The Bloggers Proverb

(Proverbs 9:12 KJV)  If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

At first reading Solomon seems to be addressing bloggers in this proverb.  Obviously it goes a little deeper than that, but the lesson of this proverb applies to bloggers, preachers, teachers and anyone else who has something to share.

It is well established that wisdom is good and that it can be achieved.  Not overnight or in one easy lesson, but it is possible to grow in wisdom.  Once we begin to gain in wisdom it is also easy to become foolish again.  It is easy to come into contact with the glory of God and to think that we are the next apostle.  We can get so consumed with telling others all the great stuff we know that we forget to listen and apply it to ourselves.  We miss the principle.

What is the principle?  That the “wise” (2449) listens to their own wisdom.  The Godly preacher listens to his own sermons.  The conscientious parent listens to his own lectures.  You may have never prepared a sermon.  One of the things I miss about the preaching ministry is the time that I was able to spend in the Word allowing it to scour my own soul.  More frequently than I want to admit I would become aware in the middle of the week that I was preparing something to scold people, not a sermon from God.

Being “wise for yourself” is not a statement of selfishness or arrogance.  It is a reminder that we also need to keep learning.  As I search the book of Proverbs and share what I see I pray that it never becomes a matter of looking for lectures to give other people but simply a matter of sharing the areas that God is speaking to me.

So?  Do your homework.  Share the glory of God as it is revealed to you.  Never fail to apply the lessons to your own life.