguised as everything we want—even disguised as Christian. It is not wonder, is it? It is not easy to consider that we have fallen for the ways of Satan, all the while praising Jesus. Yet, we do. It is so easy to do. Jesus does not leave us in this state, however. He teaches some so that they can teach others. Please listen and consider.

I do not want followers, but I do want you to follow Jesus. I want you to consider all the things that you are choosing over Him. I want you to consider what lays at the bottom of all the loyalties of your life, including your loyalties politically, in social ideologies, and in church. If your loyalties bring death, then something is off. Even if you are loyal to the right causes, if you justify destroying others who are on the wrong side of things, something is off.

“Many will kill you thinking they do God’s service.”

This time is so full of murder. We look at the obvious murders of groups like BLM, Antifa, abortion, and the like. Yet do we consider our own murderous ways? Do we consider that death comes because we have welcomed it? If we listen, the Spirit will convict us and show us our murderous ways. If our hearts are hard, then we will not hear. If we do not hear, then Death will come for all—starting with the church.

I want to think more about verse 13 in the next article.

As always, I would appreciate hearing from others, whether you agree with me or not.